TRUE_ECONOMIC_DEVELOPMENT

49

a growing role in the last years of the socialist system
Soviet Union.

The strength of the Soviet economy was the devel-
opment of scientific and educational, but the weakness,
which weakened the system directly, was the agricul-
ture, production and distribution of consumption and,
above all, the lack of personal freedom.

The Soviet experience was unique in several re-
spects. The end of the Soviet Union in the 1990s was
more significant than the great depression in the United
United. From 1929 to1936, the Gross Domestic Prod-
uct of this country fell by a third. In Russia, per capita
incomes capita fell 80%, according to Professor Sey-
mour Melmam (2002).

The collapse of Soviet national production was ag-
gravated by the chaotic and predatory a financial-man-
agement class that extirpated society when seeking
their own financial gain. O Professor Seymour Mel-
mam, in his book After the capitalism (2002), high-
lights points that cannot to be emphasized when exam-
ining the experience Soviet Union.

The former Soviet Union USSR) of 224 million
km², one-sixth of the earth's surface of the globe, had a
population of 288 million (1989). It was a large pro-
ducer of a of raw materials. Before the collapse, she
was the world's largest iron producer (41%), nickel, oil
(58%), natural gas and the third producer of coal (55%

50

of the world). It was the second largest mineral source
of uranium and chromium and outstanding producer of
gold and silver.

According to Paul Kennedy (preparing for the
twentieth century, 1993) 1993) the Soviet problem
had a triple crisis: the crisis of political legitimacy, the
crisis of economic and social production and the crisis
of agriculture. The f collective farms destroyed to the
incentives to the workforce, while huge subsidies led to
bankruptcy industry, "seventy years of experience have
shown that socialism Centralized Scientific does not
work.” The “Perestroika" was the recognition that this
decay was real.

In summary, we have seen four different examples
development. We conclude by there is no stereotyped
form or method of development. We cannot say, "This
is the correct way of acting and there is no other.”

If there is a common factor, it is certainly repre-
sented present sacrifices and the existence of an author-
ity that the fruits of these sacrifices shall be earmarked
for economic development of all population strata. Do
not only a few people as has been the case model of
Latin America and many underdeveloped countries in
various parts of the world.

51

Development Perspectives

The search for justice that is more social and a so-
ciety more equitable has become, in recent years, una-
nimity at national and international level. The dialogue
on these issues, however, need to find a common lan-
guage to the meaning of development, policies, and
strategies to adopt and format the programs.

The economics of development literature reveals
that there is currently no agreement on the forces and
basic elements that promote the development. A huge
amount of professional and scientific studies has been
in theses, books and specialized press.

Various theories, doctrines, concept and remedies
have been proposed over the decades, not to speak of
the pioneers of these investigations. The type’s path-
ways and suggested solutions are, in most cases, of-
fered by scientists from various disciplines. They are
economists, sociologists, geographers and involved in
various academic activities, political and religious. The
book of my longtime professor and mentor, Dr. Raanan
Weitz, expounds this question magnificently: New
roads to development (1986).

According to my own experience, a the most dif-
ficult concepts to be explained by social scientists is
that of development. For we understand the reason for
this, it is good to clarify that same way as the definitions

52

of "social class", "Change" and "social consciousness",
the term "development" is not well defined.

The term "economic growth" was used until the
end of the 1960s. In this case, we emphasize the factors
of production, productivity and per capita income as the
most important indicators. In the 1970s, it was about
involving as variables for defining development of a so-
ciety its degree of urbanization and industrialization.

Latin American economists and sociologists had
an important participation in a new scheme to clarify
this phenomenon. This approach is based on a defini-
tion of sustainable as a process of change that covers
the whole country: its economic, social, policy and
physics and, likewise, the system of values and the way
of life of the people.

Grow and Distribute

For a new vision of development, it is important
to only produce more. So important to ensure the in-
crease of physical production is also lay the foundations
of a distributive policy, ensuring goods and services to
all. There should be a greater quantitative distribution
of goods and services between different social groups.
In order to achieve this objective, it becomes necessary
to be aware of the needs of the less favored groups,
providing them with an effective participation in deci-
sions that affect the redistribution of income. On the
other hand, it is important to reaffirm the achievement

53

at an early stage of higher levels of productivity and
production as a key factor for achieving development,
in addition to identification of the needs that affect each
segment of society.

An important bibliographic reference for better
understand this problem is the work of Simon Kuznets,
Nobel Prize in Economics and one of the largest Econ-
omists of the Western World: Theory of Growth mod-
ern economy. Professor Kuznets rethink the doctrines
prior to his work by examining the problems of devel-
opment, from the perspective which even allows him to
deny certain precepts established, such as the incom-
patibility between dynamism of the population and in-
crease of population.

It shows that if economic growth assumes per cap-
ita production requires structural changes, both in the
institutions and social and economic practices. It states,
that the changes that begin in a new period can be de-
scribed as resulting from of an increase in human
knowledge, which provides tools for the escalation of
progress. And stresses that the main change that distin-
guishes modern economic period is the application of
science problems of production.

Inequality Impairs Growth

High levels of inequality undermine the growth in
Latin America and reduce investment, says a World

54

Bank study (IBRD) released recently (2006). The au-
thors of the study Poverty reduction and growth: vir-
tuos and vicious circles, believe that only with a re-
duction of inequality will be possible growth rates.

Renowned economist Vinod Thomas, former di-
rector the World Bank in Brazil (2001-2005), high-
lights in his excellent book The Brazil seen from the
inside (2005) that: "The distribution of income influ-
ences the degree in which economic growth drives peo-
ple from the poverty."

