An opportunity in the risk

Written by Vittorio Pelligra Sunday, 27 June 2010 18:27

The "pearl" according to the entrepreneur of the Economy of Communion project

An opportunity in the risk 

By Vittorio Pelligra
Published in Città Nuova n.12/2010 of June 25, 2010

"The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it"

Of course, we are all that merchant that sells everything he has to acquire a precious pearl, but in a simpler interpretation, that I also like, it is the model of the true entrepreneur who sees an opportunity in the risk rather than seeing a paralyzing cost.

In the parable of the pearl, differently than that of the "treasure in the fields" in other verses, what is underlined is the idea of the "diligent search". While the treasure is stumbled upon by chance, the finding of the pearl is the fruit of active searching and of the ability of the merchant to glimpse in that object something that others were not able to recognize.

It is the entrepreneur who uses ingenuity, who dares for a greater good which is not only profit, but also the work that creates, the well-being that spreads, the quality of life of his clients. What come to my mind are the social entrepreneurs or those of the Economy of Communion project: passionate people, dedicated, who place their own talents at the service of others to contribute to a collective good and promote the quality of life of their community.

Vatican Radio - 16/06/2010

Written by Antonella Ferrucci Thursday, 17 June 2010 17:01

Interview with Luigino Bruni on Vatican Radio, June 16, 2010.

May businesses be social

Can the social entrepreneur, remembered in Benedict XVI´s Caritas in Veritate, be a model for how to go beyond the economic crisis? On ONE-O-FIVE LIVE, Vatican Radio´s live program, Prof. Luigino Bruni gives his reflections. Bruni is professor of political economy at the University of Milano-Bicocca, professor at Sophia University Institute of the Focolare Movement in Loppiano (Florence, Italy) and coordinator of the International Commission of the "Economy of Communion". Tomorrow, in Incisa Valdarno (Florence), the Preparatory Seminar for the 46th Social Week of Italian Catholics will be held on these topics.

Social enterprise is one of the great innovations of the last twenty years in Italy because it arises from an intuition that, to me, is fundamental: that is, a business is truly social when it includes those who are outside of it, when it is capable of making protagonists out of marginal or excluded realities, for mutual benefit. After all, when the social enterprise arises in the 1990s, it does this: subjects that are excluded from the productive system, with hardships or forms of handicap, are then included, and this inclusion leads to development. Today the term "social enterprise", or social business, is meant in the widest sense. It is not used only to describe a social cooperative, but any kind of business that is truly constructive of the common good, because it places the person at the center.

Little ways to holiness: How unity has grown in our family

Written by Sarah Mundell Wednesday, 16 June 2010 18:58

There is no translation available

Economy, God and Family Life

Little ways to holiness: How unity has grown in our family

By Paul Bambrick-Santoyo
Published in Living City, July 2010

We live in New Jersey with our three children: Ana, Maria and Nicholas. From the time we got married it was important for my wife and me to give God first place, no matter the cost. That was often put to the test in the beginning of our marriage. Gabriela (Gabri) was in medical school in Mexico, and so I took the only job that I could find there, teaching English. At the time, I had sworn that I would never be a teacher, but I felt it was important to follow Gabri to Mexico so that she could complete her medical degree. So I chose to become an English teacher, which in Mexico was the equivalent of a salary below the poverty line. As a matter of fact, we were blessed with God’s providence and never lacked for food or clothing or basic needs, even when Ana and Maria were born. Six years later, we felt the time was right to leave Mexico and move to Newark, New Jersey, so that I could start a job training others to teach and manage schools for some of the most challenging children. The fellowship offered very little money, but we prayed about it and felt that God was leading us in this direction. With only $1,000 in the bank, we took the plunge and moved from Mexico City to Newark.

“It pays to do God’s will”

Written by Sarah Mundell Wednesday, 16 June 2010 18:36

There is no translation available

Living City publishes more experiences on God´s Providence

"It Pays to do God´s Will"

From Living City, July 2010

The raise

I recently took a new job managing a portion of a website. My work began generating a lot of revenue. As the end of the year approached, my husband and I were trying to decide whether or not I should ask for a raise. As a new employee, I didn’t feel entitled to more money, but my husband, who works with me, thought it was perfectly appropriate to ask. We decided that God knew what was best and didn’t worry about it.

