Rethinking Economics Starting from the Commons

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Economics and the Commons: History, Tragedies, and Some Exercises

   • Luigino Bruni

   Pages 1-15

3. Expanding the Notion of the Commons: Is Love the Greatest Commons in Which We Should Thrive?

   • Sofia Croso Mazzuco, Plinio Limata, Ignacio Oliva

   Pages 17-29

4. Economics and the Ethics of Care

   • Julie A. Nelson, Valentina Rotondi, Paolo Santori

   Pages 31-42

5. Economics and the Ethics of Care: A Response

   • Tracey Freiberg, Serena Ionta, Olena Komisarenko

   Pages 43-59

6. Franciscan Wealth: The Roots of Franciscan Economic Thought

   • Giacomo Todeschini

   Pages 61-70

7. Franciscan Wealth: The Roots of Franciscan Economic Thought—A Comment

   • Giulia Gioeli, Maxime Menuet, Andrei Thomaz Oss-Emer

   Pages 71-79

8. The Power of Purposeful Business

   • Alex Edmans

   Pages 81-90

9. ‘Growing the Pie’ in a Catholic Social Thought Perspective

   • Kyle Ballarta, Andrea Calef, Andrea Roncella

   Pages 91-103

10. Generating Commons Makes Cities Alive

    • Elena Granata

    Pages 105-117

11. Preserving Our Commons: Call to Action

    • Eleonora M. Piergallini, Tamiris Cristhina Resende

    Pages 119-130

12. Winning Ideas: Lessons from Free-Market Economics for the Economics of Francesco

    • Sabina Alkire, Angus Ritchie

    Pages 131-146

13. Possible Paths to Follow in Francesco’s Economy: Based on the Analysis of Sabina Alkire and Angus Ritchie and the Experiences Walked So Far

    • Dian Maya Safitri, Kathleen Zegarra Delgado, Cristian Jesús Varela

    Pages 147-158

14. Moral Sentiments, Social Choice and the Commons

    • Flavio Comim

    Pages 159-169

15. Where Are “We” in the Economy? Some Reflections on the Place of Moral Sentiments and the Commons in Redefining Economics

    • Valentina Erasmo, Maria Jordet, Julia Wdowin

    Pages 171-184

16. The Economy of Francesco and the Age of Sustainable Development

    • Jeffrey D. Sachs

    Pages 185-203

17. Gratuitousness

    • Valentina Rotondi, Paolo Santori

    Pages 205-216

18. Peace, Faith, and Economy

    • Mons. Pierbattista Pizzaballa

    Pages 217-230

19. Peace, Faith, and Economy: A Comment

    • Bernat Sellarès Gómez, Nayeli Pereznegrón, Elena Batani

    Pages 231-242

This book proposes a new approach to economics, starting from the commons and based on the Economy of Francesco (EoF), a worldwide movement of young people who aim to change the current economic models and working towards a fair, sustainable, and inclusive economic system. EoF was convened by Pope Francis and is inspired by the example of St. Francis of Assisi, featuring Franciscan economic roots and institutions, as well as theories of the social sciences.

The authors raise and answer several important questions throughout the volume, such as: What if the economic courses taught in the universities across the globe focused their attention on the topics of the commons rather than on private goods? What if social businesses, rather than being considered as a hybrid form of businesses, became the normal approach, and ethical and green finance ruled over the standard financial sector? Is it possible to move away from the primacy of the consumers to the preeminence of ethical consumers who express their preferences for an inclusive, sustainable, and workers-friendly economic system with their daily choices? 


Using a unique approach, the book includes the contributions of prominent scholars which are integrated and discussed by young international scholars, providing a fresh analysis with a glance of hope for the future. The book is a must-read for students, scholars, and researchers of economics and related disciplines interested in alternatives to the current economic mainstream in general, and the Economy of Francesco in particular.

• Economy of Francesco
• Pope Francis
• Commons
• Franciscan economic roots
• Ethics of care
• Moral sentiments
• Peace
• Purpose and profit
• Social choice
• Fides
• St. Francis of Assisi
• Inequality
• Sustainability
• Social businesses
• Private goods
• Workers-friendly economic system
• Alternative economics
• History of economics

• SUPSI, Lugano, Switzerland

  Valentina Rotondi

• School of Humanity and Digital Science, Department of Philosophy, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

  Paolo Santori

Valentina Rotondi is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Italian Switzerland (SUPSI), Lugano, Switzerland, and an associate researcher at the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Nuffield College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. She defines herself as a social scientist with training in behavioral and applied economics and a focus on research on gender inequalities, demography, and development. Rotondi has a Ph.D. in economics from the Catholic University of Milan, Italy.

She is a member of the scientific committee of the international movement "The Economy of Francesco”.

Paolo Santori holds a Ph.D. in Sciences of Civil Economy from LUMSA University in Rome (supervisor: Luigino Bruni) with a dissertation on the History of Economic Thought, based both on philosophical and theological studies. Currently, he is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy of the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences at Tilburg University. 

He defines himself as a philosopher at the crossroads between economic thought and theology. His research interests lie in the area of Philosophy of Economics – including topics in History of Economic Thought, Theology & Economics, Business Ethics. Overall, he believes that today Economics is in need of biodiversity, meaning heterogeneous approaches and ideas. His research paths show that the pluralism that economics seeks can be derived from the history of ideas. History is like the roots of a tree; roots reveal not only the tree’s past but also its possible future. 

He is a member of the scientific committee of the international movement "The Economy of Francesco”.

Policies and ethics