In the simulations made in the World Bank study
it was also clear that only with a policy effective way
of reducing inequalities will growth rates. In fact, the
per capita Gross Domestic Product of Latin America
dropped by 0.7% during the 1980s, affected by external
debt crisis. In the 1990s, it grew only 1.5% per year,
with no change in the level of poverty, which covers an
average of about 40% of the population of region. For
the Vice-President of IBRD for Latin America:

They are approximately 180 million below of
the poverty line. Poverty itself is hindering
growth and only solving the causes of poverty,
it will be possible to raise rates of economic
growth.

According to the study, income transfers in Brazil
contribute to reducing the rate of Gini by only 0.5%.
The transfers made in the Argentina reduced the index
by 3.5% and in Chile 2.0%. It should be remembered

55

that Latin America is the region with the highest ine-
quality in the world, Brazil is the one with the greatest
inequality. Brazil is among the ten most unequal on the
planet. Earth, sharing this situation with the poorest in
Africa. According to estimates of Dr. Thomas, as
Brazil's current level of inequality, 1% of economic
growth reduces poverty in less than 1%. In India and
China, with equality, this same percentage of growth
poverty reduction above 3%.

Certainly there is no theory or model finished
product to accelerate growth, and reducing inequality
and poverty. Changing perspective to a new theory of
development was given to us by Professor Amartya Sen
in his book The concept of development. Affirms he:

An adequate design of development should
cover much more than the accumulation of
wealth and growth of the Gross Domestic
Product. Without ignoring the importance of
economic growth, our look must go far beyond.

The adoption of a new development approach de-
pends on a fundamental reorientation in policies and
strategies adopted so far in Brazil and in many under-
developed countries. The first step this reformulation is
to establish the social objectives that depend on the
combination of objectives of growth and distribution of
income.

56

Development Sustainability

Underdeveloped countries need to adopt strate-
gies sustainable development to meet economic
change, eradicate poverty, protect the environment,
benefiting the current population and the future. Sus-
tainable development requires access to the technolo-
gies and financial resources that the underdeveloped
countries do not count. As a consequence, industrial-
ized countries need to associate themselves and "Mar-
shall Plan" type of operation, with technical resources
and financial. Underdeveloped countries the great re-
sponsibility of investing also in training and training
of its human resources.

Eco development

The concept of eco-development has been by the
United Nations Environment Program United. Its basic
principles are simple: development should conserve re-
sources and use with parsimony the renewables. It
should minimize and recycle as much as possible the
materials disposables. Must preserve local cultural
standards and involve the population in decision-mak-
ing about style and economic growth.

In practice, eco-development is not easy to run. It
demands careful studies of the ecological, man and na-
ture, and, generally, there are no people trained to run

57

it even in small pilot projects. The technologies renew-
able resources and to conserve them are still under
study and experimental phase. The to destroy forests
and lead to the exhaustion of are as destructive as any
polluting industry. The ecological development is in es-
sence, the prerequisites for the development of which
must take into account the moral and material of all hu-
man well-being.

In summary, it is very important to the world
with respect to the greenhouse effect, conservation of
biodiversity. But what really worries is the fact that
billions of inhabitants of the planet are being called
to pay with remedy these problems. Meanwhile, this
population lives in conditions of poverty without
been responsible for these environmental changes.
The industrialized countries that were and are cur-
rently, such as China, those responsible could do a
small sacrifice to help underdeveloped countries to
improve the quality of its economy from the social
and environmental point of view.

Sustainable development

In the last decades, a new path of development has
been proposed by organizations the United Nations and
scientists from various of the world. The main elements
of this strategy involves the combination of economic
efficiency, social equity, political freedom and the

58

preservation of environmental. It is an integrated pro-
cess of more growth shared by all, productive modern-
ization and competitive, more education and qualifica-
tion and more health and housing, less poverty and less
inequality. The achievement of these objectives pro-
found change in the style of development to achieve
more development today and more tomorrow.

The sustainable strategy incorporates the geo-en-
vironmental aspects regarding the rationalization of
management of water resources, soil conservation, and
biodiversity. The socio-economic dimension has pro-
ductive transformation and growth with modernization
of agriculture, restructuring of the industrial model, hu-
man resources training and equity, with an emphasis on
combating poverty and education for modernity. The
dimension scientific-technological (knowledge and in-
novation) finally, the political-institutional dimension
based on in an integrated and decentralized manage-
ment model economic development.

The implementation of a sustainable development
sustainable development requires a coordinated gov-
ernment and society, with the objective of common
welfare of the population. In the last ten, the concept of
sustainable development took on new features. Based
on studies from the World Bank, this process includes
not only the industrial capital as well as natural capital
and human. In order to be sustainable, should contrib-
ute to assets increasing with the time.

59

According to this conceptualization, the devel-
opment sustainability indicator could be "the gemina
savings rate" or "rate investment. " This new indica-
tor, developed by they the World Bank theorists, con-
siders that current measurements of wealth accumu-
lation do not take into account depletion and deterio-
ration of natural resources such as forests and envi-
ronment, and investment in resources humans. The
“gemina” savings rate has the objective of correcting
this setting by adjusting the of traditional savings, re-
ducing the costs of factors.

The World Bank analyzes show that countries that
are most dependent on natural have very low or nega-
tive savings rates. If no firm, measures are taken to cor-
rect this trend, which, if not modified, will in serious
damage to the population. This situation indicates that
a commercial part of the resources non- renewable nat-
ural resources was used in an erroneous or predatory.

Renowned economist Stefan H. Robock, with
whom I had the pleasure of working when he served
technical assistance (United Nations) to the Techni-
cian of Economic Studies of Banco do Northeast of
Brazil, speaking at the International Convention on
Impacts and Climate Variations and Development
Sustainable Development (Fortaleza, 1999), the fol-
lowing on the subject:

The concept of sustainable development, em-
phasizing the quality of life and avoiding the

60

deterioration of the environment, represents a
significant advance in the evolution develop-
ment strategies.

