JPIC

Question 4. Yes, and if everybody bought Fair Trade it would help alleviate poverty. So it costs more. Aren't we meant to share?

Promoting Fair Trade and selling and buying Fair Trade products is deeply rooted in Catholic social teaching (which is a branch of moral theology concerned with justice and the common good). It is the preferential option for the poor in action. It is a work of mercy as described in The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2426 -2449 (especially 2434 and 2442).

Pope Paul VI in the 1967 encyclical “Populorum Progressio - On the Development of Peoples” states: “Let each one examine his conscience, .... Is he prepared to support out of his own pocket works and undertakings in favour of the most destitute? .... Is he ready to pay a higher price for imported goods so that the producer may be more justly rewarded?” (48).

And as Patrick has reminded us, the Catechism states:
"2439 Rich nations have a grave moral responsibility toward those which are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves or have been prevented from doing so by tragic historical events. It is a duty in solidarity and charity; it is also an obligation in justice if the prosperity of the rich nations has come from resources that have not been paid for fairly."

That last sentence nails it. As William Wilberforce said to the House of Commons when he had told them about the horrors of the slave trade: "You can no longer say that you do not know about it."

I would say that if we do not buy Fair Trade products when they are available we are part of the problem i.e. exploitation, because the free market is concerned only with money and could care less about human dignity.

Good night!
Andrew