Is the market moral? : a dialogue on religion, economics, and justice / Rebecca M. Blank, William McGurn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blank, Rebecca M.

Contributor:

McGurn, William.

Series:

Pew Forum dialogues on religion and public life

The Pew Forum dialogues on religion and public life

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Economics.

Physical Description:

xiii, 151 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, [2004]

Summary:

In the great tradition of moral argument on the nature of the economic market, Rebecca Blank and William McGurn join to debate fundamental questions: equality and efficiency, productivity and social justice, individual achievement and personal rights in the workplace, the costs and benefits of corporate and entrepreneurial capitalism. And they do so grounded in both economic sophistication and religious commitment. Rebecca Blank is an economist by training and describes herself as "culturally Protestant in habits of mind and heart." She also chaired the committee that wrote the statement Christian Faith and Economic Life, which was adopted by the United Church of Christ. Addressing market failure, for her, means that "freedom to choose" sometimes must give way to other human values.

William McGurn, a journalist and a Roman Catholic, brings his expertise in economics to bear on the teachings of the church concerning the morality of the market. For McGurn, humans reach their fullest potential when they are free from constraints of others. He writes that "our quarrel is not so much with Adam Smith or Milton Friedman as with the Providence that so clearly designed human beings to be their most prosperous at their most free." This book grapples with the new imperatives of a global economy while working in the classic tradition of political economy, which has always treated seriously the questions of morality, justice, productivity, and freedom.

Contents:

Viewing the Market Economy Through the Lens of Faith / Rebecca M. Blank 11

Markets and Morals / William McGurn 57

A Reply to McGurn / Rebecca M. Blank 91

A Reply to Blank / William McGurn 102

Creating a Virtuous Economy / Rebecca M. Blank 111

Creative Virtues of the Economy / William McGurn 129.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0815710216

OCLC:

53477256