Among other important comments of the teacher
Robock, it's worth noting that he is of the opinion that
alternative strategies should go beyond environmental
fundamentalism. That is, avoid the maxim: "Conserve
by conserve." The most important element, he com-
ments, should be a good formulation. Investment in hu-
man resources and ending with poverty.

All efforts will certainly be pointless or meaning-
less if people are not prepared to understand what de-
velopment means. Sustainable and willing to put into
practice measures to achieve it.

The Role of State Policies and Social Capital

What can governments do to act as agents that cat-
alyze the development of their countries? We fully un-
derstand what the factors that determine successful de-
velopment? These and other troubling questions formu-
lated by a group of experts from the World Bank in or-
der to prepare a textbook for use in developing coun-
tries. Including Russia, which seeks to better under-
stand the functioning of globalized market economies.
The book's theme is Beyond the economic growth, is
being made available to countries wishing to make edi-
tions of the work.

61

According to this original document, to respond
These important questions need to be taken awareness
that development is much more that a simple growth
and accumulation of quantitative level of national cap-
ital, as if you think as discussed in this book, from a
vision of Brazil, development is also a qualitative trans-
formation of its society as a whole, the development is
a evolution of new forms of thought and, consequently,
new relationships and new methods of production. The
process should include most of the of the population of
a country and not only limited to the modernization of
capital and the highest and richest classes.

The Human Development Report of 1996 re-
veals impressive data that cannot fail to motivate se-
rious reflections of the responsible people living in
countries such as Brazil. “The world has become
more economically polarized, both within and be-
tween countries ", says Gustave Speth, UNDP admin-
istrator, in the preamble report. Despite a rapid wave
of economic growth in 15 countries over the past
thirty years, about 1.6 billion people, in 89 countries,
were not covered by any program and now they are
worse than 20 years ago. "The gains economic bene-
fits have greatly benefited some countries, but at the
cost of many, "the report notes.

It must be acknowledged, however, that in the
where development took place, government’s priority
to the quality of growth. Provided equity measures,

62

improved health, education and employment for its
citizens.

According to these strategies, fifteen countries,
mainly Asian countries, have achieved extraordinary
growth, with higher rates than the entire history of
Western industrialization. Is as which occurred in Ma-
laysia and especially in the Korea and China, with rates
ranging from 8% to 10% per year. The Human Devel-
opment Index of UNDP (life expectancy at birth, edu-
cation and per capita income) classifies Canada as first
among 174 countries in the world. Follow with small
decreasing differences the United States, Netherlands
and Norway. In developing countries, Cyprus is first,
followed by Barbados, Bahamas, Korea and Argentina.
The Republic of Korea is the best example of the strong
connections forged by governance between develop-
ment, human development and equity. Differently oc-
curred in Pakistan where the intervention of the State
failed the results of its growth rate of 5% per year. In
this country, the government has concentrated re-
sources on capital-intensive industries such as steel
mills and chemical etc.

In the case of Latin America and, in particular, in
Brazil, government intervention has been great in the
conduct of economic development policies. While de-
velopment is a process integral part of changes, with the
participation public and private sectors, governments
should determine the scope and the direction in which

63

it should act. O government, in addition, to correct
"market failures", can fulfill an important function of
coordinator of the participation of all actors of the de-
velopment - private enterprises, public politicians and
civil associations - in the framework of the national.

The functions of the State and the private sector
are complementary and adjusted to the political reali-
ties of each country. However, a decisive role of gov-
ernment is to help and support the different sectors of
society to shape a common vision of the future of coun-
try and work on this concept to the reality of concrete
actions.

The author of this book hopes and trusts that read-
ers and students can be encouraged to expand
knowledge and reflection on the development of Brazil
and other countries in similar. The methodology of
comparing experiments and analyze the correctness and
errors that our country has experienced over the years
can be very useful and valuable. So that we can also
give our contribution to building, a country more devel-
oped, with greater equity and without poverty. The at-
titude of each is also a source of capital the country. It
is for this reason that I this book from a vision of Brazil.

64

SECOND PART
THE DOCTRINE OF FAIR

DEVELOPMENT

65

As desigualdades entre pobres e
ricos, tanto no âmbito internacional
como dentro de cada país, chegaram

a um limite intolerável, moral e
socialmente.

66

INTRODUCTION

"Without works, faith is completely dead."
(James 2:17)

I am convinced that issues of capital formation,
ethics and economic development, with less poverty,
will be the most relevant issues that will be highlighted
in the coming decades. Especially in underdeveloped
regions such as Northeast Brazil. The Church has long
been occupying an active position in reflections, ideas
and propositions that allow the adoption of new eco-
nomic policies more equitable and just, with freedom
and Christian principles of love for others.

The thoughts and comments addressed in this
chapter are intended to summarize and clarify in simple
language the phenomena of poverty and hunger in the
present world. The sources of reference are mainly per-
tinent to the vision of the Social Doctrine of the Church
and according to a model of economic development
that is more just and oriented toward the poor.

In this spirit, I was stimulated by the studies of the
renowned Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, President of
the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum", on "Hunger in the
World in the Perspective of a Challenge for All".

67

The main question that is posed in this paper is the
call of Archbishop Paul Cordes, who said: "We cannot
close our eyes to the misery and hunger in which our
fellow citizens live." Thus, "The Church ... feels the
need to declare as unjust-as Pope Leo XIII did 100
years ago-the enormous wealth of few in opposition to
the poverty of many. "(Rerum Novarum, 1997).

