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Louis Joseph Lebret

Louis Joseph Lebret . For a Human-Centred Economy. A Mariner Economist. Brittany 1897-1966 Paris Naval school & Naval Office – traffic manager at port of Beirut Entered the Order aged 26 Studied at Rijckholt, Netherlands Founded ‘Movement of St Malo’ for fishermen

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Louis Joseph Lebret

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  1. Louis Joseph Lebret For a Human-Centred Economy

  2. A Mariner Economist • Brittany 1897-1966 Paris • Naval school & Naval Office – traffic manager at port of Beirut • Entered the Order aged 26 • Studied at Rijckholt, Netherlands • Founded ‘Movement of St Malo’ for fishermen • Founded Économie et Humanisme • Worked for the Vatican at the UN

  3. Movement of St Malo • 1929, Lebret fell ill & sent to St Malo convent to convelesce • Faced with the poverty of the fishermen, he began to develop his concept of human economy • With friend Ernst Lamort, helped them: • 1931 Secrétariat Social Maritime • unions • Journal La Voix du Marin • 1930 Jeunesse Maritime Chrétienne

  4. A Dream Fulfilled • 1930s studying social & economic theory • including fisheries for early Vichy government • 1941 created Économie et Humanisme • realising his dream of a study centre on ‘complex socio-economic realities’ • ‘human economy’ approach of methodology & intervention • seeking to expose the economic mechanisms behind poverty • experimenting with new social relationships

  5. Human Economy • Two fundemental principles: • respect for human person: Mournier’s Personalist Manifesto • establishment of the common good: Aquinas on community of the Trinity, relation of creation & Creator, political good • Catholic Church slow to see modern economic realities: • ‘Social Catholic’ palliative approach not enough • Lebret’s reading of Marx countered this by engaging with materialistic capitalism • not Marxist: class struggle incompatible with common good • worker-priests suspended 1954: ended his dialogue + Marxism • Social sciences for global development • multidisciplinary: links between sociology & economics, development & psychology • involvement of researchers in their subject: solidarity with active agents of transformation • Montée humaine: goal of improving life for all people

  6. Économie et Humanisme • Journal established Lyon 1942 • to inform & provoke debate in society • with study & training sessions at the centre • Scientific studies for public authorities • e.g. on housing, migration, disabled children • role in post-war reconstruction of France & Europe • competence in regional development, social action & housing • Influential on decision-makers of 1950s & 60s • Still published today

  7. Human Development “Development is a continuous harmonious growth aimed at valuing the human person” • Lectures at São Paolo 1947: • found misery of shanty towns & people’s capacity to engage • raised awareness of Latin America’s needs in Europe • Centres of Human Economy set up worldwide • influence on OP in Brazil • 1955+ travel to Asia & West Africa • Journal Développement et Civilisations • 1958 IRFED institute for research on development • problems of urban economy e.g. shanty towns • macro-economic studies e.g. Vietnam, Rwanda • Lebret Centre in Paris: • continues development work today, links with Latin America

  8. Vatican II • Became friends with future Paul VI • their discussions led to Populorum Progressio, which Lebret drafted • Called as expert counsel to Vatican II • aided Dom Helder Camara, bishop of Recife, Brazil • helped draft material for Gaudium et Spes • 1964 Vatican spokesperson for UNCTAD • UN Conference on Trade & Development • Member of Pontifical Secretariat for Social Justice & Development • future Council for Justice & Peace

  9. Socio-Economic Change • Context of socio-economic change & reconstruction after WWII • Believed people are free & responsible, so able to transform their situations • awareness of unjust economic mechanisms needed • the aware ‘militants’ are catalysts for change • first study causes, then act as a team • group solidarity thus brings about the common good “The greatest evil in the world is not the poverty of those without, but the lack of awareness of the well-to-do”

  10. Fundamental Needs • A whole person is both body & spirit • Hierarchy of needs (1943 article) • primary are essential for life e.g. food, housing, peace, trust – society in balance • secondary are useful e.g. travel, radio – prosperous society • tertiary are rare e.g. works of art – cultivated society • A controversial system (economists cannot quantify) • Yet socio-politically essential: the economy as a tool for attaining social objectives “We want with all our might an economy of the human order, where a mass of goods, spread as widely as possible, is distributed according to how urgent are the needs of all, and not according to a hierarchy of ability to pay.”

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