The Economy of Communion, a source of hope

THE International Conference on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation held at the University of Santo Tomas last September 23 to 24, 2011, featured the different phases of poverty. It provided innovative ways to help alleviate or mitigate poverty. Dr. Luigino Bruni, the major theorist of the Economy of Communion (EoC), an economist from the University of Milan—Bicocca, Italy, presented a new paradigm, involving a culture of giving and reciprocity, to alleviate the conditions of the poor. It involves the business enterprise as centers of profit and at the same time communities oriented towards authentic relationships within the economic domain.

The principle of the EoC was started by Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare Movement. While visiting Sao Paolo, Brazil in 1991, Chiara noticed the stark contrast between the favelas (slums) surrounding the high rise buildings in the city. This sight motivated her to start the concept of the EoC where a business person operates a business enterprise to make profits and to benefit society. The mission of EoC is to combat poverty by entering into an agreement on the division and redistribution of profits. It is built on the premise that if profits are shared in reciprocity with the poor, general happiness increases. With the EoC, business becomes a place of communion and fraternity. In EoC, the entrepreneur voluntarily commits to divide the profit into 3 parts. First part goes to finance the development of the business itself; the second, to spread the culture of communion, the formation of “new men and women” who are committed to the culture of giving based on reciprocity; the third, to help people in need with projects, by beginning with those who are in contact with the Focolare communities, according to the principle of subsidiarity.