In fact, the Holy Father John Paul II, when alive,
devoted great attention to disseminating as an instru-
ment of action of Catholics throughout the world, the
Social Teaching of the Church in the fight for justice
and human dignity.

Examples are the Encyclical Letters Laboren ex-
ercens; Sollicitudo rei socialis (1987); Centesimus an-
nus (1991); the Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ine-
unte (2001); and the study by the Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace, "Towards a better distribution of
land (1997)", and the document "Hunger in the World"
of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum (1996). main
sources.

The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia
in America (1990) proclaims "America needs Christian
laymen who can take up leading roles in society. It is
urgent to train men and women who can influence pub-
lic life and direct it to the common good. "Likewise,
Paul II urged that all Christians should place them-
selves at the service of their hungry nations, in response
to the call of love that God transmits through Jesus

68

Christ, with support in the prayer of the Blessed Virgin
Mary.

God, in his Gospel message, does not want the in-
digence of his people, nor the rich man obsessed with
his own wealth, for both are spiritually mutilated: some
through adverse conditions, others because of material
excesses. The battle, therefore, is not against wealth,
but against inequality and poverty, generated by prefer-
ential growth for the rich.

Governments can reduce hunger and famine, es-
pecially in the most backward countries, by creating
"structures of the common good" and by sharing. That
is, adopting a model of development with a spirit of eq-
uity and solidarity. In other words, the message is that
society must be at the service of the needy families. In
the same way, the mission of Christian families today
has the objective and the responsibility of working for
the construction of a more just and equitable society,
focused on human promotion.

69

NEW DEVELOPMENT WITH EQUITY

Economic growth, especially over the last century,
has become the aspiration of peoples in all continents.
Due to historical, human and geographic reasons, there
has been a great evolution of the nations located in the
Northern Hemisphere. The remaining countries were
relatively backward and had major social problems and
the standard of living of their inhabitants. These are the
so-called sub developed countries. These persist in eco-
nomic and social indifferent indices of illiteracy, food
scarcity, poor health and housing, apart from various
forms of oppression and exploitation of human labor.

The Catholic Church proclaims that it could not
remain indifferent to the events of its people, because it
feels bound up with the human race and its history. The
new circumstances affect the religious life itself and in-
creasingly demand that "in the light of Christ" the
Church cooperate in the critical analysis and resolution
of the main issues of our time.

In this way, the Church walks along with all hu-
manity, which must be renewed in Christ and trans-
formed into the family of God. It is also a demand for
justice and equity that development should not be lim-
ited to the continuous increase of economic activity but
must be exercised within the limits of the social order
and at the service of man. (Gaudium et spes, 1996).

70

To this end, Pope Paul VI's Encyclical Populorum
Progressio (1967) proposes an integral development of
man:

To be freed from misery, to find more securely
subsistence, health, a stable nail; to have
greater participation in responsibilities, ex-
cluding any oppression and situation that of-

fend their dignity; to have greater instruction,

in a word, to realize, to know and to possess
more to be more; such is the aspiration of to-
day's moment when a great number of them
are condemned to live in conditions which

make this legitimate wish illusory.

In the same Encyclical, speaking the Pope of the
Church in the world, he affirms: "The present situation
in the world demands a united action from a clear vision
of all the economic, social, and cultural aspects."

It is in this perspective of a new style of economic
development that this book is focused.

71

SOME ELEMENTS OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE
OF THE CHURCH

Uneven Growth and Poverty

Inequalities between the poor and the rich, both
internationally and within each country, have reached
an intolerable, moral and social limit.

In recent years, all United Nations agencies have
been working with development programs designed to
reduce poverty. Authorities such as Nobel laureates Jo-
seph Stiglitz (former director of the World Bank) and
Amartya Sen advocate unfavorable developmental the-
ses of misery, welfare and freedom.

In the same vein, the President of the Inter-Amer-
ican Bank, Dr. Enrique V. Iglesias, and the 2nd in the
American Treasury, John Taylor (2008) at an interna-
tional meeting on the issue of social capital formation
and development, convened Latin America to over-
come neoliberalism and invest more in education to re-
duce poverty. According to these personalities, the re-
gion should grow by about 4% a year, in a sustainable
way, by the year 2015, in order to make it possible to
reduce poverty by half.

It should be stressed that, according to this ap-
proach, addressing these needs should occur not only as
a result of economic growth, but as the main objective.

72

Thus, combating poverty is the guiding factor and start-
ing point of the whole process, a means of achieving
the social goals of the development of society. That is,
growth is not an end in itself, but a partial instrument
for the improvement of the well-being of people.

Have philosophers, economists, and sociologists
been, for several decades, on what is the priority of:
growth or distribution?

Sadly, poverty is advancing and plunging into the
misery of millions of people across all countries. To get
a better idea of the scale of this problem, just remember
that United Nations / UNICEF information estimates a
contingent of people below the poverty line of 50% of
the 6.5 billion currently available. In Brazil, there are
57 million, of which 58% live in the Northeast.

In contrast to the economic opulence of some na-
tions and social groups, living in extreme poverty in
the present time of technological progress is an of-
fense against human dignity. In this context, the Holy
See presents some principles that should inspire a
practical approach to human rights in relation to pov-
erty. A person who living in poverty should not be
considered as burdensome or an object to be manipu-
lated, but as a participatory subject of the economic
and social process.