That same week, I was at home trying to add news items to the Focolare website, but I didn’t finish. The next morning at work, I really wanted to get back to it, but I knew it wasn’t the will of God to do personal work while I was on the clock...

Avvenire - 11/06/2010

Written by Andrea Galli Friday, 11 June 2010 10:52

The abuse of the "gross domestic product" reveals the alienating essence of capitalism. An antidote? The teachings of the Gospel. Geminello Alvi´s provocations raise debate

But salvation does not come from the GDP

By Andrea Galli
Published in Avvenire on 11/06/2010

"For years, any kind of universal happiness was made to depend on newspapers and the consensus of economists, on the nasal and muttering voice of Greenspan, while he dissertated on tenths of percents of GDP. But last year, this insistent relishing ended up as we know: with a collapse of the GDP which brought the world back into a Depression, as never experienced since the 1930s". This is how Geminello Alvi opens his presentation in the latest issue of Equilibri, a journal in favor of sustainable development, published quarterly by Mulino and dedicated to a topic that has come back in the last few years and is accomplice to the crisis. The question? Whether the Gross Domestic Product - the most successful economic political indicator from post-World War II to today and whose strength of coercion on global economic politics remains crushing - is adequate or not. Just nine months ago, the "Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress", coordinated by Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Jean-Paul Fitoussi, handed over its report to Nicolas sarkosy. This was one the most explicit acts towards finding different evaluation parameters of the economic status of countries and societies - parameters that are, at the same time, capable of offering a way out of the "religion of the number", as the French president has called it.

God knows what you need

Written by Sarah Mundell Friday, 07 May 2010 17:09

God knows what you need

Experiences published in Living City, March 2010

I had enough money for food, but no medical insurance. Because of my illness, I urgently needed to get a certain medication that was more than the money I had on hand. I really didn’t know what I was going to do.

After worrying about it for a couple of hours, I decided to go ahead to the pharmacy and buy the medicine, confident that God wouldn’t let me go without food. When I was about to pay, a young man whom I didn’t know came up to me and said, “Let me pay for your medicine.” I was astounded! It was as if Jesus himself had come in that young man to solve my problem.  —M. M. 

Haiti: Life after the quake

Written by Sarah Mundell Friday, 07 May 2010 17:03

Haiti: Life after the quake 

By Emilie Christy 

“We are experiencing trouble on every side, but we are not crushed,” writes Sr. Marie Thé, a Focolare friend from Carice, Haiti. “We trust in God who loves us immensely. Our people will not die; they will live.”

After the January earthquake, many have left Port-au-Prince to find help in the north of the country, near the border with the Dominican Republic. “They arrived hungry, having lost all they had and nowhere to go,” says Wilfrid Joachin, Focolare local coordinator in Mont-Organisé, a city in the north. “The children in the Focolare international Adoptions at a Distance program are all safe, but almost every family experienced losses, because many relocate to the capital either for studies or for work.”

The Focolare community in Mont-Organisé  decided to build a welcoming center for families on a piece of land that was given to them years ago. In just a few days after the earthquake the US$47,000 needed to provide housing for twenty families has been already received. Meanwhile, a distribution center for clothing, food and medical help is being organized. Aid is channeled through the Focolare communities in the Dominican Republic, especially those closer to Haiti.

La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno - 3/05/2010

Written by Gino Dato Tuesday, 04 May 2010 21:37

A conversation with Luigino Bruni, political economist

The Market Changes the Soul (or it sells it)

By Gino Dato

Published in La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno (The Midday Gazette) on 3/05/2010

"In the last two centuries, it has reached extraordinary economic, technological and civil results...but today it has become obsolete." We´re talking with Luigino Bruni, professor of political economy at the University of Milano-Bicocca, about capitalism and it´s present and future fate. In fact, in the past, it made us freer individuals and more equal amongst one another, but it no longer raises peoples´well-being along with the increments in goods production. Where the "scarce good" marks the relationship with others and the environment, the god of goods no longer deserves to be adored and is affecting society. Bruni´s courageous writing, The Ethos of the Market (Bruno Modadori, ed.), covers the relationship between capitalism and ethics.

You say that capitalism has made us freer and more equal. What does that mean? 
"It´s enough to look at Medieval civilization to realize the difference (and therefore the inequality) between the life expectations of a serf´s son and the son of a feudal lord. They were not equal in these expectations. This happens in a feudal society, with a very low level of civilization, in which the relationships between persons were "relationships of power". It was the same in the market, in politics, in culture...".

