Today, when seeing the "paralysis" of this rich young man - incapable of responding to the call of love - we must consider the true meaning of the economic activity and its final purpose. Material goods are "goods", but they are not men’s final end but men’s means: the authentic human development must be "integral"; it has to promote the good of every man and of the whole man.

Development needs above all to be true and integral: the primary capital to be safeguarded and valued is man, because man is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life. Economic crises tend to have a moral root, which obliges us to re-plan our journey: our world needs a profound cultural renewal and the rediscovery of values background.

—"Moral underdevelopment" - characterized by a short and restricted view of the person and his destiny - hinders authentic human development: human costs always include economic costs, and economic dysfunctions always involve human costs.