Individuals should have access to the professional
training, credit and legal protection necessary to ensure

73

such participation. Initiatives of social inclusion require
the strengthening of basic human communities, through
the creation of participation structures and co-responsi-
bilities. That is, a guarantee of an ethical order of char-
ity and solidarity, as proposed by Pope John Paul II's
Encyclical Centesimus annus. On a visit to Latin Amer-
ica he said that "Extreme poverty is perhaps the most
pervasive and crippling form of human rights violation
in our world. However, poverty is, above all, a moral
imperative, especially today, because of the scandalous
paradox of the dimensions of poverty that parallel with
scientific progress capable of eliminating it. "

In fact, in December 2003, he appealed to the gov-
ernments of the world to fight hunger and poverty, say-
ing that they are a serious threat to peace. Citing the
FAO report, he said that the number of hungry people
increased in view of this. "The world cannot remain
deaf to the call of those who demand the food necessary
to survive."

The question of material poverty for the Church
has as its causes social structures and individual con-
sciences. Victims, selfishness of individuals, disor-
dered ambitions, and injustice corrupt structures, and
these contribute to further deformation of individuals.

The Church's thinking is that the solution to a just
economic development will not be achieved only by re-
forming individuals, as capitalism proposes, or simply
by changing structures, as socialism advocates.

74

The Social Doctrine of the Church is radically dif-
ferent from these two ideologies. Both systematized the
ideas induced by a concrete historical process endowed
with an operational system of the market or the totali-
tarian state.

The Ideas of the Model of the Social Doctrine of the
Church

The teachings of the social implications of the
Church have Christ as a religious and moral message.

Thus, while the central tenet of Christianity is
Christ, in the Church's social doctrine the fundamental
criterion is the man Christ assumed in his incarnation.
Thus, to assess the nature of the systems and the Politi-
cian of development, the element determinant is the at-
tention given to the human person. Doctrines, ideolo-
gies, systems, and institutions, according to the Church,
will be judged according to the contribution they make
to their liberation and promotion.

The Social Doctrine of the Church became known
from the Encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII,
proclaimed in 1891. That is, 43 years after the Mani-
festo of the Communist Party of Karl Marx and Freder-
ick Engels. Since the birth of Christianism, however,
the Social Outram of the Church was in the hands of
Catholics. In no official document of the Church is

75

there any endorsement of liberal capitalism or social-
ism. In fact, in the Encyclical Quadra Gentile Year, the
Pope condemns capitalism and socialism. Even with
the observation that it is not for the Church to infer tech-
nical, economic, political, and social aspects of these
ideologies. This is a function of their children who live
up to their Christian vocation, says Fr. Fernando Bastos
de Ávila, former rapporteur of the Pontifical Commis-
sion for Justice and Peace.

In fact, the catechism of the Catholic Church re-
jects totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated
with communism or socialism. In the practice of cap-
italism:

It rejects the individualism and absolute pri-
macy of the market law over human labor.
Several conceptions that do not conform to
this orientation, sometimes manifested by lay
Catholics, do not rely on the Church's one
and true ordeal.

The development of economic activities and the
growth of production must be destined to serve the
needs of human beings within the limits of moral order,
liberty, and social justice, in order to correspond to
God's plan for man. (Gaudium et Spes, 1966).

Message and Orientation to the Laity

The Catholic Social Doctrine recognizes the role
of the market and the company, but indicates the need

76

for these systems to be oriented towards the common
good. On the other hand, socialization presents many
dangers, as economic history has proven. It is, however,
the task of the State to guarantee the protection of cer-
tain collective goods, such as the natural and human en-
vironment. Public authorities must intervene to pro-
mote the growth of production, social progress and the
benefit of all citizens.

According to the Encyclical Letter of John Paul II,
"Social solicitude", the Social Doctrine of the Church
is not, however, a Third Way between capitalism and
Marxist collectivism. It is a category of its own. It is not
a utopia, but a plausible model of a more humane eco-
nomic development.

The teaching and diffusion of the Social Doctrine
of the Church are part of the evangelizing mission of
the Catholic Church. In the sense of, as the Campaign
of the Fraternity proposes:

Promote a spirituality based on reconciliation
and solidarity; con actively contribute with ac-
tions to overcome hunger and poverty; and to
promote non-violent solutions to social con-
flicts.

The Catholic Church has asked the international
community for economic policies that favor the poor.
The Holy See by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, for ex-
ample, proposed in the 11th Session of UNCTADE
(United Nations) "Eradicating poverty grows social

77

cohesion and promote the development sustainable",
reason why the communion should strive to achieve
this. Archbishop Tomasi also pointed out that, with
globalization, many people have been marginalized,
especially in rural areas. The one of inequality is
source of conflicts and generates violence like form
of social expression.

Anyway, that the doctrine proposes to reasoned tar
and guide implementation developed a new more equi-
table economic, justice, solidarity and according to
Christian teachings.

The Latin American Center for Development, In-
tegration and Cooperation (CELADIC) is developing
an alternative development proposal, inspired by the
Church's social doctrine. Professor Luis Henrique Ma-
rins, general director of CELADIC (www.celadic.org/)
said in a recent meeting with three hundred socials, po-
litical, business, academic and religious leaders in Pan-
ama City:

We believe that the Social Doctrine of the
Church cannot be exhausted in beautiful and
valuable texts, but it must serve to interpret the
reality that attacks us and, based on its central
parameters of orientation, to create, diffuse
and impel proposals alternate of human devel-
opment.

78

HUNGER IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL COR UNUM

Introduction

The purpose of this part is to summarize some
points of the document of the Pontifical Council on
"Hunger in the World", whose subtitle is "A challenge
for all; solidarity development.” It should be noted that
this important document was prepared under the coor-
dination of Bishop Paul Josef Cordes, already men-
tioned and launched by the Holy See in 1997. It is a text
of great doctrinal as well as evangelical openness, dif-
ficult to condense into a few pages.

