Towards the Global Common Good: Towards a More Inclusive Economy. Personal Reflections

Eradicating poverty and addressing inequality are key to the global common good – the good of each and all persons (Populorum progressio). Each person’s inclusion in social, economic and political life is the ultimate criterion by which to assess how inclusive is the whole system: both micro (personal) responsibility for the good of one’s neighbour and macro system of rules and institutions are at stake. My reflections will develop three points: 1. Eradicating poverty: human dignity as an intrinsically relational notion ; 2. Addressing inequality: power asymmetries and the universal the universal destination of material and non-material goods; 3. Global common good: the primary goal is realizing the good of living-together (the good of the all-of-us, Benedict XVI, CV 7). Reflections conclude on the relation between time and space in the political dimension, that is on the importance of 'activating processes' rather than 'mapping spaces'.