Economic Supplement 5

Ways of Dealing with a Slump

‘Precepts that are not technically specific turn out to be quite ineffectual’ (Christian Duquoc). It is the genius of Catholicism to have, over the centuries, wrought technically specific precepts regarding religion and also to have combined a merciful set of dispensations when the technically specific is too demanding. So there is a technically specific law that Catholics should marry Catholics. One notes that the frequency and reliability of dispensations can undermine the law.
I was wondering what might be ‘technically specific’ precepts for dealing with a slump, and I suggest one might be, ‘if possible maintain your reasonable standard of living’. I do not mean ‘go into unsupportable debt and rely on the State to maintain your reasonable standard of living’. If you can transfer your debt to the debt of the State, the world is getting more heavily into debt.’
What I am trying to express is that if consumer demand is the engine of the economy, then if you are in a position to exercise it in a reasonable way, continue to do so. The position reminds me of Bishop Grant who said – he was a founder of CAFOD – ‘Whatever you do for Lent, don’t give up chocolate – you will ruin Ghana’! It is part of my life to go across to the Chinese restaurant which is struggling. I could imagine, because there is a slump, it would be a virtue to cook for my guests. But, if I have the finances, by going across to the Chinese I am helping them to survive. This in a humble way is an instance of ‘Le Bon Sens’, the sense of the Common Good, ‘Common Sense’ in an uncommon degree, ‘collective responsibility’.
On the radio, the correspondent found hermself the only guest in a 5 star hotel in Pakistan. The staff were so delighted, they ran around her. They hoped, against bazookas falling, that guests would return. May it be. Sic. Amen