The topics selected for this review are as faithful
as possible to the original content. The subjects are or-
ganized, in the document of the Pontifical Council, ac-
cording to the following themes: the realities of hunger;
challenges of an ethical nature to be tackled together;
towards a more solidary economy; the jubilee of the
year 2000-a step in the fight against hunger; and hun-
ger: an appeal to love.

In this document is highlighted the thought of
Pope John Paul II, where he says:

It will not be easy to move forward on the dif-
ficult path of the inextricable transformation of
economic structures if there is no question of a
conversion of minds, wills and hearts. The task

79

requires the determined application of free
and solemn men and persons. (Redemptor
hominis)

As there are so many who suffer from hunger in
the world, the Second Vatican Council exhorts all indi-
viduals or authorities to reflect on the warning of the
priests of the Church; "Feed the hungry, for if you did
not feed him, you killed him."

Clarifies the "Cor Unum" Council, which should
not be confused with malnutrition. Hunger will affect
the lives and dignity of people. Hunger can be moti-
vated by a natural factor, such as drought or flood, or
derive from human action.

With regard to malnutrition, it can be quantitative
or qualitative. For example, lack of protein or vitamins
in feed. The poor are the first victims of food shortages,
both incites and in the countryside. The most vulnera-
ble among the poor are children, pregnant women, the
elderly and infirm. According to FAO / WHO, the min-
imum daily requirement of calories not to compromise
health is around 2,000 / 2,500. At this point, it should
be clarified that IBGE surveys in Brazil indicate that
the consumption of the poorest strata is about 1,800 cal-
ories / day.

The main causes of hunger are identified by the
Cor Unum Council on the basis of United Nations doc-
uments and stem from underdevelopment itself, cli-

80

matic factors, inadequate economic policies and re-
strictions on trade in food products. Population growth
faster than production has generated food imbalance.
There are political causes that also create serious prob-
lems for certain social groups.

Concentration of wealth within some countries ac-
centuates poverty in some segments of the population.
The cause of poverty may also be political, moral, cor-
rupt, or lacking in the exercise of solidarity. Addressing
the challenge of hunger and malnutrition require spe-
cific actions that cannot be separated from the effort of
the integral development of thinking and people.

The Church Is with the Poor

The teaching of the Church, in relation to the prob-
lems reported, is based on a philosophy of responsible
action. It is a search for the common good, based on
care and love for men. Obstacles to development, it
should be noted, are not solely the result of ignorance
and incompetence. They also come from the very roots
of social sin. The universal disintegration of goods re-
quires, in fact, constructing means of production of
common utility and which can be compared with the
most deprived and poor.

Pope John Paul II, in the Encyclical Centesimus
annus, speaks of preferential listening for the poor and
of his service, in a spirit of sharing. He says;

81

... Above all, it will be necessary to abandon
the mentality that considers the poor people
and peoples - a burden and opportunists who
want to consume everything that others pro-
duce ... The progress of the poor is a great oc-
casion for moral and cultural growth and eco-
nomic development of humanity.

In fact, the Council stresses that the poor's place is
not on the periphery, in a marginality from which he
would seek to get him out. He must be placed at the
center of our solicitude and at the heart of the human
family. It is here that it can play its unique role within
the community:

The idea is for justice to be rooted in human
solidarity and to bring the strongest aid to the
weakest with justice, peace and charity.

A recognized pho- token view is on the disenfran-
chisement that the poor have when motivated. In fact,
when one gives oneself responsibility and one hears the
opinion of the poor, one gains positive results. Exam-
ples are community initiatives in many parts of the
world, including here in Ceará. It is enough to mention
the cases of the Project San José, of fight against the
poverty, and of Agrarian Reform Solidary, to have an
idea of the communitarian potential in action.

The Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" gives great
importance to the question of the integrity and social
sense of initiatives to combat hunger. In this sense, he
affirms that "it is absolutely necessary to motivate the

82

social economic agents in favor of policies of disen-
gagement that aim at guaranteeing all men an equal op-
portunity to live in dignity, contributing to the efforts
and necessary sacrifices.”

According to this institution, it is often corruption
that hampers the efforts necessary to seek the common
good and justice that coexist side by side.

Towards a More Solidarity Economy

The document states that growth needed for devel-
opment must be achieved through structural reforms.
Human development, in this context, will not be made
up of self-governing economic mechanisms, which
usually result in mere growth with concentration of in-
come. The economy in order to become more human is
based on reforms oriented towards the best service of
the true common good, in an ethical vision.

As for what is of aid of a purely humanitarian na-
ture, there are many controversies. But the Church is of
the opinion that charitable giving should be carried out
under emergency and temporary conditions. Generally,
they do not focus on the causes of hunger and can dis-
courage producers, creating an external dependency to
survive. Others say they can favor corruption, help in-
termediaries and speculators.

There seems to be no doubt that the problem of
hunger cannot be solved until food security is fostered,

83

with production and stockpiling for times of product
shortages. To this end, it is important to develop pro-
grams that value food production locally, including
through agrarian reform where the land issue is a limit-
ing factor for agricultural exploitation. Another factor
is the marketing organization that guarantees minimum
prices. All of these tasks require both human and polit-
ical will and competence.

In the specific case of Northeast Brazil, rural pov-
erty is linked to low productivity of labor and land. To
change this, more investment is needed to eradicate il-
literacy and to organize producers. In the semi-arid cli-
matic calamities are associated with losses in food pro-
duction and hunger.

Even in the years of normal rainfall and in the off-
season there is a shortage of food. The production is
seasonal and the agricultures subsistence they sell pro-
duction at harvest time to cover their basic needs, miss-
ing product in the rest of the year.

The Overcoming of Hunger

The solution to the problems of the poor and the
poor implies the contribution of agronomic science and
of a social organization oriented towards solidarity.
There is a need, for this, to raise the awareness of indi-
viduals and peoples. To enable authentic development,
the Church with all men lives to develop their
knowledge, their competence and their experience.

