It has no ‘vision of nature’; it should be neither hypostatised nor ‘idolised’.39 We are the market, we consumers and entrepreneurs; its values are ours.
It has laws that should not be cast aside if we truly want to pursue the common good; yet at the same time it represents a method, the least imperfect that has been invented so far, for allocating resources based on individual preferences, as well as on the rules and incentives instituted by the State.40 It responds powerfully to the price system and it should be exploited.41 Just as the opening of the emerging countries to the market economy (the Governor recalled this a few days ago, somehow echoing, if I may say so, the Centesimus annus42) has made it possible for humankind to take giant steps towards ‘eliminating poverty’,43 wise and farsighted policies for tackling the new challenge of the century should see the market as a powerful ally to be recruited, not as an adversary to be defeated.