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.

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. 

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."

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.

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.

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.

Economia 2010, novità dal civile

Written by Paolo Loriga Sunday, 03 January 2010 11:46

Per l’Italia, piccoli segnali di ripresa. Ma cresceranno disoccupazione e precarietà. Le spiazzanti indicazioni dell’economista Zamagni.

Economia 2010, novità dal civile

di Paolo Lòriga
pubblicato su cittanuova.it il 3/01/2009

Non è male iniziare il 2010 con qualche granitica certezza: sarà l’anno dei Mondiali di calcio; le pensioni, da gennaio, saranno più magre; il prezzo del gas salirà del 2,8 per cento nel primo trimestre.Per la nazionale pedatoria, Lippi avrà le sue preoccupazioni. Ma niente a che vedere con quelle di troppe famiglia italiane, che continueranno a gestire un bilancio con entrate ridotte e crescenti uscite. In pari tempo, la Banca d’Italia registra un fenomeno che consideriamo preoccupante: la concentrazione della ricchezza, per cui il 10 per cento delle famiglie ne deteneva a fine 2008 il 44 per cento.

Allergic to family?

Written by Vittorio Pelligra Saturday, 21 November 2009 16:23

Allergic to family?

Written by Vittorio Pelligra

Published in Cittá Nuova N.21/2009

Una scelta per il vivere civile

Written by Vittorio Pelligra Friday, 25 September 2009 15:05

Una scelta per il vivere civile

di Vittorio Pelligra
pubblicato su www.cittanuova.it il 25/09/2009

Gli emendamenti al decreto sullo scudo fiscale hanno esteso la copertura ai capitali frutto di guadagni illeciti. Ma permettere di acquistare il diritto a violare la legge significa mettere in discussione il patto sociale.

Nel precedente editoriale mi ero soffermato su come lo scudo fiscale sia a tutti gli effetti un condono, con le relative inefficienze: più lo si usa, meno è efficace, tanto è vero che il gettito è sempre inferiore alle aspettative.

Non dimentichiamo poi i costi nascosti di tali provvedimenti, che non rientrano nei calcoli presentati dal governo: inviando ai cittadini il segnale che chi evade le tasse è il più furbo, si intacca la loro disponibilità a pagarle. Il rischio di perdere con ulteriore evasione futura più di quanto si sia incassato grazie allo scudo è dunque concreto.

The Encyclical and a "Fraternal" Market

Written by Paolo Loriga Monday, 10 August 2009 08:02

Interview with Stefano Zamagni

The Encyclical and a "Fraternal" Market

by Paolo Lòriga
Published in Città Nuova n.15/2009

Stefano Zamagni, professor of political economy at the University of Bologna, Italy, is a consultant of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the consulting body that follows the themes addressed by "Caritas in veritate".

Which do you consider as "Caritas in veritate´s" most innovative point?

"A first point is the invitation to overcome the separation between the economic and social spheres. In the last three centuries, modernity has left us a model of society which is based on the economic sphere, on one hand, and the social sphere on the other. The economic sphere has an iron-like logic which does not answer to other opinions, to the point that we say "business is business" – compensations occur in the social sphere. That is to say, the social sphere has to provide everything that the market economy typical of capitalism isn’t capable of producing on the plane of justice and equity. Let’s not forget that the welfare state, the social state, is son of this logic of separation. Eighth century thought, and especially 9th century thought - whether on the liberal or statist side of politics - does not alter that model.  Well, Benedict XVI´s encyclical tells us that this is an old way of thinking, because we´ve entered in the post-industrial society and therefore the social element must enter inside the economic one, not at its margin or following it. It’s a notable innovation that can allow the market to go back to being an instrument of civilization, of relationships, and of generative structures."