BUSINESS, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE

The Economy and the Challenge of the Common Good

The IAED vision of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values raises a concrete question: can the business world become not only an engine of growth, but also a place of responsibility, trust and peace?

By Carlo Zonato

When we speak of peace, we often think of diplomacy, treaties, international institutions or conflict prevention. All these are essential. But peace does not exist only in the realm of politics. It also takes shape wherever people work, produce, consume, raise their children, build trust or experience exclusion.

For this reason, the economy cannot be considered a sphere separate from the culture of peace.

A dignified job can restore hope. A responsible business can strengthen a community. Conversely, an unjust economic decision can create divisions, resentment and distrust.

Social peace does not arise merely from the absence of violence, but from the presence of conditions that allow individuals and families to live with dignity.

It is within this perspective that we find the International Association for Peace and Economic Development (IAED), promoted by the Universal Peace Federation.

Its vision revolves around three demanding principles: interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values.

The aim is not simply to add a few moral references to the economy as a form of decoration, but to recognize that every economy, if it is to remain humane, needs a moral compass.

The founding resolution of IAED, adopted at the World Summit 2020 in Seoul, states that economic leaders have both the opportunity and the responsibility to collaborate with other sectors of society in addressing the major challenges of our time and promoting peace, long-term prosperity and sustainable development.

This is a principle that we, within UPF, strongly identify with: peace is not built merely by declaring principles, but by creating concrete conditions for employment, trust, stability and participation.

The market economy has unleashed energy, creativity, innovation and productive capacity. It has helped reduce poverty, create opportunities and improve living conditions, healthcare, communications and global relationships.

It would be unfair to ignore these achievements.

The problem, therefore, is not business itself. Problems arise when businesses lose sight of their relationship with people, communities and the future.

Any powerful force, if left without direction, can become inhumane.

The market can be a space of freedom, but also a place of exclusion. It can encourage initiative and responsibility, but it can also foster exploitation, concentration of wealth and indifference towards those left behind.

The challenges of our time—persistent poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, insecurity and social crises—demonstrate how deeply the economy and social peace are interconnected.

The principle of interdependence reminds us that economies do not exist in isolation.

Decisions concerning production, investment and consumption cross borders, affect peoples and extend across generations.

A decision made in one place can influence employment, the environment or social stability in another part of the world.

Mutual prosperity, on the other hand, means that economic growth alone is not enough unless it generates trust, inclusion and genuine opportunities.

A society can become wealthier and, at the same time, more fragile if that wealth fails to strengthen its human and social fabric.

The third pillar concerns universal values.

Every economy, even when presented as a purely technical or neutral system, reflects a particular understanding of the human person.

If human beings are regarded merely as consumers, producers or costs, economic decisions will inevitably become reductive.

If, instead, people are recognized as individuals endowed with dignity, freedom, responsibility and relationships, the market can be directed towards a higher purpose: to serve life rather than dominate it.

Within this framework, we can also consider the concept of Headwing Economics, presented in IAED materials as an attempt to move beyond the unproductive opposition between competing economic models.

On the one hand, the market values personal initiative, efficiency and creativity.

On the other, social responsibility emphasizes justice, the protection of vulnerable people and social cohesion.

An approach guided by the common good cannot sacrifice either dimension. It requires an ethical compass capable of bringing them into harmony.

This is not a matter of choosing between economic freedom and social justice as though they were enemies.

Freedom without responsibility can become arbitrary power; justice without freedom can stifle creativity and initiative.

A mature economic culture must bring both together within a broader vision of the common good.

For this reason, businesses can be understood not only as productive organizations, but also as communities of responsibility.

Every company is made up of people: employees, managers, customers, suppliers, families and local communities.

Its decisions affect quality of life, the use of time, relationships and social trust.

A business that respects people, trains young workers, protects its local environment and creates shared value is already contributing to peace.

Work, too, must be understood from this perspective.

Working means more than earning an income. It means participating in community life, developing talents, taking responsibility and feeling useful.

When work becomes degrading, permanently insecure, deprived of recognition or reduced to mere performance, the person is impoverished.

When, instead, work preserves dignity and allows people to build a future, it becomes one of the most concrete expressions of social peace.

This issue is particularly relevant to young people and families.

A society that demands flexibility, competence and constant adaptation from its younger generations must also provide places where they can grow, make mistakes without being crushed by them, and develop a sense of responsibility.

Likewise, an economy that consumes all available energy, makes it difficult to reconcile work and family life, or penalizes parenthood cannot truly be described as oriented towards peace.

The IAED perspective also invites us to recognize the importance of cooperation among businesses, public institutions, civil society, academia and religious communities.

No single actor can address global challenges such as inequality, environmental crises, migration, post-war reconstruction, technological transformation and equitable access to opportunities.

Credible partnerships are needed, bringing together expertise, resources and moral responsibility.

An economy oriented towards peace is not naive.

It recognizes that the market needs freedom, but also rules; creativity, but also responsibility; profit, but also justice.

The real question is not simply whether the economy should grow, but for whom, by what means and towards what vision of society.

Economic peace cannot be measured only through major economic indicators.

It is also reflected in a family's ability to live with dignity, a young person's opportunity to imagine a future, a worker's experience of being respected, and a community's ability to avoid being sacrificed to purely extractive economic interests.

An economy that serves peace does not eliminate the market, but restores its moral compass.

It does not deny the value of business, but recalls its higher purpose.

If businesses contribute to creating dignified employment, trust, cooperation and sustainable development, they become part of building peace—not an abstract peace, but one that can be experienced in people's everyday lives.