The Popes' interest for 'consumerism' is a mirror of their acknowledgement -held off as long as possible, and manifested as unopenly as possible- that, for the first time ever, the industrial countries have achieved a condition of general prosperity. This essay draws a distinction between moderate or reformist anti-consumeism and radical or extreme anti-consumersim. Analysis of the Octagesima adveniens (1971) shows that Paul VI puts forward two distinct arguments againt 'consumerism', and both fit into the exteme category. The first is that consumption of the supefluous is the forced result of advertising and ultimately leads to pure waste. The second is that growing consumption is one of the achievements of a godless ideology of progress. In Sollecitudo Rei Socialis (1987) , John Paul II reiterates the positions of his predecessor, but in Centesimus Annus (1991) his profound aversion to industrial society, hence to mass consumptin, disappears. He reinteprets 'consumerism', less id...
La critica alla società dei consumi nelle Encicliche sociali, Biblioteca della libertà, Nov. ‘00-Febbr. ’01,num. 157, pp. 3-32
COSTA, GIACOMO
2000-01-01
Abstract
The Popes' interest for 'consumerism' is a mirror of their acknowledgement -held off as long as possible, and manifested as unopenly as possible- that, for the first time ever, the industrial countries have achieved a condition of general prosperity. This essay draws a distinction between moderate or reformist anti-consumeism and radical or extreme anti-consumersim. Analysis of the Octagesima adveniens (1971) shows that Paul VI puts forward two distinct arguments againt 'consumerism', and both fit into the exteme category. The first is that consumption of the supefluous is the forced result of advertising and ultimately leads to pure waste. The second is that growing consumption is one of the achievements of a godless ideology of progress. In Sollecitudo Rei Socialis (1987) , John Paul II reiterates the positions of his predecessor, but in Centesimus Annus (1991) his profound aversion to industrial society, hence to mass consumptin, disappears. He reinteprets 'consumerism', less id...I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
