“Economy and finance . . . can be used badly when those at the helm are motivated by purely selfish ends. Instruments that are good in themselves can thereby be transformed into harmful ones. But it is man’s darkened reason that produces these consequences, not the instrument per se. Therefore it is not the instrument that must be called to account, but individuals, their moral conscience and their personal and social responsibility.”
via The Pope on ‘Love in Truth’ – WSJ.com.
This quote from Pope Benedict XVI in his recent encyclical “Love in Truth” illustrates the thought that markets are a creation of man, and thus are a reflection of man’s ethos.
In our era of crass materialism it is only natural that markets should mirror the greed and lust for profit of some participants. Fixing the markets will not be done with regulation, but by fixing ourselves, by restoring our humanity.