The Market Changes the Soul (or sells it)

The Greek Crisis and We Consumers

Written by Maddalena Maltese Monday, 03 May 2010 10:33

The Hellenic situation is a warning for other nations: the crisis which began in 2007 continues, and the risk is that it will extend. "No kind of alarmism immediately begins to modify consumption and lifestyle," says Alessandra Smerilli, professor of political economy.

The Greek Crisis and We Consumers

By Maddalena Maltese
Published on www.cittanuova.it on 30/04/2010

A sigh of relief was breathed after Germany agreed on the aid program for Greece - now on the edge of economical and financial failure. But these buffers are not the radical solution needed to the crisis that has enveloped the world economy since 2007. We spoke with Alessandrao Smerilli, professor of economy at the Pontifical University Auxilium of Rome. 

Let´s analyze Greece´s situation...
Greece finds itself in a state of bankruptcy, that is, its public spending is out of control, and it is not capable of fulfilling its international commitments. It cannot pay back it debts and this has repercussions on markets and on investors. Some responsibility undoubtedly falls on the government for not having tightened spending by taking unpopular measures, like the usually cuts in healthcare and social services. Fearing protests, it acted very late and did not take drastic action, as ought to be done in these cases. On the other hand, Europe is also responsible, because it did not intervene right away for electoral reasons. 

Economy of Communion on campus

Written by Sarah Mundell Wednesday, 28 April 2010 17:11

There is no translation available

Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Values at Trinity University 

Economy of Communion on campus

By Linda Specht
Published in Living City (April 2010) 

 “May the Lord grant that many scholars and economic experts take on the Economy of Communion as a viable resource to shape a new shared world order!” Cardinal Tarcisio Bertoni, Vatican Secretary of State, said in his homily at Chiara Lubich’s funeral on March 18, 2008. He was calling for the involvement of members of the academic community in bringing ahead the Economy of Communion in Freedom (EoC), an innovative economic system based on a culture of giving – instead of a culture of having – and applied in more than 700 businesses worldwide (www.edc-online.org).  

 The urgency of these “marching orders” was made more explicit by Pope Benedict XVI in his latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate. Observing that “the traditionally valid distinction between profit-based companies and nonprofit organizations can no longer do full justice to reality or offer practical direction for the future,” the Holy Father identified “a broad intermediate area ... between the two types of enterprise.” He placed the EoC in this context, describing “a broad new composite reality embracing the private and public spheres, one which does not exclude profit, but instead considers it a means for achieving human and social ends.” The EoC may be seen as both an answer to the challenges of our current economic problems and as fertile ground for exploration and development by the academic community.

 

Avvenire - 21/04/2010

Written by Luca Miele Wednesday, 21 April 2010 13:25

A book by Luigino Bruni on the social foundations of the economy

Doing business? Before everything, it´s a question of fraternity

By Luca Miele
Published in Avvenire on 21/04/2010

What nexus links market and community? Does the first establish or amputate the second, guarantee it´s survival or betray its fundamental vocation? And still: where does the individual - whose "birth" is one of the great contributions of modern times - belong in respect to the market and the community? Luigino Bruni in the book Ethos of the Market (Bruno Mondadore, pp.240, 18 Euro) searches the anthropological foundations of the economy, borrowing the theoretical system that supports his investigation from studies by Roberto Esposito. "The munus that the communitas shares," writes Esposito in Communitas, "is neither property nor a belonging. It is not having, but on the contrary, is a debt, a pledge, a gift-to-give. The subjects in a community are united by a 'responsibility' that makes them not entirely masters of themselves. More precisely, it expropriates them from their initial ownership - it is worth saying - from their subjectivity."

The Eoc in the light of the...Sun (Sole 24 Ore)

Written by Antonella Ferrucci Saturday, 10 April 2010 12:41

The "24 Hour Sun" (Sole 24 Ore) dedicated a long article to the Lionello Industrial Park of Loppiano last April 3. An interview with the author.