84

That is, each one must contribute according to the gifts
that reveal and according to his own vocation. In fact,
all men of good will can understand the ethical chal-
lenges of the future of the world economy.

The Church is concerned with the poor and the
poor, for God does not want the indigence of his people.
However, she warns about the idols that are near us. It
is the individual or community search, rich or poor, ma-
terial goods, power, reputation and pleasure, consid-
ered as an end in itself. Serving such idols subjugates
man and impoverishes the planet.

It is by freeing us from the idols that God will al-
low our effort to transform the world. Not only multi-
plying wealth, but also above all, directing the work of
men to the service of all. The apostle Paul said, "Jesus
Christ, though he was rich, became poor for us." (2 Cor
8: 9)

"All human beings have the innate ability not only
to take care of themselves but also to contribute to in-
creasing the well-being of the world as a whole," Mu-
hammad Yunes said in his address to the Nobel Peace
Prize in Oslo (2006).

85

THE FOOD SUPPLY OF THE POOR

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of
1948 and a number of other documents approved by the
United Nations ensure the determination of the mem-
bers of these organizations to eliminate hunger and un-
der-nutrition wherever it exists. The program of gov-
ernment of the current President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva, also establishes this goal for the poor,
especially in the Northeast.

There is no doubt that the poor need emergency
aid to survive, especially in the case of hunger miti-
gation. The central problem that has preoccupied in-
ternational organizations and public managers is that
of the welfare models generally adopted to deal with
this problem. In a model of development of a just so-
ciety, however, this form of paternalistic politics is
condemned.

According to economic history, assistance has
been the most effective remedy for maintaining poverty
and offending human dignity. The poor, in fact, do not
want alms, but help and support for the sustainable im-
provement of their living conditions. This is because
welfares kills initiative and often becomes an instru-
ment of social and political domination of program pro-
moters.

86

The three funds transference income and social as-
sistance, without consideration, were designed by
countries ware to be followed standing them economi-
cally backward and dependent on international finan-
cial organizations. This modality of aid has a doctrinal
foundation idealized to ameliorate the political and so-
cial tensions that poverty generates.

One of the presidents of the World Bank in the
1970s, for example, was an advocate for assistance in
financial cooperation programs for underdeveloped
countries. Robert McNamara, in a statement on the
Board of Governors of the Group World Bank in the
Philippines in October 1976, already recognizable was
that "poverty tends to perpetuate and, unless you con-
ceive and employed a deliberate campaign against its
internal dynamics, it will persist and grow.”

The negotiators of the resources of support to the
underdeveloped countries, however, knew that the pro-
cess of economic development is a long-term phenom-
enon. They also believed that by the very nature of the
growth occurred in a concentration of wealth in the
early stages of the proceeding. This generated poverty
in the social strata of education and resources to partic-
ipate in the productive forces.

87

WORLD FOOD PRODUCTION

Overall, the world food situation could not be bet-
ter. If food production were to be distributed among all
countries, there would be no starvation today.

Total production of cereals and animal products
has grown in the world more than the population. The
increase per person was 2-3% in the 1990s and the be-
ginning of the new century. Productivity of major food-
stuffs per hectare has more than doubled in the last
three decades. And as for prices, given this situation of
supply trends, it was in real terms of stabilization and
even decline over the years.

Even, around 925 million people worldwide do
not have access to sufficient food to maintain health
standards and a productive life. According to the United
Nations, 95% of those hungry are in Africa, Asia, Latin
America and the Caribbean.

The Standing Committee on Nutrition of the
United Nations, meeting in Geneva on March 4, 2005,
warned that programs carried out by developing nations

In the fight against hunger are being insufficient.
A representative for the Committee, Salvador Herên-
cio, said that 125 million children under five are under-
weight. Such conditions are increasing the infant mor-
tality rate. With these trends, outside the Committee,
the development goals for 2015 will not be achieved.

88

What can be inferred from this picture is that de-
veloped countries are producing well above their needs
with high technology support and heavy subsidies to
farmers. As a result, they accumulate inventories or ex-
port to the deficit countries of these products. In other
words, when such overproduction occurs in rich coun-
tries, the populous in underdeveloped nations cannot
produce enough food to meet their needs. In many
cases, the best agricultural areas are intended for the
production of raw materials for industry or for the gen-
eration of foreign exchange by exports to industrialized
countries.

In the next twenty or thirty years, farmers, subsist-
ence farmers, and rulers of underdeveloped countries
will have the challenge of providing affordable food for
millions of people who world population every year. In
addition, they will have to increase production with
profitable technologies and without degradation of their
natural resources.

In underdeveloped countries, or regions such as
the Brazilian Northeast, agriculture has not produced
enough to supply the large population. An important
part of your needs are met by importing from other re-
gions or even from abroad.

Agriculture in this region is long overdue and pri-
orities are more for the production of raw materials and

89

products for export. Even the projects of public irriga-
tion are directed primarily to the production of fruit for
this purpose, neglecting the production of grains.

"The global financial turmoil (2008) makes it
more difficult to forecast the behavior of food produc-
tion and prices in the coming years. To ensure the food
security of a growing population, it is necessary to in-
vest. However, the challenge is great given the scarcity
of credit and the high price of seeds and fertilizers,
"says the World Bank.

The current global perception is of a world food
crisis in the coming years, especially in the face of bio-
fuel competition.

