Giuseppe Toniolo is a figure often cited but little known. As well as his economic thought which has historically had an influence on the culture of Italian Catholics and not on that of economists of other inspirations. His vision, capable of linking ethics and economics, is therefore even more “necessary” today, and has therefore become very topical again. Now comes the new book by Monsignor Domenico Sorrentino, bishop of Assisi – Nocera Umbra – Gualdo Tadino and Foligno, to turn the spotlight on an economist who was “marginalized” because he was a “forerunner”, as Stefano Zamagni also describes him. The presentation was held in Solomeo, in the presence of the author of “Human economy. The lesson and prophecy of Giuseppe Toniolo: a systematic rereading” (Ed. Vita e Pensiero, 364 pages).
The setting of the meeting was the Cucinelli theater with Brunello Cucinelli and the head of the University Maurizio Oliviero, with interventions moderated by the ANSA journalist Monica Paternesi.
The bishop spoke of “lessons” and prophecies, which are spoken of when Toniolo is quoted in an essay that aims to fill a gap, bringing the gaze in a systematic and up-to-date way to his Treatise on social economy, to his other writings and in particular on the key to thought, the relationship between ethics and economics. “Toniolo – said Monsignor Sorrentino – spoke of ethics as an intrinsic factor of the economy and spent a lifetime demonstrating it but for this reason he was considered a heretic. Precisely this perspective is needed today in the face of a global economy grappling with dramatic issues such as inequality, poverty and ecological disruption.”
“We need contemporary capitalism” commented Cucinelli. “The rules of capitalism – he added – cannot be those of 100 years ago, everything you buy and sell must be sold and purchased at the right price”.
The rector Oliviero then recalled that Toniolo “was indeed an economist but for many he was considered a sociologist”. “It is precisely because of the complexity and modernity of his reasoning – he added – that today it is useful for a contemporary reading of complex phenomena”.
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