In the great ancient religious and ethical traditions of humankind we find the directive:
You shall not steal!
Or in positive terms: Deal honestly and fairly!
Let us reflect anew on the consequences of this ancient directive:
•No one has the right to rob or dispossess in any way whatsoever any other person or the commonweal.
•Further, no one has the right to use her or his possessions without concern for the needs of society and Earth.
Let no one be deceived: There is no global peace without global justice!
Young people must learn at home and in school that property, limited though it may be, carries with it an obligation, and that its uses should at the same time serve the common good.
Only thus can a just economic order be built up.
From the “Declaration Toward a Global Ethic“ of the Parliament of the World's Religions, Chicago 1993
top