The Eoc in the light of the...Sun (Sole 24 Ore)

By Chiara Andreola

Published on www.cittanuova.it on 9/04/2010

That it holds academic dignity is already a well-known fact: from the honorary degrees given to Chiara Lubich, to the work of economists like Luigino Bruni and Stefano Zamagni, to the citations in the encyclical Caritas in Veritate - the Economy of Communion is already, for some time now, object of growing attention and study in the economic world. What´s perhaps missing is corresponding attention by the media. But now, even the biggest Italian economic daily newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore (The 24 Hour Sun), landed at the Lionello Bonfante Industrial Park in Loppiano (Florence, Italy), with journalist Paolo Bricco. Last April 3, the newspaper of the General Confederation of Italian Industry dedicated a long article to this productive operation, in which 25 businesses work according to the principles of the EoC. How Bricco arrived to the shores of the Arno river, he tells us himself, "First of all, my wife is part of the Focolare Movement, and she introduced me to this reality. But there is also an intellectual reason (I came), because I deal with the history of economic theories."

Il Sole 24 ore - 03/04/2010

Written by Paolo Bricco Thursday, 08 April 2010 21:55

The double entry. A small town with 25 companies that take on the challenge of uniting business with person-centeredness.

If profit goes (partially) to the poor

In Incisa in Val d´Arno, among the businesses of the Focolare: a third of the profits given to those with less

By Paolo Bricco

Published in Sole 24 ore on April 3, 2010

A woman nervously continued to turn herself around and look behind her. One, two, three, ten times a day. The others did not understand what she had. They thought it was a nervous tick. She had worked in the factories of third-party textile goods and footwear manufacturers for a lifetime, here in Val d´Arno. "I couldn´t explain myself," Emanuela Camisciotto says today, "because in the new business where I had ended up, the department head wasn´t always at our backs with a stopwatch, calculating how much time it was taking us to finish sewing an item. And I almost, almost wasn´t even able to understand why they didn´t insult me. For me, that was normal. It had always been like that. Here, they asked me, 'Please, can you do this? Please, can you do that?'" Smiling, she concludes, "Now, I don´t look behind me anymore."

The Tablet - 13/03/2010

Written by Daniel Finn Monday, 05 April 2010 16:35

There is no translation available

Catholic ethics in public life

Benedict's third way

By Daniel Finn
Published on The Tablet 13 march 2010

When the bishops of England and Wales issued their pre-election statement, 'Choosing the Common Good', last week, they cited the Pope's encyclical Caritas in Veritate as highly relevant to efforts to rethink economic life after the recent financial crisis. But what lies behind it?

Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical, Caritas in Veritate received kudos from nearly all quarters when it appeared last summer. However, little has been said about the economics in the document, and in particular about what strains or schools of economic thought the Pope was relying upon. This issue becomes more important when we recognise that Benedict's view of economic life marks a significant evolution in papal thought.

Il Sole 24 ore - 25/03/2010

Written by Gianfranco Fabi Thursday, 25 March 2010 12:37

From Gianfranco Fabi´s Blog on Sole24Ore, the review of Luigino Bruni´s latest book

 

A Breath of Ethos that Gives Life to the Free Market 

By Gianfranco Fabi

Published on Sole 24 Ore 25/03/2010

 

The concept of market spans over the entire history of economic thought. In the third century before Christ, Aristotle presents the first analytical indications on the importance of exchange, business, money and the division of labor. With Thomas Aquinas, we´re presented with the first meritorious assessments that are significantly open, for that time, to the legitimacy of interest on loans, surpassing the traditional condemnation of usury.

But it is with classic economics, and especially with Adam Smith, that the market becomes such an important foundation for the economic reality, an instrument of expression of freedom of producers and consumers. What particularly comes into relief is the "invisible hand" capable of transforming the persuit of individual interests in the progressive conquest of an always better collective well-being.

 

 

François Neveux, Entrepreneur and Inventor

Written by Maria Grazia Baroni Monday, 22 March 2010 18:26

Cittá Nuova Publishers presents the first Italian translation of this book. It is the profile of a man who knew how to invest courageously. Destination: Brazil.

François Neveux, Entrepreneur and Inventor

By Maria Grazia Baroni
Published on  Cittanuova.it on 18/03/2010 

Alphonse de Lamartine, a 17th century writer, said, "Utopias are nothing but premature truth", which is difficult to avoid if one lives his existence for others, as did François Neveux.

Born in France, in 1936, he soon established himself in the entrepreneurial field and as a patent inventor (with a good 35 inventions). Up to this point, this is nothing out of the ordinary. He was a man with a shining career, like that of many businessmen if it wasn´t for the way he acted towards clients, employees and even the competition, putting the person at the center of the job.

