Anne Rathbone Bradley on Christianity and Capitalism

tonygill — Sun, 10 Sep 2017 08:00:16 +0000

Does capitalism get a bad rap? Was Jesus and his followers socialists? These questions and more frame our discussion this week as we invite Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley onto the show to discuss her latest co-edited volume Counting the Cost: Christian Perspectives on Capitalism. Dr. Bradley is the Vice President of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics. We begin with an overview of this relatively new institute and what it does, and then turn to the question of what motivated an edited volume on Christianity and capitalism. This leads us to a discussion of how capitalism often gets a bad image, often viewed as synonymous with greed, materialism, and the rich taking from the poor. Anne provides a different working definition of capitalism that rests upon who makes decisions about how the means of production are used (which is a wide swathe of people), and a system of exchange through the mechanisms of profit and loss. We then take a look at the chapter written by Joy Buchanan and Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith about who benefits from capitalism and review the progress humanity has made over the past 200 years as markets have become historically more free. Anne points out that commoners can enjoy such luxuries today that would have only been reserved for a small hereditary class in the past. We move to Jonathan Pennington’s chapter on the topic of human flourishing in both the Old and New Testaments, noting that enjoying life (and the gifts of God) is an important goal here on Earth. This is contrasted to “Kantian altruism,” that tends to wallow in asceticism that often subverts enjoyment of material things. We further talk about how free markets allow us to trade with strangers and the role that trust plays in society, springboarding ourselves into the chapter written the late Michael Novak on how democratic capitalism also helps to raise human dignity. Art Lindsley’s chapter falls next on the docket. He argues that while the New Testament does not specifically call for a capitalist system, neither does it endorse the socialist alternative. The “sharing economy” described in Acts 2-5 is put into context, and Anne introduces the importance of the concept of “ownership of self.” The last portion of our interview is spent discussion one of Dr. Bradley’s specialties — inequality (of both income and wealth). We talk about “good” and “bad” inequality, how inequality is measured, and how God has gifted individuals with different talents that manifest themselves in different returns. Tony notes that this does not undermine the inherent dignity of a person, comparing Bill Gates and his bartenders equally. At this point, Anne relays a personal story about the survival of her daughter immediately after a premature birth and how much she not only benefited from a feeding tube patent introduced by Henry Turkel in the early 1950s, but all the other people that brought the all the technology together that saved a precious life. We also bring up Jesus’s Parable of the Talents that this point. Anne offers some thoughts about what Christians can and should do about inequality, specifically denouncing “cronyism” — the use of government coercion to direct social resources towards one’s personal gain. The interview ends with some of Dr. Bradley’s thoughts on what she has learned over the course of a couple decades studying economics while being a practicing question. She has enjoyed how her spiritual faith has always put her “economic way of thinking” to the test. Recorded: August 18, 2018.

Robert Sirico on Markets, Morality, Faith & Freedom

tonygill — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 08:00:55 +0000

Religious leaders are often quick to criticize free market economics because of the belief that it harms the poor, creates greater inequality, and relies upon the base motives of selfishness. However, can a moral case be made for capitalism and free markets? Rev. Robert Sirico, co-founder and president of The Acton Institute, explores this question in depth. We begin our discussion by reviewing Father Sirico’s personal journey from his idealistic youth in the 1960s and early ’70s to his transformation into a proponent of free market economics. His intellectual development is all the more interesting in that it occured as he was simultaneously drawn back to the Catholic faith of his youth, eventually choosing to enter the seminary and become an ordained priest. During this discussion we review his thoughts on Ayn Rand and other libertarian thinkers such as Friedrich Hayek and Frédéric Bastiat. We then venture into a discussion about greed, selfishness, and self-interest with Rev. Sirico laying out the difference between these different concepts and noting how the pursuit of self-interest can also be good for others as entrepreneurs attempt to benefit themselves by making others happy. Greed, on the other hand, is defined as the pursuit of desire with the intent of subordinating others. Father Sirico then makes a case that socialism tends to promote greed more so than capitalism. This discussion allows us to review early communal experiments by the Pilgrims and Fr. Sirico explains why liberation theologians and others are mistaken to interpret the social organization of the early Church Fathers as an example of socialism. We then discuss the role of profits, the gap between the rich and poor, the nature of envy, and the importance of voluntarism. Our discussion closes with an examination of President Bush’s faith-based initiative (which Rev. Sirico gave some early input on), how government policy (even if pursued with good intentions) may inhibit the important social role of individual charity, and a discussion of the recent controversy surrounding the health care mandate and the Catholic bishops. With the latter issue, we review the tension between a corporatist worldview and the Catholic principle of subsidiarity, a nice review of our earlier discussion with Prof. Phillip Muñoz. Finally, Rev. Sirico details the origins of the Action Institute and his role with that institution. Recorded: May 29, 2012.

Research On Religion » greed

Anne Rathbone Bradley on Christianity and Capitalism

Robert Sirico on Markets, Morality, Faith & Freedom