Editorial

“Work is what must be given / and its value to work / and to those who work in the factory / and to those who work in the fields, / and to those who work in the mine / and to those who work on the ship, / what must be given is everything, light, and blood, voice and hands … “

The Colloquium Under the Palm Tree of the great Venezuelan poet Andrés Eloy Blanco resonates like a prophetic voice in a world where the pandemic has highlighted, as well as exacerbated, the great inequalities and fragility when it comes to having to access to decent work.

Without a doubt “the great subject is work. What is truly popular —because it promotes the good of the people— is to assure everyone the possibility of making the seeds God has placed in each one of us sprout, their capacities, their initiative, their strengths”, as Pope Francis affirms in the encyclical “Fratelli tutti”.

However, in addition to offering opportunities for everyone, it is necessary to take into account the existence of many trades that respond to those “seeds that God has placed in each one of us”, which go according to the abilities and possibilities of many people, but unfortunately, are not valued and paid to lead a decent life.

In this sense, the pandemic has revealed the importance of front-line health personnel such as nurses and caregivers; or let’s think about security services, food chains, and logistics workers, or people who are self-employed in various domestic services. The value of work in these types of trades, regarding their remuneration and the contribution they make to the common good, are some of the points of debate that philosopher Michael Sandel makes, and which would be worth exploring.

To begin it is necessary to ask, without being exhaustive, the following types of questions: What opportunities and what job will a malnourished child have in the future? How do we measure the value of one trade compared to another? How are real opportunities offered to the poorest so that, through their efforts, they can have real access to a decent life? Marking distance from any type of populist or imposed from power response, we have tried to begin within our local context as documented in our monthly bulletin. However, the road ahead is long and requires the participation of many actors.

“Because in a truly developed society, work is an indispensable dimension of social life, since it is not only a way to earn a living, but also a channel for personal growth, to establish healthy relationships, to express oneself, to share gifts, to feel co-responsible in the perfecting of the world, and ultimately, to live as a people “, continues the Pope in the “Fratelli tutti”.

As mentioned before, a task of such magnitude is not to be thought and executed alone, but rather using our minds and hearts together with others, as Andrés Eloy Blanco also wishes at the end of his Colloquium: “To God, may he give me torments, / To God, may he give me losses, / but may He not give me a son / with a lonely heart.”