90

NEW MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT

"Be not conformed to this world."
(RM 12.2)

Economic progress has always been one of the as-
pirations of the people. Especially in recent decades,
the quest for prosperity and improvement in living
standards has become the greatest obsession of all na-
tions in the North and South. In order to achieve these
objectives, countries have committed themselves with
all possible weapons. Developing technologies, taking
advantage of natural resources, engaging in wars of
domination, including establishing colonial estates and
following ideologies and political and economic doc-
trines that were intended to guarantee success to
achieve this purpose.

Economic history shows that the result of this race
for wealth was the emergence of two worlds: a small
minority of wealthy nations, where there was a great
increase in income and accumulation of material goods;
on the other hand, about 60 or 70% of the world popu-
lation, distributed in hundreds of countries of Africa,
Latin America and Asia, subsisting in a general eco-
nomic backwardness and poverty. The main character-
istics of these countries are hunger, precarious health
conditions, poor housing conditions and illiterate edu-
cational patterns, and poor quality of education for the
majority of the population.

91

Thus, the world situation is marked by various
economic, social and religious distortions. The Church
says that it is not an evil to achieve a better way of life,
but it is wrong when the development is oriented in
having and not in being.

It is unlikely that the economic systems and doc-
trines pursued so far in the world can correct such seri-
ous inequalities. These are fundamentally derived from
economic systems guided by the principle of profit as
the engine of economics, or from political regimes
where a totalitarian atheist state prevails, without lib-
erty and respect for human rights.

It is necessary and urgent, as a consequence of this
situation, to carry out an educative and enlightening
work of the leaders, leaders and the population in order
to contribute to the formulation and adoption of new
policies of more equitable economic development and
with less poverty and hunger.

The mission entrusted by Christ to his Church is
not of a political, economic or social order. The end
which was proposed is of a religious nature, but from
this mismatch is the responsibility of serving the human
community according to the divine law and of creating
works destined to come to all, especially the poor
(Gaudium et spes).

In fact, the Church has not been unaware of this
reality and thinks that much can help in making the

92

family of men and their history more humane. Sup-
ported by the word of God and the spirit of the gospel,
the Church has, in the last hundred years, proclaimed in
numerous documents of the Holy Popes the itineraries
and ways of working to build a more humane, fraternal,
peace.

This proclamation can be found in the Church's
Social Agenda, outlined briefly in the second part of
this book. Thus, the purpose of this text, prepared by a
professor of economics theory, has been devoted thirty
years to the problems of these problems, and offers el-
ements to assist the rulers in their mission of diffusion
of a new model of development economic and Chris-
tian.

The encyclical Social Solicitude of John Paul II
summarizes this masterfully: "True development can-
not exist in the mere accumulation of wealth and in the
greater availability of goods and services."

Moreover, the late Pope says, if this is achieved at
the expense of the underdevelopment of the masses and
"without taking into account the social, cultural and
spiritual dimensions of the human being."

The twenty-first century's imperative, according
to Doctrine Social, is to reduce inequalities in the dis-
tribution of goods, greater educational opportunities,
protection of the environment and sustainable develop-
ment.

93

Pope Benedict XVI, receiving the representatives
of the Pontifical Plenary Academy of Social Sciences,
affirmed that "the commitment for human dignity is
based on two axes: the horizontal, represented by soli-
darity and subsidiarity and the vertical represented by
the common good."

The first country is critical to achieving the devel-
opment true is to implement policies recognize and 'sit-
uated the value of the person hum at its center. "

94

MODEL SCHEME OF THE NEW MODEL
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MODEL

95

THIRD PART
THE QUESTION OF POVERTY

96

"I am deeply convinced that we can
rid the world of poverty if we are de-
termined to do so. Whether they be
revolutionary, liberal, conservative,
young or old, we can join forces to

solve this problem. "
Muhammad Yunes
Nobel Prize in Economics, 2006

97

INTRODUCTION

Over the past two hundred years, more than a
dozen new and millennial nations have become devel-
oped and rich. At the same time, more than a hundred
other nations have remained or become underdevel-
oped or poor.

The rich world came to be called the First World.
The second was socialist, formed after the First World
War, which remained isolated until the fall of the Berlin
Wall (1989). At the height of its existence it comprised
thirty countries and one third of the world population.
In this block, the state ownership of the means of pro-
duction, central planning, the single-party system, and
economic integration within these countries was pre-
dicted. The Third World corresponded to a large major-
ity of underdeveloped countries. They were non-
aligned countries, neither with the rich nor with the so-
cialists.

According to the studies of Prof. Jeffrey Sachs
(2005), the rich world (above $ 20,000 per capita) in-
cluded the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Ja-
pan, Australia, and New Zealand. The middle - income
countries (between $ 4,000 and $ 20,000) I understood
most of Asia Oriental (such as South Korea and Singa-
pore), Europe Central and former Union Soviet and
Latin America. The Wonderland higher low income
(between $ 2,000 and $ 4,000) include part of South

98

America, Asia Meridional and East Asia. Countries be-
low $ 2,000 are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and
South Asia.

We must remember that the human race has ad-
vanced on many important fronts, despite the emer-
gence of the great problems of poverty. The United Na-
tions family, for example, has grown since the end of
World War II from 51 to 184 countries, and many na-
tions have guaranteed their freedom and self-determi-
nation.

Inter Product in gross increased from US$ 3 tril-
lion to $ 44 trillion and the global population has grown
more than doubled from 2.5 billion to over 6 billion.
There has been a substantial increase in life expectancy
and the dramatic decrease in infant mortality in under-
developed countries. The world is today safer than a na-
ked clear holocaust. Medical boundaries have reached
unimaginable limits, through drugs and complex organ
transplantation operations.

However, according to David S. Landes, advances
in technology have not been equitably distributed, nei-
ther globally nor within nations. We live see today a
world of inequalities, as with Brazil, which is among
the worst situation in particular around the planet earth.