Genuine enterprise
A contribution published in the periodical Dizionario di dottrina sociale della Chiesa (The Church dictionary of social doctrine) provides a clear analysis of an alternative interpretation of production organisation
Creativity, and thus entrepreneurship. A willingness to do and make, and thus entrepreneurship. Ingenuity, and thus entrepreneurship. We could go on like this for a long time, finding parallels all based on one common element: the entrepreneur, the key figure in the foundation and development of a production organisation. Discussions revolving around “good businesses” require constant update and development, and need not touch on sanctimonious companies (the nemeses of good companies centred on production, yet not purely focused on making a profit). This is what Giovanni Marseguerra (from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan) achieved with his contribution entitled “Intraprendere: una questione di relazioni” (“Entrepreneurship: a question of relationships”), published in the second 2021 issue of the periodical Dizionario di dottrina sociale della Chiesa.
“Behind all entrepreneurial activities is a person with the desire to achieve something big and important”, writes the author right at the beginning of his contribution, and continues to say, “This desire acts as a steering impetus and allows to concretise any business ideas, which does not always mean success yet always drives the spirit of entrepreneurs. The fate of such an initiative will then substantially depend on the commitment and the skills of its promoter and, partly, also on circumstances, which can be favourable or unfavourable.” This is the proposition from which Marseguerra’s argument develops and that aims to identify the basic principles and values that underlie the foundation and development of entrepreneurial activities. More in detail, the article wants to show how every genuine and concrete entrepreneurship always arises from personal initiative, from free and responsible human vision and how, over time, it defines a kind of human and social capital that ends up looking like social good. Therefore, a “community of people” grows around an idea or a project, constitutes and embodies the enterprise, which will also thrive on relationships based on collaborations and cooperation, both internal and external.”
To elaborate his argument, Giovanni Marseguerra also takes into consideration neoclassic economic theory at first, and subsequently “a theory based on the individual”, before reaching a final interpretation founded on the social doctrine held by the Catholic Church. Marseguerra, then, attempts to examine more closely certain aspects deriving from these presuppositions, including the responsibility an entrepreneur holds, family-based companies, freedom, care for “real and tangible people”, the role of businesses in “building a more human economy.”
As it always happen with clear, straightforward arguments, not all readers will agree with Giovanni Marseguerra, though no one, in all honesty, could deny its significance and intelligibility.
Intraprendere: una questione di relazioni (“Entrepreneurship: a question of relationships”)
Giovanni Marseguerra
Dizionario di dottrina sociale della Chiesa, Issue 2021, 2 – April-June 2021
A contribution published in the periodical Dizionario di dottrina sociale della Chiesa (The Church dictionary of social doctrine) provides a clear analysis of an alternative interpretation of production organisation
Creativity, and thus entrepreneurship. A willingness to do and make, and thus entrepreneurship. Ingenuity, and thus entrepreneurship. We could go on like this for a long time, finding parallels all based on one common element: the entrepreneur, the key figure in the foundation and development of a production organisation. Discussions revolving around “good businesses” require constant update and development, and need not touch on sanctimonious companies (the nemeses of good companies centred on production, yet not purely focused on making a profit). This is what Giovanni Marseguerra (from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan) achieved with his contribution entitled “Intraprendere: una questione di relazioni” (“Entrepreneurship: a question of relationships”), published in the second 2021 issue of the periodical Dizionario di dottrina sociale della Chiesa.
“Behind all entrepreneurial activities is a person with the desire to achieve something big and important”, writes the author right at the beginning of his contribution, and continues to say, “This desire acts as a steering impetus and allows to concretise any business ideas, which does not always mean success yet always drives the spirit of entrepreneurs. The fate of such an initiative will then substantially depend on the commitment and the skills of its promoter and, partly, also on circumstances, which can be favourable or unfavourable.” This is the proposition from which Marseguerra’s argument develops and that aims to identify the basic principles and values that underlie the foundation and development of entrepreneurial activities. More in detail, the article wants to show how every genuine and concrete entrepreneurship always arises from personal initiative, from free and responsible human vision and how, over time, it defines a kind of human and social capital that ends up looking like social good. Therefore, a “community of people” grows around an idea or a project, constitutes and embodies the enterprise, which will also thrive on relationships based on collaborations and cooperation, both internal and external.”
To elaborate his argument, Giovanni Marseguerra also takes into consideration neoclassic economic theory at first, and subsequently “a theory based on the individual”, before reaching a final interpretation founded on the social doctrine held by the Catholic Church. Marseguerra, then, attempts to examine more closely certain aspects deriving from these presuppositions, including the responsibility an entrepreneur holds, family-based companies, freedom, care for “real and tangible people”, the role of businesses in “building a more human economy.”
As it always happen with clear, straightforward arguments, not all readers will agree with Giovanni Marseguerra, though no one, in all honesty, could deny its significance and intelligibility.
Intraprendere: una questione di relazioni (“Entrepreneurship: a question of relationships”)
Giovanni Marseguerra
Dizionario di dottrina sociale della Chiesa, Issue 2021, 2 – April-June 2021