GLOBALIZATION MUST NOT BE A NEW FORM OF COLONIALISM

VATICAN CITY, APR 27, 2001 (VIS) - Just after noon today, in the Consistory Hall, John Paul II received the participants in the plenary of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences who have been meeting on the theme of globalization with, as the Pope recalled, "particular attention to its ethical implications."

In his speech in English to the Academy members and experts who attended the four-day plenary session, the Pope highlighted how, "since the collapse of the collectivist system in Central and Eastern Europe, ... humanity has entered a new phase in which the market economy seems to have conquered virtually the entire world." He added that globalization's "prime characteristic is the increasing elimination of barriers to the movement of people, capital and goods. It enshrines a kind of triumph of the market and its logic" and "many people, especially the disadvantaged, experience this as something that has been forced upon them."

"Globalization 'a priori'," observed the Holy Father, "is neither good nor bad. It will be what people make of it. No system is an end in itself, and it is necessary to insist that globalization, like any other system, must be at the service of the human person; it must serve solidarity and the common good."

He indicated some of the Church's concerns regarding globalization, namely, that "it has quickly become a cultural phenomenon" and that "changes in technology and work relationships are moving too quickly for cultures to respond." He added that "at another level, the use made of discoveries in the biomedical field tend to catch legislators unprepared. ... Here we face a Promethean increase of power over human nature, to the point that the human genetic code itself is measured in terms of costs and benefits." Rather, emphasized the Pope, "new practices (must) respect human values and the common good."

Turning to the question of globalization and ethics, Pope John Paul affirmed that "not all forms of ethics are worthy of the name. We are seeing the emergence of patterns of ethical thinking which are by-products of globalization itself and which bear the stamp of utilitarianism. Ethics cannot be the justification or legitimation of a system, but rather the safeguard of all that is human in any system. Ethics demands that systems be attuned to the needs of man, and not that man be sacrificed for the sake of the system."

"The Church," underscored the Pope, "continues to affirm that ethical discernment in the context of globalization must be based upon two inseparable principles: First, the inalienable value of the human person" who "must always be an end and not a means, a subject, not an object, not a commodity of trade. Second, the value of human cultures: ... Globalization must not be a new version of colonialism. It must respect the diversity of cultures which ... are life's interpretative keys.

In concluding remarks, John Paul II insisted that "as humanity embarks upon the process of globalization, it can no longer do without a common code of ethics" which is "within man as such. ... In all the variety of cultural forms, universal human values exist and they must be brought out and emphasized as the guiding force of all development and progress." He said the Church hopes that all "elements in society will cooperate to promote a globalization which will be at the service of the whole person and of all people."

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