Evangelii gaudium, economia e fraternità.

Even though the word brotherhood is not frequently mentioned in the text of Evangelii gaudium, it actually is one of the possible interpretations of this text. The brotherhood referred to in the EG is however a qualified brotherhood. It is the biblical brotherhood where conflicts are intertwined with hugs and life with death. It is the one of Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Rachel and Lia, Jacob and Esau, but also the ideal brotherhood between David and Jonathan or, finally, between Jesus and his friends. The way ancient people conceived brotherhood is different from the way modern people do and therefore, when we say that brotherhood should be reintroduced as a value in our civil and economic life, the question we should always ask is: which brotherhood is the one we desire? Friendship needs to know the other's name, brotherhood does not; friendship needs meeting, contacts, intimacy whereas brotherhood doesn't. The subject of this article is exactly this kind of brotherhood in dialogue with economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]