Markets Alone Are Not the Answer

The world cannot wait for an economic system that will cause poverty to fix itself, Pope Francis said. “Markets and financial speculation cannot enjoy absolute autonomy,” he said. There must be “programs, mechanisms and procedures aimed at a better distribution of resources, job creation and the integral advancement of those who are excluded,” Pope Francis said in a recently published interview. “We cannot wait any longer to fix the structural causes of poverty, to cure our society from a disease that can only bring on new crises,” he said. While noting the positive outcomes of the current globalized economy in lifting many people from poverty, the pope said it also “condemned many others to die of hunger.” While globalization raised the level of global wealth, income disparity also increased and new forms of poverty have emerged, he said.