How Fair Trade Aligns with Jesuit Traditions

From Fordham University Website—“From the very beginnings, Jesuit education has been characterized by a number of different qualities:

We have a great emphasis on care for the individual student; We have a great desire to introduce excellence and rigor into the classroom and every subject we teach; Third, we believe that students have to be invited to wrestle with the great ethical issues of their time. We want them to be bothered by the realization that they don’t know everything and bothered by injustice.”

—Joseph M. McShane, S.J., President of Fordham University Quotation taken from the David Hartman PBS program, “A Walk Through the Bronx.”

Here at Fordham University we have a great opportunity to not only get a world class education in our desired field of study, but also learn and instill the values of the Jesuits through the amazing core curriculum offered to us. The three principles that President McShane referred to are cura personalis, magis, and homines pro aliis, respectively. The Fair trade movement has given all Fordham students to live out all three of these Jesuit principles.

CURA PERSONALIS

Cura personalis translates from Latin to “care for the individual.”  Fair Trade allows for Fordham students to care for the producer of the good. By buying their product, not only do you support them financially, but emotionally as well. Buying their product also gives the producer pride in their work. They see that their product is wanted around the world. Also, since they receive a higher price they feel as with not only their product is worth more but themselves as well. There are few feelings like being compensated fairly for the work you put into a product. Cura personalis really refers to the one on one care for others. Fair Trade allows for this unique individual interaction by eliminating the intermediaries on the supply chain so your money goes from you directly to the producer.

MAGIS

The principle of magis directly translates to “more” or “better,” and signifies the desire to do more for others and God. It should be fairly clear how Fair Trade does more for others. By supporting the movement and buying the products, the producers at the end of the supply chain receive a higher and more just price on their products. This will help them in turn do more for their children. They will be able to afford food, clean water, and schooling. Doing more for this generation does even for each successive generation. Magis in the Jesuit tradition is a never ending pursuit of improvement, and in this sense by supporting Fair Trade you support the beginning of change for a never ending lineage of generations.

HOMINES PRO ALIIS

The term homines pro aliis translates to “men and women for others.” This specifically refers to the solidarity that all humans should show for those that need help. Three billion people still live on less than $2.50 per day. That’s means half the world would only be able to eat one slice of Pugsley’s pizza a day. Based off this stat there is no surprise that 27-28% of children in developing countries have stunted growth (source). This lowers their ability to produce later on at life creating a poverty trap for them and their future generations. By following this homines pro aliis principle, we can stand in solidarity with those in poverty. Fair Trade excludes the exploitation of workers allowing people around the world fight with those in developing countries for better labor conditions and higher wages. Furthermore in order to stand in solidarity it’s important to not only buy Fair Trade products, but also learn about their struggles and inform others of the movement.

Now if you’re wondering how you can immediately support Fair Trade, look for the Amani Fair Trade cart in the Gabelli School of Business. If you’re still not sure about the Fair Trade movement and need more evidence continuing following this blog or many of our other social media accounts.