On the sidelines of the first conference-seminar of the series “Dialogues for the Family,” promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Family, which was held on Wednesday, April 17th, on the topic “The Family: the first enterprise,” in collaboration with the Union of Italian Catholic Jurists and in the presence of a large audience,
Emanuela Bambara took an interview with the speakers exclusively for our Dicastery.
Mariella Enoc, Vice President of Fondazione Cariplo
Question: Since the eighties, we hear talk about human capital and human resources. Yet, these are still just words. Money and material goods continue to be the criteria for evaluating wealth and income. Isn’t it time to change? What is the value, in economic terms, of emotional and social well-being?
Answer: At this point in time, we should talk about the BNI instead of the GDP, for the evaluation of the state of welfare in which families are living. Especially in times of difficulty like ours, some goods such as work and the home become a priceless support, because the family can stay united. The economy usually pays close attention to individual family members or categories: children, teenagers, adults, the elderly; and it’s hard to consider the family in all its complexity, as a constituted whole. We don’t look to the household as a reference point, truly as the basic unit of our society. It’s important that economics and finance consider the family with care, also because the issue of human capital is the real one, on which we can center the problem and the solution of future development.
Question: How can lenders and financial institutions help the development of families?
Answer: The banks and lenders are financial entities that need to generate profit and also render accounts to investors, so, it’s not easy. For foundations, it’s simpler. I would say, though, that they too must be very attentive, because economic development happens through the development of people, and therefore: invest in guarantee funds, invest as much as possible on home mortgages, by giving support during the transition from work to retirement or when there are no unemployment benefits, in moments of difficulty when the credit institute can help, and even more banking foundations, which have the task of supporting families and projects that develop the identity of the family and the service that the family renders to society.
