Northcott, Michael S. “Economic Magical Thinking and the Divine Ecology of Love.” Environmental Humanities 8, no. 2 (2016): 263-69. doi:10.1215/22011919-3664378.
For Francis, the pursuit of commercial wealth creation, profit, and shareholder value as the orienting goal of market-based societies should be replaced with a reaffirmation of the priority of the virtues of love and justice over the expedient pursuit of maximal utility and wealth. The economy also needs to be regulated through a recovery of lawful government that directs economic activities toward moral ends: these should include the protection of thepoor and of species and ecosystems from destructive exploitation. Law is needed to regulate commercial activities that use natural resources so that they are remodeled onto the natural laws of the earth and support rather than destroy the self-replenishing character of functioning and biodiverse ecosystems and so ensure the continuing fertility and species richness of the natural environment. But law on its own is not enough. There also needs to be participation by all parties and respect for science in assessing the risks of economic and technological projects… (Adapted from author’s text)
© Michael S. Northcott 2016. Environmental Humanities is available online only and is published under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
- Francis. Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ of the Holy Father Francis on Care for our Common Home. Rome: Vatican Press, 2015.