Hi Grandpa,
Really enjoyed reading your paper. Was very thought provoking. Many theological teachings are used as general guidelines for morality, but infrequently as the basis to craft policy. What I found interesting was I agreed with many of your points. “It is the duty of the world’s wealthy nations to provide for the necessities—food, shelter, clean water, health care, etc.—needed by impoverished nations. That is a moral imperative. The rich—international organizations, nations, and NGOs—must also provide the poor with the resources needed by them to define their own progress.” You advocate for subsidiarity instead of a big push approach. It is imperative to work with the people on the ground to understand and meet their individual needs. This is the best way to achieve the common good. If I understand your conclusion correctly, it is the moral duty of the “rich” nations to help provide aid and development for the “poor” nations, and Catholic social doctrine can help create policy that will help the people receiving aid shape their individual development.
What I am curious about is how you would envision this happening. I was honestly kind of shocked with some of the rhetoric you used. It seemed much more aligned with my ideals. “The primary goal is not to maximize efficiency or profits” is opposite of most corporate structures and American institutions. “International agencies such as the U.N. and World Bank, rich developed nations, and major NGOs must provide the resources to meet extreme needs.” Again, more rhetoric that is not inline with our current government. Working with multinational organizations is not Americas top priority currently. “It is the duty of the world’s wealthy nations to provide for the necessities—food, shelter, clean water, health care, etc.—needed”. This is a very lofty goal, seeing as Americans fail to provide this for their own citizens, much less citizens of other countries.
We need a large shift internally before achieving some of the goals listed. People need to put faith in governance. That the money and resources being transferred to other nations is making a difference. Preventing corruption and negligence is key and setting up efficient agencies to run these programs is necessary. This would involve voting people in who agree that foreign aid is a good idea. We have a lot of work ahead of us! If you have any suggested reading, would love for you to share!
Love
Connor