We live in contradictory times. While Malta boasts an ‘exceptional’ GDP, soup kitchens are mushrooming around the island. Construction sites can be spotted almost on every corner, yet, homelessness has risen to unprecedented levels.

Quality of life has significantly improved thanks to the economic boom. But this has come at the expense of the value of life. The many victims of the construction industry and of thousands of third country nationals who are being exploited to serve the economy are witness to this.

The economic system is often blamed for this, as though one were saying that it is everybody’s and nobody’s fault. In brief, it is useless to hope.

Motivated by this need to reinstil hope, a conversation was recently organised by a new local initiative called LOGOS. The main theme of this dialogue was ‘It-Tama u kif nistgħu inxettluha fl-ekonomija’, held at the Theological Library at the Archbishop’s seminary.

To keep the conversation going, I present here some myths about hope and the economy that need debunking.

Myth # 1: Hope is only for Christians

In a thought-provoking piece from the School of Life Sunday Sermons, which are part of the Atheism 2.0 project, historian, activist and author of Hope in the Dark Rebecca Solnit argues that being optimistic that everything will turn out just fine, or to fume and fret that any effort is worthless anyway both stand in stark contrast to hope.

It is not fashionable to be hopeful. To hope, Solnit insists, is to take responsibility for one’s actions and, many times, even of others’, to acknowledge that something, no matter how small, can and ought to be done.

Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador repeatedly denounced the systemic oppression and exploitation of landless campesinos. “If I am killed,” he affirmed, just days before his martyrdom, “I will rise again in my people.”

The Salvadoran archbishop did not live to see change. But his blood served as a catalyst for the poor to remain steadfast in hope, for perpetrators of injustice to eventually recognise their wrongs  and for injustices to finally be redressed.

Myth #2: Hope is airy-fairy

There is nothing more practical than hope. Pope Benedict XVI insisted that “all serious and upright human conduct is hope in action”.

If you want to spot hope, seek it among those who suffer, yet do not give up or give in. “Hope has two beautiful daughters, Anger and Courage are their names,” goes a saying attributed to Augustine of Hippo. We experience anger when faced with injustice and we need courage to play our part. Both are at work when civil society are mobilised to act.

Hope is embodied in several societal practices. These encompass, for instance, the act of raising children in stable households, or participating in voluntary activities to support marginalised individuals. Other examples include educational or rehabilitation centres, which through their efforts plant the seeds of hope, the fruit of which can only be reaped in the future.

Myth #3: Hope is self-destructive

For over a century, several governments around the world have put their hopes in some economic model or another that they thought would serve as a panacea.

Totalitarian regimes that have tried this course of action left nothing but strife in their wake.

The prevailing mindset is that wealth is king, even at the expense of the environment, health, happiness, or relationships- Fr Carlo Calleja

In contrast, others have attempted to embrace an opposite stance. They seem to have no aspirations beyond growing the GDP and accumulating personal wealth. Everything has a price tag determined by the market; nothing has intrinsic value. The prevailing mindset is that wealth is king, even at the expense of the environment, health, happiness, or relationships.

Amid these contrasting attitudes, there are individuals who have the audacity to believe in the possibility of creating a united society. The existence of a true common good is contingent upon the inclusion of every individual within the community. Even the exclusion of just one person undermines the very concept of the common good.

Myth #4: Hope is powerless

In some respects, restoring hope in the economy is akin to the continuous process of peacebuilding. Economic justice can only be achieved when relationships are mended at all levels.

For instance, if it is found that economic injustices persist due to long-standing tribal political demarcations, or if they stem from the arrogance of entrenched Western economic imperialism, or if members of the Church preach the preferential option for the poor but fail to practise it, then these need to be addressed without delay.

These wounds need to be tended through individual and communal effort, at institutional and at grassroots levels. People who hope are endowed with strong sense of empowerment.

Myth #5: Hope is a stranger to the economy

There are differing views on the relevance of hope in economics. Some suggest that the market is inherently self-regulating and that if everyone prioritises their self-interest everyone would be better off, including those who are less fortunate.

Mariana Mazzucato, for one, begs to differ. In The Value of Everything, the economics professor at Kings College London proposes an “economics of hope”. The goal, she insists, must be creative collaboration for common and long-term goals that benefit, rather than exploit, humankind and the environment.

The situation is not altogether dire for those who hope. Jennifer Nedelsky boldly advocates for a balance between paid work and unpaid part-time care activities. Kate Raworth, in turn, has proposed a Doughnut Economy in which social needs are balanced within environmental boundaries.

Many consumers who have had enough of economic injustices are literally voting with their wallet through boycotts and other actions to express their solidarity and bring about meaningful change. In Malta, several initiatives are being studied to encourage the use of various indices of development rather than simply the GDP.

If there ever was a good time to hope, now is it.

Rev. Dr Carlo Calleja is a lecturer in the Department of Moral Theology.