Elite Globalization: The Attack on Christianity

Table of Contents

PREFACE

The global challenge to the spirit     6

A necessary clarification of the concept of national sovereignty     6

Repeated requests for the monograph     7

Structure of the monograph     7

Beyond “doom and gloom”     8

Easter as the motif and mood of the monograph     8

Symbolism of crucifixion on the cover of the monograph     10

Philippine 2000 and the betrayal of the Philippine spirit     10

Final hopeful thoughts     11

PART ONE

Elite economic globalization: a threat to the church     12

Level 1: The phenomena of elite economic globalization     13

Globalization and the Asia-Pacific century     15

Globalization and the destruction of Asia’s ecology      16

Social consequences of globalization     17

Economic globalization and the pauperization of the world     18

Level 2: Policies that foster destructive globalization     19

Level 3: Neo-liberal economics—framework and values

            behind the policies     20

Darwinism and neo-liberal capitalism     21

Economic growth—decay measured as progress     23

Level 4: The power behind elite economic globalization     25

Globalization and the church     28

PART TWO

GATT, biotechnology and the church     30

The mantra and deeds of the beast     31

A materialistic version of genesis     31

Desacralizing life: patenting & selling products of artificial genesis     31

A new form of slavery: patents on humans     32

GATT and patents on life     32

Biopiracy and the ransacking of indigenous cultures     33

What is GATT?     33

The church on liberal capitalism     34

Rerum novarum (RN)     35

Quadragesimo anno (QA)     35

Theological underpinnings of critique against liberal capitalism     37

Mater et magistra     38

Populorum progressio     39

GATT and the church     41

Reaffirmation of the past teachings      41

Warning against commodification     41

Trade: from comparative advantage to absolute advantage     42

Ecological Destruction and GATT     42

Foreign debt     43

GATT: fostering a new Hitler?     43

Consumerism and superdevelopment: disease of the industrialized north     43

GATT: a culture of death     44

GATT: antithesis of sovereignty and self-determination     44

GATT and moral problems     46

GATT as a structure of sin     46

Moral dimension of economic development     46

Toward a solution     47

A call of challenge to the church     48

PART THREE

Sustainable development—a different way forward     50

Philippine Agenda 21 and the social teachings of the church     50

Seven dimensions of sustainable development in PA21     51

Support from economic theory     52

The vision and threefold societal structure advocated in PA21     52

PA21 principles, parameters and operationalization     53

Conclusion      56