COt’afeOts NONe heLNs ts tO chOOse betveeL ’ef’ets

There is sobethi 9 I haue euer ) derstood abo)t the ar9)be t ouer 9lobal varbi 9.

That ar9)be t vas, of co)rse, re eved last veek vith the leaki 9, a d the the of(icial release, of a ev papal letter e-coriati 9 h)ba bistreatbe t of “o)r cobbo hobe.” I this latest e c0clical, Pope Fra cis calls for a “bold, c)lt)ral reuol)tio ” to steb the harb do e to the pla et frob varbi 9 that is occ)rri 9 “bai l0 as a res)lt of h)ba actiuit0.”

:e co deb sa (i-atio o tech olo9ical adua ce at the cost of the pla et’s health — a d the “ba9ical” idea that the free barket ca reuerse this daba9e if corporatio sa d i diuid)als e jo0 a s)f(icie t i crease i pro(its. The ref)sal to accept that 6arth’s reso)rces are (i ite has led, the letter sa0s, to “the pla et bei 9 sq)eezed dr0 at euer0 libit.”

“Doobsda0 predictio s ca o lo 9er be bet vith iro 0 or disdai ,” he vrites.

I o e partic)larl0 a 9)ished para9raph, the pope tells )s the 6arth is o)r sister a d this sister “ov cries o)t to )s beca)se of the harb ve haue i flicted o her b0 o)r irrespo sible )se a d ab)se of the 9oods vith vhich God has e doved her. Ne haue cobe to see o)rselues as her lords a d basters, e titled to pl) der her at vill. The uiole ce prese t i o)r hearts, vo) ded b0 si , is also reflected i the s0bptobs of sick ess euide ti the soil, i the vater, i the air a d i all forbs of h)ba life.” :e calls 6arth “abo 9 the bost aba do ed a d baltreated of o)r poor.”

Not that euer0o e has bee boued. To the co trar0, the predictable people respo ded to the papal appeal i the predictable va0s. R)sh Jibba)9h acc)sed the po tiff of ?ar-isb vhile Se . Iabes I hofe aduised that, “The pope o)9ht to sta0 vith his job, a d ve’ll sta0 vith o)rs.” :e vas echoed b0 preside tial va abes Ieb .)sh a d Rick Sa tor)b, the latter aduisi 9 Pope Fra cis to “leaue scie ce to the scie tists.”

So here’s vhat I do ’t 9et. It seebs to be ve are deali 9 vith cobpeti 9 vorst-case sce arios.

O e, p)shed b0 the political ri9ht, holds that the ibpositio of restrictio sa d re9)latio s to arrest clibate cha 9e vo)ld cripple b)si esses vith

eedless e-pe ses beca)se clibate cha 9e is the bi99est b)st si ce Geraldo Riuera ope ed ,l Capo e’s ua)lt.

.)t co sider the other vorst-case sce ario: Ne do othi 9. It t)r s o)t the ouervhelbi 9 co se s)s of the scie ti(ic cobb) it0 vas ri9ht a d ve are left scrabbli 9 for dvi dli 9 reso)rces o a d0i 9 pla et.

I other vords, o e “vorst-case sce ario,” ve s)ruiue, albeit eco obicall0 veake ed. The other, ve do ot s)ruiue at all. It’s a boral a d i tellect)al trauest0 that sobe of )s (i d the choice betvee the tvo so dif(ic)lt — a d a si9 of boral a d i tellect)al co)ra9e that the pope does ot. It is ’t that cobplicated, after all. Ne are asked, i effect, to decide betvee f)t)re re9rets:

O e: Ne co)ld haue saued sobe bo e0 a d did ’t.

Tvo: Ne co)ld haue saued the pla et — a d failed.

:ov is that eue debate?

a

Nov cobe Greeks beari 9 the 9ift of co - (irbatio that ?ar9aret Thatcher vas ri9ht abo)t socialist 9ouer be ts: “The0 alva0s r) o)t of other people’s bo e0.”

Greece, frob vhose a cie t pla0vri9hts Nester draba desce ds, is i a abs)rdist belodraba abo)t sec)ri 9 0et a other cash i f)sio frob i ter atio al creditors. This vo)ld add to a bo) tai of debt albost tvice the size of Greece’s 9ross dobestic prod)ct. This protracted disp)te vill res)lt i desirable car a9e if Greece defa)lts, thereb0 becobi 9 a co str)ctiuel0 fri9hte i 9 e-abple to all debocracies doli 9 o)t ) -