luca crivelli _ ricchezza e povertà dalla prospettiva della comunione
TRANSCRIPT
POVERTY AND RICHNESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNION
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Poverty and Richnessfrom the perspective of communion
Prof. Dr. Luca Crivelli, SUPSI/USI/SSPH+
30/05/2015
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«All happy families are alike,
each unhappy family is unhappy
in its own way»
(Leone Tolstoj).
30/05/2015 Prof. Dr. L. CRIVELLI
POVERTY AND RICHNESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNION
30/05/2015 Prof. Dr. L. CRIVELLI
Outline of the presentation
1 Richness, happiness and human flourishingi. Material prosperity and the related paradoxesii. The limits of the “science of happiness”iii. The perspective of communion
2 The (archaic and modern) semantic of povertyi. The multidimensional nature of povertyii. Poverty is one, but poverties are many
3 The EoC Decalogue on poverty and richness
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i. Material prosperity and the related paradoxes
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Com
plet
ely
diss
atis
fied
Tota
lly
happ
y
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Figure 1: GDP growth versus average level of happiness / percentage of very happy people (time trend)
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Figure 2: Income per capita and happiness (cross-section)Decreasing marginal return of material prosperity
Reddito pro capite ($)in scala logaritmica
Indice medio di felicità
Source: Deaton (2013), The Great Escape
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Fonte: Becchetti (2009), Nr. di osservazioni: 97’970
Most affluent people(10. Decile)
Poorest people(1. Decile)
Very happy 37.05% 20.07%
Rather happy 53.71% 45.16%
Not very happy 8.16% 26.19%
Not at all happy 1.08% 8.57%
Total 100.00% 100.00%
Table 1: Income and happiness (across social classes)
Prof. Dr. L. CRIVELLI30/05/2015
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The transformation of goods in “wellbeing” is a very tricky issue …
Prof. Dr. L. CRIVELLI30/05/2015
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… because of three treadmill-effectsSet-point and adaptation theory
Brickman-Campbell (1971) / Scitovsky (1976) / Kahneman (2003) “Hedonic treadmill”
Positional competition
Veblen (1899), Robert Frank (1985), Choosing the Right Pond“Positional treadmill”
Aspiration theoryEasterlin, Frey & Stutzer (2005) Layard (2005)“Aspiration and satisfaction treadmill”
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“Maybe it's the chocolate. Or its reputation for neutrality. Or how much it's known for investing in the health, education and employment of its people. Whatever the reason, Switzerland is the world's happiest place, according to an analysis of more than 150 countries.”
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New wellbeing indicators
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Figure 3: The geography of happiness
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ii. The limits of the «science of happiness»
1. The criticism of Daniel Kahneman
2. Sociality conceived as jealousy and rivalry.
3. Risk of a conservative drift in the cooperation and development policies (laissez-faire).
4. The criticism of Amartya Sen: «happiness is important but other (more objective) measures like experienced freedom and capabilities are even more important». We can imagine the existence of happy slaves!
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The happy planet index
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Happy Planet Index =
Life expectancy
at birthx
Average lifesatisfaction
Ecological Footprint + αx β
α = 3.35; β = 6.42
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Figure 4: Life expectancy
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Figure 5: Ecological footprint
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Figure 6: Happy Planet Ranking
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ii. The limits of the «science of happiness» (continued)
5. Individual and hedonistic understanding of happiness. Philosophers like Martha Nussbaum suggest to focus on the eudemonic dimension of happiness: human flourishing”.
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Beyond averages:Destitution and inequality
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ii. The limits of the «science of happiness» (continued)
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Prof. Dr. Luca CRIVELLI
Figure 7: Global trends in absolute poverty
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Figure 8: The geography of inequality: GINI index 2014
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iii. The perspective of communion
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A cosmopolitan idea of proximity
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POVERTY AND RICHNESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNION
30/05/2015 Prof. Dr. L. CRIVELLI
Outline of the presentation
1 Richness, happiness and human flourishingi. Material prosperity and the related paradoxesii. The limits of the “science of happiness”iii. The perspective of communion
2 The (archaic and modern) semantic of povertyi. The multidimensional nature of povertyii. Poverty is one, but poverties are many
3 The EoC Decalogue on poverty and richness
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i. The multidimensional nature of poverty
Prof. Dr. Luca CRIVELLI30/05/2015
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ii. Poverty is one, but poverties are many
• Faqir and Anawim • About 40 Arabic words starting by the
prefix bî-• Ebyon, Dal and Misken (in the bible
language)• The modern Poor.
30/05/2015 Prof. Dr. Luca CRIVELLI
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Three archetypes of poverty
1. Convivial poverty
2. Voluntary poverty
3. Modernized poverty
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Destitution (misery)
Prof. Dr. Luca CRIVELLI30/05/2015
POVERTY AND RICHNESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNION
30/05/2015 Prof. Dr. L. CRIVELLI
Outline of the presentation
1 Richness, happiness and human flourishingi. Material prosperity and the related paradoxesii. The limits of the “science of happiness”iii. The perspective of communion
2 The (archaic and modern) semantic of povertyi. The multidimensional nature of povertyii. Poverty is one, but poverties are many
3 The EoC Decalogue on poverty and richness
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (1)
1. A differentiated vision of the poor … who are considered as brothers and sisters, on an equal basis. They are people who cannot satisfy one or more basic needs (which ones should be carefully understood!).
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (2)
2. Convivial poverty, communion of goods and the joy that this evangelic life produces, have been the characteristics of the cultural environment in which the Movement developed in the II world war time.
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (3)
3. Voluntary poverty (which in the Gospel is a beatitude) and moderation are the prerequisites to put in practice a culture of giving.
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (4)
4. The poor are at the same time those who are next to us (culture of proximity), but also people living in other parts of the world (cosmopolitan perspective of neighborhood , “ut omnes unum sint” is the ultimate goal of EoC!).
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (5)
5. People in need are brothers and sisters with whom one can live a relation of reciprocity. This relationship is rooted in the deep understanding of gratuity.
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (6)
6. Objectives of EoC are twofold: (1) entrepreneurs sharing the profits (to fund aid programs and the spread of the culture of giving); (2) EoC firms engaging in the creation of new job opportunities or suitable and affordable goods and services for people in need.
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (7)
7. Entrepreneurs are excited by the idea to create innovation, to be generative, to solve problems. EoC entrepreneurs are pushed to go beyond the simple sharing of profits ... to solve social problem and to produce social innovation.
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (8)
8. According to EoC the aid to the poor can never be driven by immunity. Being an expression of a communitarian experience, when we help we become fragile, vulnerable, open to the risk of contamination … but exactly for this reason our helping act is therapeutic and definitely human.
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (9)
9. The most valuable asset to solve destitution is the gift of different eyes, the eyes of the “culture of giving” which allow people to see things that other are not able to see, to see the blessing hidden in the wounds.
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The EoC way to approaching poverty (10)
10.There is full awareness of the existing differences (in terms of capabilities, power to make a difference and responsibilities) between entrepreneurs and people in need. However, EoC actors are conscious that the way out of poverty always needs that people use its own feet! Nobody can free poor people from destitution but themselves (through empowerment, inclusion, having goals and passion in their own life).
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Intellectual Debts:• Angus Deaton (2013), The great escape• Majid Rahnema (2003), Quando la povertà diventa miseria• Luigino Bruni (2015), Un uomo di nome Giobbe
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