What can be expected of the new encyclical "Caritas in veritate"?

Antonella Ferrucci: From the perspective of the EOC, what do you expect from this new encyclical?

Luigino Bruni: “I don´t expect an encyclical that speaks of the financial crisis, because if it would, it would quickly become out-of-date.  Therefore, I´m certain that the encyclical will recapture the great themes of Populorum Progressio and of Centesimus Annus, and namely, an analysis and critique of the ethical and anthropological foundations of capitalism.  The market is an institution that arises from the heart of medieval Christianity, from Franciscan, Hebrew, and Thomistic thought. Capitalism, instead, is the form that the market economy takes on in modern times. The Church is at the roots of a market that recognizes civil values, but it cannot accept a market logic that becomes the only criteria on which to build a life in common, typical of capitalism. So I expect a critique of capitalism in order to save the market economy, the inheritance of Christian humanism. The main critique towards capitalism today, going beyond Centesimus Annus and bringing back a few central petitions presented in Populorum Progressio, is an anthropological one: the human being is greater than the figure of consumer, of saver, also of entrepreneur and citizen. It´s a person – greater than any ideology, even that of capitalism. The Church, in its institutions and in its charisms, loves the cultural conquests of the market economy (especially when we compare it with a planned or feudal economy). Therefore, those who feel the same must be critical in regards to that fundamentalism of capitalism, which is the most radical atheist religion in post-modernism as it eliminates the need for God at the roots."

EOC Summer School

“The economy of communion: theory and practice”

A basic overview of the upcoming EOC Summer School, to take place in September, in Rocca di Papa, Italy. The three and a half days of "work" will be subdivided into two morning sessions and two afternoon sessions, each led by an expert and covering a specific topic. Participating professors include Maria Gabriella Baldarelli, Luigino Bruni, Luca Crivelli, Benedetto Gui, Giampietro Parolin, Vittorio Pelligra, Alessandra Smerilli, each entrusted with two or more working sessions.

We would remind everyone that the registrations for the Summer School must be sent by July 15 to the following email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Leo Andringa, member of the International Economy of Communion Commission, is in charge of the organization of the meeting.  For any questions, he may be reached at: email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone tel. 0039 06 941 3489 - 0039 3496 165 186 (mobile)

Please find the program attached: program

Editorial

Economy, which incentives?

by Alberto Ferrucci
published in Città Nuova N. 11/2009

The whole world is indignant for the incredible bonuses poured upon 70 executives so that they would not abandon the AIG insurance agency, in which they had to put in tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to avoid failure.

Even if chasing them away would be a just recompense, it´s logical that who has valid executives tries to keep them and who doesn´t have them tries to attract them: but with which incentives? In recent years, stock options are fashionable as are business shares offered at reduced prices, a much greater incentive when, with many profits, one is able to increase their value on the stock market.

Presentation of two books from Cidade Nova on the occasion of the Brazilian EOC Congress

Books that recount the first 18 years of EOC

Among the many initiatives for the anniversary of the EOC, the Brazilian publishing house Cidade Nova launched two books that document highlights of the first 18 years of the EOC project.
Pessoas que fazem a Economia de Comunhão (People who make-up the Economy of Communion), by journalist Marcello Riella Benites, gathers interviews of more than 49 "protagnists" of the Economy of Communion.  They include scholars, people who receive or have received help, entrepreneurs, employees and shareholders. It´s a book-interview which starts from the love that those interviewed had towards the poor even before the beginning of the project. It then continues to tell how each of them met the EOC and how this encounter changed their lives. The chapters analyze the variety of experiences within the project and give a voice to its protagonists.

François Neveux: empresário economicamente incorreto (Francois Neveux: An Economically Flawed Entrepreneur) by Isaline Dutru tells the story of the great protagonist of the French EOC who died in 2006. He was an inventor and very successful and generous entrepreneur.  Within in the Economy of Communion project, he found the right opportunity to carry out his own project of social inclusion. Francois offered his own technology to EOC businesses in Brazil, but he didn´t stop there.  Personally involved in one of these Brazilian businesses, often traveling to Brazil, he left an indeliable mark among the local entrepreneurs for his strong and puntual determination to make profits that would be sent to the poor. In the book´s title, the phrase "economically flawed" refers to his "lack" of the capitalistic ethic created by self-centered accumulation. The pages of this biography, written by Dutru, are filled with emotion.

To get beyond the economic crisis:

The Economy of Communion celebrates 18 years

Conference given by Stefano Zamagni

Friday May 29, in the auditorium of Loppiano - Incisa Val d´Arno - for the occasion the 18th anniversary of the birth of the Economy of Communion, Prof. Stefano Zamagni gave his second Professorship at Sophia University on the theme: To get beyond the economic crisis: The Economy of Communion celebrates 18 years.

