We are exploring Pope Francis’ 2023 exhortation Laudate Deum, which provides an update on our progress since his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’. In the last article we discussed the root causes of the climate crisis. In this article we’ll explore the document’s central points about power and the environment.
Laudate Deum builds on earlier discussions of the “technocratic paradigm”, which refers to the technology-focused economy we have created. Here is the Pope’s summary of it, which quotes from Laudato Si’:
It is “a certain way of understanding human life and activity [that] has gone awry, to the serious detriment of the world around us”. Deep down, it consists in thinking “as if reality, goodness and truth automatically flow from technological and economic power as such”. As a logical consequence, it then becomes easy “to accept the idea of infinite or unlimited growth, which proves so attractive to economists, financiers and experts in technology”. (20)
Reality, goodness and truth come from God, not from technology or wealth. The idea that we can achieve unlimited growth is false because we have obvious limits to our resources. The poor and powerless cannot be ignored or seen as mere cheap labor. Laudate Deum challenges fundamental principles that support the economic system which governs so much of our lives. We respect the dignity of every human person and seek the common good for the benefit of all. We must prioritize the needs of the poor precisely because they lack resources and power. The purpose of an economic system is to provide for the needs of all, not to maximize profits for the powerful alone.
One of the benefits of this description of the technocratic paradigm is that it breaks us out of our traditional thinking about economic systems. The technology-focused economy and its false assumptions exist in both capitalist and communist countries alike. Democracy and dictatorship are mixed in various configurations around the world, but they tend to share a common approach to markets and wealth. Most nations today share common economic goals aligned with the technocratic paradigm. The technocratic paradigm is the issue for our global response to the climate crisis, rather than the form of national government. This explains why both the United States and China face internal resistance to addressing the climate crisis, even though they are very different societies.
The document raises even more fundamental questions about human power, which has been increased by technological advances. The use of this power must be balanced by ethical considerations, but our ethical framework is left behind in our race for tech dominance.
There were historical moments where our admiration at progress blinded us to the horror of its consequences. But that risk is always present, because “our immense technological development has not been accompanied by a development in human responsibility, values and conscience... We stand naked and exposed in the face of our ever-increasing power, lacking the wherewithal to control it. We have certain superficial mechanisms, but we cannot claim to have a sound ethics, a culture and spirituality genuinely capable of setting limits and teaching clear-minded self-restraint”. (24)
This power is not simply economic wealth or political leadership. It certainly is not being expressed as moral or spiritual wisdom. Laudate Deum is speaking of a human power that is more diffuse, a cultural or social force. This force may be directed by rich and powerful people, Silicon Valley tech bros and national politicians. But the power itself comes from people’s desires and participation in a social system that no one fully controls.
Consider artificial intelligence as an example. It is a relatively new technology, currently held in the hands of a fairly small group of technologists worldwide. Its potential for good and evil is uncertain, and society at large can see both risks and benefits. Companies and governments globally are racing to be first with AI. But where is the limit-setting framework? Where are the ethical considerations? Who is making decisions in advance of its deployment to protect humanity from the substantial risks of this new technology? None of these safeguards exist. What typically happens is that the tech companies develop and deploy the technology, military institutions weaponize it as fast as possible, and then government regulators attempt to restrain its most egregious effects after they have already damaged peoples’ lives. This is the path we are on, again, with artificial intelligence.
The Pope is rightfully challenging this approach, which is built into the economic, governmental, and social systems of the world. He correctly points out that we are dealing with many technologies today that have the potential to destroy us.
We need to rethink among other things the question of human power, its meaning and its limits. For our power has frenetically increased in a few decades. We have made impressive and awesome technological advances, and we have not realized that at the same time we have turned into highly dangerous beings, capable of threatening the lives of many beings and our own survival. (28)
One of the document’s purposes is to place the climate crisis in the same category of threats to humanity as nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence, and biological technology. Laudate Deum elevates the urgency and importance of the climate crisis by emphasizing that our technological prowess threatens humanity on several fronts. From the Church’s perspective, the climate crisis is one of a very small number of challenges facing humanity that requires urgent global attention. Others would be our ongoing wars and global poverty caused by inequality.
This may seem heavy and a bit apocalyptic, but the intention of the document is to exhort us to unity and action on the climate. The Catholic Church is an advocate for the flourishing of humanity. Anything that threatens humanity is a moral issue because God wants us to flourish. Pope Francis is hopeful about our climate response because it is required for humans to flourish. In Laudate Deum he challenges fundamental assumptions in our societies and says that it’s not too late to make a difference. It takes time to step outside our comfort zones to grasp what he is saying. His points about power within the technological paradigm are essential to addressing the climate crisis as well as other challenges we face today.