Business People - 03/2010

Written by Chiara Munafò Wednesday, 10 March 2010 23:38

A Trip to the Most Original Industrial Park in Existence

The 33% Rule

By Chiara Munafò

Published in Business People 03/2010

 

It is the law of the Economy of Communion, invented by Chiara Lubich. Near Florence, there is a business center that, believe us, divides their profits into three equal parts: for reinvestment, for charity and for formation. Let´s see if it actually works. 

Do you want your business to grow? Allot a third of your profits to the poor, a third as reinvestment in your business and a third to formation of a new humanity. 
It is the rule of the Economy of Communion (EoC), a business model thought of by Chiara Lubich - the same woman who founded the Focolare Movement - and which is applied at Loppiano, in the province of Florence. 

Microfinance: Giving Credit to Relationships

Written by Antonella Ferrucci Friday, 26 February 2010 17:18

Book review of Microfinance by Antonio Androni and Vittorio Pelligra, Il Mulino Publisher

Microfinance: Giving Credit to Relationships

 

In 2006, Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, historical promoter of microcredit programs, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. From that moment onwards, many commentators and specialists literally "jumped on the winner´s wagon," excessively inflating the number of articles and publications on microfinance. During these three years, we have heard two main versions: those who claim to redirect the success of microcredit to a sterile technical and operative question, and those instead who have described it - maybe even more disturbingly - as a "bucolic" phenomenon of rustic solidarity.

Evidently, both campaigns propose an erroneous or at least reductive image of the phenomenon. Andreoni and Pelligra have already been studying this topic for an unquestioned amount of time, and the merit of their book rests in the fact that it is able to successfully frame the phenomenon of microfinance within a well-defined methodological furrow. This innovative, and never as before necessary, operation allows the authors to provide an adequate and unified foundation - theoretical and philosophical-cultural - to the phenomenon of microfinance in its multiple dimensions.

Il Sole 24 ore - 18/02/2010

Written by Francesco Gaeta Friday, 19 February 2010 18:56

There is no translation available

Oltre il profitto:  Adam Smith ai tempi dei bonus

di Francesco Gaeta
pubblicato sul Sole 24 ore il 18/02/2010

«Se 20 anni fa un allievo fosse venuto all'esame a dirmi che fine dell'impresa è realizzare profitto non avrebbe avuto la seconda domanda. Oggi invece, in molti atenei, va avanti fino al 30 cum laude». Giulio Sapelli, vecchia guardia olivettiana al servizio dell'accademia (università di Milano), la mette giù così per spiegare quel che è accaduto negli ultimi due decenni circa il nesso tra obiettivi e strumenti d'impresa.

Uno smottamento semantico che ha confuso il fine - migliorare la qualità della vita producendo beni e distribuendo reddito - con il mezzo, ovvero tingere di nero l'ultima voce di bilancio. Un ribaltamento diventato frana in cui, a sentir lui, sono state trascinate multinazionali e società di rating, e perfino governi e banche centrali. L'invisibile pifferaio magico che ne ha guidato la danza ha lasciato cadere dietro di sé parole come merito, bonus, competizione, concorrenza. Fino al ciglio di un burrone che ci riguarda tutti.

The person in the first place

Written by Chiara Andreola Tuesday, 02 February 2010 18:14

The problem of employment has even strongly found it´s way into the Pope´s latest Angelus. What proposals can be made to react to the crisis? Three questions for Alberto Ferrucci, director of EoC Online.

The person in the first place

The question of work continues to be central in the Italian political, economic and social panorama. Names like Eutelia, Fiat and Alcoa have appeared in the first pages of newspapers for some time already, sad testimonies of more vast employment problems. Even the pope, in the Angelus on Sunday, January 31, faced up to the question, making specific references to the workers of the businesses in question who are present at Saint Peter´s Square. Calling everyone back to "a sense of responsibility" in front of the crisis, he associated these examples with the recent recall by the CEI (Central European Initiative) to guarantee work that isadequate to sustain families. It was a call that arrived exactly the day before the publication of the data on unemployment made by Eurostat, the offical statistics of the European Union. Unemployment percentages are rising all over Europe, reaching 22.8% in Lituania and even 19.5 percent in Spain, until recently shown as land of the new economic miracle. How can we interpret these data, and what should be proposed in front of such a dark picture? We speak with Alberto Ferucci, head director of EoC Online - Newsletter of the Economy of Communion.