Acta Francisci Pp. 633

The actions included on the agenda of the British G8 Presidency, which

point towards law as the golden thread of development - as well as the

consequent commitments to deal with tax avoidance and to ensure transpar-

ency and responsibility on the part of governments - are measures that

indicate the deep ethical roots of these problems, since, as my predecessor

Benedict XVI made clear, the present global crisis shows that ethics is not

something external to the economy, but is an integral and unavoidable ele-

ment of economic thought and action.

The long-term measures that are designed to ensure an adequate legal

framework for all economic actions, as well as the associated urgent measures

to resolve the global economic crisis, must be guided by the ethics of truth.

This includes, first and foremost, respect for the truth of man, who is not

simply an additional economic factor, or a disposable good, but is equipped

with a nature and a dignity that cannot be reduced to simple economic

calculus. Therefore concern for the fundamental material and spiritual wel-

fare of every human person is the starting-point for every political and eco-

nomic solution and the ultimate measure of its effectiveness and its ethical

validity.

Moreover, the goal of economics and politics is to serve humanity, begin-

ning with the poorest and most vulnerable wherever they may be, even in

their mothers' wombs. Every economic and political theory or action must

set about providing each inhabitant of the planet with the minimum where-

withal to live in dignity and freedom, with the possibility of supporting a

family, educating children, praising God and developing one's own human

potential. This is the main thing; in the absence of such a vision, all economic

activity is meaningless.

In this sense, the various grave economic and political challenges facing

today's world require a courageous change of attitude that will restore to the

end (the human person) and to the means (economics and politics) their

proper place. Money and other political and economic means must serve,

not rule, bearing in mind that, in a seemingly paradoxical way, free and

disinterested solidarity is the key to the smooth functioning of the global

economy.

I wished to share these thoughts with you, Prime Minister, with a view to

highlighting what is implicit in all political choices, but can sometimes be

forgotten: the primary importance of putting humanity, every single man

and woman, at the centre of all political and economic activity, both natio-