On our world, it coexists the situation of peoples deprived of the very basics for a dignified way of living with other societies where exist an overabundance of all kind of material goods.
This situation among others is clashing with the right to development we all have. Such development has to imply the development of all peoples. Secondly, our human development should be integrally done and not only over the material nor the economic.
At least, integral development of peoples should embrace the following dimensions:
- Economical dimension. We need to turn the situation where a lot of people lack basic needs into another where everyone has what they need.
- Social dimension. We need to transform a situation full of inequality injustice to other where equality relationships among people were grown.
- Political Dimension. Both social and economic development needs the political development. They need a political community searching for the common good and justice.
- Cultural dimension. Economical, social and political development is not possible without a cultural development, which allows humanizing the economic, social and political affairs.
- Spiritual dimension. The essential key to the cultural development of peoples is on the spiritual development of human existence.
- Religious Dimension. The human being needs to be opened to transcendence to fulfill an integral development.
All those dimensions cannot be split away. However, our society weakens the integral understanding of development. Too often the development is misunderstood as economic growth. Behind that there is only hidden a deformation of economy orientation, only guided by the biggest profitability and for the accumulation of wealth.
The social doctrine emphasizes that the development problem is essentially an ethical problem. There exists an underdevelopment (economic, social and political) because there exists a moral underdevelopment in humankind.
The previous is the main today’s obstruction for development. We need two things if we want to reach an integral development: Both a personal and social conversion and the overcoming of structures of sin that are dividing humankind.
But this is only possible through concrete improvements like increasing the amount of money on cooperation resources or reducing military expenses. The money reduced on military expenses should be invested in cooperation for development.
The social doctrine proposes three ideas:
The responsibility for development belongs to all of us. Impoverished peoples have to be the protagonist of their own development, overcoming on internal obstacles. At the same time, the international community has to contribute. The rich countries have to abandon the privileged domaining positions they hold today.
Impoverished people’s leadership has to be promoted on development. They have to be subjects instead of objects of development.
Humankind cultures need to dialogue. It is important to promote the intercultural dialogue to enrich the common heritage through impoverished people’s perspective.
If development is not reached by all peoples cannot be called development.
DSI sentence
This is what will guarantee man’s authentic development: his transition from less than human conditions to truly human ones.
Paul VI, Populorum progressio n.20
Act
What consequences should be shown in your life from universal brotherhood and from the existence of so many impoverished people?
What do you need to improve?
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The international community
The development isn’t just a rightful aspiration but a right for peoples. Because of that, when we look at reality through the eyes of impoverished people we can perceive the urgency on transforming the society model because there exists a great contrast between wealth, the big scientific and technical possibilities and the impoverishment of billions of people.
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Human labor 2
The work ’s not only a mean to have incomes. The social doctrine treats the work also as a duty, a self-responsibility and a responsibility with the neighbor. We must contribute with own work to both familiar and social life because it is an essential way of mutual service. It is a way humanization and self-fulfillment.
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Economic life 1
The economy is a critical reality in human beings life because it’s the way to organize the production and distribution of goods to answer people needs. Because of that, the economy is politics as the human activity on social life it is. There are no parallel realities: politics in one side and economy on the other.