If he really does want to make the world a better place, I don't see how he can not get involved in political matters. The developing countries have an entirely different perspective since they have tons of corruption/lack of enforcement.
I have to admit that I don't really take much notice of what the pope says when it comes to matters other than religion and the Catholic church. Doesn't he have enough problems dealing with what's going on closer to home than to be getting on his soap box about things that don't really concern him?
Thank you. It seems people on the internet have a habit of making a big fuss over something they didn't even take the time to read. I agree the idea that ONLY money and capital matter. Capitalism on it's own isn't the greatest, history clearly shows a reasonable, practical and pragmatic mixed economic system back by democracy is the best way to go.
it wasn´t really a political matter. People should read what he actually said, and not just go by some journalists title. Many of the articles excluded the word ´unbridled´ from his quote, which is key. it is a religious matter, Jesus talks about it all the time in the Bible. You can only have one master, and if you love money and are obsessed with being rich, it is hard to be a good Christian and serve your brothers. But again, read his speech, it isn´t what people think it is. It is more just don´t be so greedy that you destroy the environment and enslave people to poverty to get rich.
As a lapsed/former Roman Catholic, I really don't give a rip what the pope says. I also think he's wrong on this point because Free Enterprise has elevated mankind out of poverty, slavery, and despair like no other economic system. Capitalism, while not perfect, is light years beyond feudalism, communism, fascist corporatism, or an other system that operates by coercion. His comments are also eye-brow raising considering the regimes the Papacy backed during the 1930s-40s, but I digress.
Is it fair to say "Capitalism" is synonymous with "Free Market?" If it's not a perfect synonym, it's very close. Every time someone claims the free market is great/terrible, I always ask, "what's the definition of a market?" Not free market, regulated market, or any other kind of market, just "what's the definition of a market?" So far nearly everyone I have asked, holds at least a bachelor's degree. Yet most people struggle to come up with a plausible definition. Give it a try yourself before reading the rest of this post. OK, got it? Now if you're like almost everybody else I've asked so far, you either scratched your head for a bit, came up with a half-assed definition or maybe both. Then again, I am posting this on a place called BullMarketBoard.com so maybe you did better. The point is whether you're a market wizard or just some guy with a funny hat and a few billion followers, I doubt you would have hesitated for as long to opine on the benefits/costs of the free market as you spent trying to figure out how to tell someone else exactly what a market of any kind is. Fair is fair, so here is the definition I use. "A market is created when two or more parties disagree on value, but agree on price." Have a better definition? I'd be happy to improve on it. Maybe we should find a way to get the best one to the Pope before his next speech, at least that way his listeners might hear the lesson he intends to deliver.