We report the main portion of the conference here (available only in Italian), with a presentation by Piero Coda and Luigino Bruni. To see the video, it is necessary to install the free Microsoft Silverlight software by clicking on the banner below.

In Barcelona, a round table about the EOC and the Mondragón Cooperative

New economic models put the person at the center

Last June 9, in Barcelona´s Fort Pienc Civic Center, 80 people participated in a conference entitled "An Economy for the People", which presented the Mondragón Cooperative and the Economy of Communion as two alternatives to today´s more usual economic models.

Migual Ángel García Cestona, Professor of Business Economics at the Autonomous University of Barcellona, presented the experience of the Mondragón group, while Javier Espinosa Martínez, president of the Association for an Economy of Communion, familiarized participants with the EOC´s economic proposal, developments and characteristics.

Each single contribution to the Congress seemed to make up part of the mosaic that reveals what the EOC can bring to work and to today´s economy

EOC Congress in Spain: the maturity of the project and the businesses in relief

May 29, 1991:  Chiara Lubich launched the “Economia di Comunione (EdC)” project in Brazil.

Eighteen years later, on May 30-31, 2009, the EOC Congress in Madrid, with more than 100 people present, was almost like the project´s coming-of-age celebration.  Among participants were entrepreneurs, workers, university professors and… those “curious”, to say, those people desiring to know and delve into this economic initiative that puts the person at the center of its activity.

Latin American EOC Congress: in the dialogue between the first and second generation of EOC entrepreneurs, what comes to the forefront is the "Life" that has quietly taken root and grown over the last 18 years

The "Businesses of Communion" are a reality

The Latin American EOC Congress took place in Mariapoli Lia, 250 km. west of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The Mariapolis is located in the heart of Argentina´s "pampa umida", one of the world´s most extensive and fertile plains. The surrounding nature was dressed in its multi-color autumn tones, making the region particularly enchanting.

Two-hundred eighty-six people participated:  entrepreneurs, scholars, associates, suppliers, clients, consultants, students.  Of these, 237 were Argentinean, while 49 came from other countries: Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil.  This multi-nation "Latin American presence" was one of the congress´s main characteristics.

ABCDEconomy - by Luigino Bruni

The series of articles by Luigino Bruni, "ABCDEconomy", published weekly in Vita and proposed as a handbook, an ABC´s to the key words in economical behavior, concluded last week.  Our affectionate visitors have shown their great appreciation for these articles.

Believing to please our readers, we have listed the complete collection below (some are offered in English).

• ABCDEconomy "G" as in "Gift" - Part 1
• ABCDEconomy "G" as in "Gift" - Part 2
• ABCDEconomy "C" as in "Capital" - Part 1
• ABCDEconomy "C" as in "Capital"- Part 2
• ABCDEconomy "Dragonetti"
• ABCDEconomia "R" come "Reciprocità"
• ABCDEconomia "O" come "Organizzazione"
• ABCDEconomia "I" come "Interesse" - 1a puntata
• ABCDEconomia "I" come "Interesse" - 2a puntata
• ABCDEconomia "R" come "Regole"
• ABCDEconomia "R" come "Responsabilità"
• ABCDEconomia "I" come "Investimento"
• ABCDEconomia "B" come "Banca"
• ABCDEconomia "M" come "Mercato"
• ABCDEconomia "P" come "Profitto"
• ABCDEconomia - "F" come "Felicità"

Bruni, Luigino

L'Impresa civile (The Civil Enterprise)
An Italian path towards the market economy

Egea, Milano 2009

In this age of economic and financial crisis many things need to be rethought if we want to imagine and build a market economy and a model of sustainable development. Among these "things" is, undoubtfully, the business enterprise. It´s not enough that it produces quality, income, occupations - not even that it pays the right taxes. It´s always more evident that the business institution is called to "something more" which can truly render it a friend to the city in such a way that it would be considered as a builder-element of the civil fabric.

Issue 28 of the magazine "Economy of Communion - a new culture" is online

In this issue, the first after Chiara Lubich´s "departure" for heaven, what comes to light are various reflexions of representatives of the churches, of civil society and of culture about the relevance of her charism for economy world, and we report other news about the developments of the EOC project throughout the world.

The issue also contains a draft of the new "Guidelines on running and Economy of Communion business" and the abstracts of 20 new graduate theses about the Economy of Communion.

Go to the online edition

EdC n. 28 scarica il notiziario in formato di stampa

Report: Destination of 2008 EOC Profits

Experiences, news, images and amounts of the 2008 EOC help: a lively reciprocity between the businesses and people who share the spirit of the Economy of Communion.

download (Italian)