Pope Condemns Entire Mining Industry

Evita was foxier

Yesterday, in front of a meeting of political activists sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Pope attacked the mining industry:

You wished to meet in Rome...to echo the cry of numerous people, families and communities that suffer directly or indirectly from the too often negative consequences of mining activity. A cry because of lost lands; a cry because of the extraction of riches of the soil that, paradoxically, has not produced wealth for the local populations which have remained poor; a cry of pain in reaction to the violence, threats and corruption; a cry of anger and help because of the violations of human rights, blatantly or discreetly trampled with regards to the health of the populations, the conditions of work, at times the slavery and traffic of persons that fuels the tragic phenomenon of prostitution; a cry of sadness and of impotence for the pollution of the waters, of the air and of the soil; a cry of incomprehension because of the absence of inclusive and supporting processes on the part of those civil, local and national authorities, which have the fundamental duty to promote the common good. 

...The entire mining sector is undoubtedly called to carry out a radical paradigm change to improve the situation in many countries...

Of course, the Pope has now become a full-blown socialist demagogue, emboldened by the secular praise for Laudato Si and the noise of the South American crowds. Let me make only a few brief comments.

That mining "paradoxically, has not produced wealth for the local populations which have remained poor" is an empirical economic statement so patently false and absurd that even Karl Marx wouldn't have agreed with it. Only a demagogue would make such a claim.

What exactly is the Pope recommending? More regulations? Nationalization (or in many cases, re-nationalization)?  Or is it deeper than that--a "paradigm shift", to quote from the above, perhaps in how people think. So we (or "we" in the mining industry) should now, I suppose "put people over profits", as if after hundreds of years of merrily extracting minerals from the earth under capitalism, socialism and everything in between we need to be told that by, well, by Pope Francis.

But what does that mean? Does it mean paying the workers 10% more? 20% more? Voila, 20% more and finally we will have heaven on earth (or at least heaven on earth in communities surrounding mining operations). 25% more? Oh, damn, the company just went broke, bummer.

Or maybe it just means being nicer, you know, not calling your workers "boy" and not whipping them all the time. And get those company prostitutes out of the cantina.

Is the Pope well?

There's a growing controversy about that.

Does he mean well?

Of course not. If he meant well, he would be shepherding his flock, not pretending to be the frumpy second coming of Juan Peron.