The Common Good, Human Dignity, and Inequality

By: Moussa Soumahoro

February 23, 2015

Inequality, Authentic Development, and Solidarity

Global economic development is a very important topic in our daily social life. By engaging with this topic, we can ensure that states find mechanisms to improve the life conditions of their citizens. Now, what mechanisms could permit our states to satisfy everyone and avoid any kind or form of inequality? How could states foster economic growth and bring about good life conditions for each of their citizens?
Dr. Basu’s lecture discussed some aspects of global economic development, focusing on South Korea and India. According to him, some good things could have bad effects and some bad things could have good effects. According to my point of view, this is quite right!

But, all around the world, there are many countries under dictatorship, and they do not experience high economic growth. Political and economic growth do not depend solely on hard work, but also on many other aspects, like social reality and mental models. I think the solution, which could allow us to achieve a just and equitable global economic development, is to focus on John Rawls’s theory, which he developed in his book A Theory of Justice. In that book, John Rawls argues that one must consider each person when distributing the benefits of economic growth. So, in order to avoid injustice and satisfy all, those who redistribute these benefits, states, should keep this in mind and remember that these benefits belong to the common good. If this is ignored, it could sometimes lead to violent social conflicts.

I think respect for human dignity is the key to achieve justice in our societies. In fact, when some people use the benefits of economic growth to enrich solely themselves, this denies the human rights and human dignity of those who are victims of that injustice.

I am not a Christian, but all the same, I think that my point of view is also shared by Catholic social thought because its main aim is to struggle against any form of social injustice. Indeed, in Pope Leon XIII’s manuscript Rerum Novarum, published in 1891, I noticed that he rejected social inequality. He hopes that economic development will provide good life conditions to every citizen.

So finally, states should keep in mind that the benefits of economic growth are a matter of common good, and they should redistribute it with equality.
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