Pope warns capitalists about excesses. Concerned about social unrest among the flock

Left: Two friends chatting about the world

"There is urgent need of a true world political authority. " So writes the head of the Catholic Church in what the Wall Street Journal calls, "A rare papal critique" of the economy. An edict of this nature is rare because the pope, and the other old men that lead an organization of close to one billion people is concerned that the members are getting restless. The bureaucrats in the Vatican may well warn their flock about the wrath of god but it is the collapse of capitalism and the reaction to this among the flock that they are worried about.

These edicts are generally made in times when there is a "tectonic shift" in the economy, the WSJ adds. The Catholic church, as the previous post says, is a major defender of capitalism. It is particularly concerned about the developments in Central and South America where it has millions of followers. Left wing governments have been elected in Venezuela, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile, and now Honduras is in turmoil. The Vatican correctly recognizes that there has been a "tectonic shift" in the economy and wants to ensure that capitalism emerges intact. The Pope remembers well the development of the liberation theologists in the past and is pleading with the capitalist class in this edict to curtail its excesses through some form of global regulation.

The Catholic Church is not alone in this and is joined by numerous economists who are concerned that all will be lost if the excesses of capitalism are not reigned in; they are all calling for a "new world order" in the realm of regulation. But, as Marx pointed out, the problem with this idea is that the world is divided in to separate nation states, with competing interests.

The existence of separate nation states within a world economy is an inherent contradiction of capitalism and cannot be overcome by a few pronouncements from apologists of capital like the pope.

The Catholic Church wrote another edict in 1891 in response to the rise in popularity of Marxists ideas. This latest one is due to the rise in opposition among workers throughout the world to capitalism and the horrors of the market.