the need for economic personalism

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The Journal of Markets & M orality 1, no. 1(Spring 1998), 1-34

Copyright 199 8 Center for Econom ic Personalism

Introduct ion

For the past few years, a select group of Christian social thinkers have

engaged in dialogue with free-market econo mists concerning the m orality

of market activity. This friendly interd isciplinary exchan ge inspired the con-

ception of a n ew subdiscipline that sought to synthesize central aspects of

theology and econom ics, thereby giving rise to a n ew body of scholarship

termed econom ic personalism . This essay introdu ces econo mic p ersonalismin its historical, philosop hical, and practical com pon ents.

Economic personalism is a science of the morality of marketsan at-

temp t to an alyze the m oral ramifications of econo mic activity in light o f a

theological vision of the human person. This includes a detailed explora-

tion o f econo mic theo ry, history, and meth odo logy, as well as actual mar-

ket practices, all viewed from the perspective of the Christian faith,

particularly its recognition of the dignity of the human person and the

concern for justice that stems from th is recognition.

There have been attempts to add ress econom ic developm ent within th e

theoretical context of Christian moral concerns. These previous efforts

sought a Christian economics as part of a comprehensive social theology

that could elaborate the p roper m oral structures for all areas of social life

political, cultural, and econom ic.

These past efforts have shown them selves inadequ ate in o ne respect or

anoth er. A typical weakness is to o ffer principles of m orality for the m arket

that lack either sufficient kno wledge of morals o r sufficient kn owledge of

econom ics. In eith er case, the result is an in ability to achieve a true synthe-

Th e N e e d f o r Ec o n o m i c P e rs o n a l is m

Gregory M. A. Gronbacher

D irector

Center for Economic Personalism


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34 The Need For Economic Personalism

73 W. Fred Graham, The C onstructive Revolutionary: John Calvin & His S ocio-Economic Im pact

(Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1978), 80-87.74 Ibid., 82-84.75 Frank Vanden Berg, A bra ha m Ku yper (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Company, 1960), 282.76 Hen ry R. Van Til, The Ca lvinistic Concept of Culture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House,

1959), 119.77 Abraham Kuyper,Lect ur es o n Ca lvi n ism (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub lishing

Comp any, 1983 [1898]), 80-81.78 Ibid., 78.79 Ibid., 93.80 Ibid., 93-95.81 Ibid., 97.82 In The Problem of Poverty, ed. and trans. James W. Skillen (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book

House, 1995 ), Kuyper largely endorses private enterprise and charity, althou gh he leaves room

for the state to in tervene to prevent abuses of power, so long as that intervention do es not

usurp th e sovereignty of society over its areas of hum an life.83 Anoth er important document pertaining to John Wesleys econom ic thought is, Thoughts

on the Present Scarcity of Provisions, published in 1773 .84 John Wesley, The Use of Money, in O n M oral Business: Classical and C ontem porary Resources

for Et hi cs in Econ om ic L ife , ed. Max Stackho use, Den nis P. McCann , Shirley J. Roels, and Presto n

N. Williams (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub lishing Comp any, 1995), 194 .85 Ibid.86 Ibid., 195.87 Ibid.88 Ibid., 196.89 Ibid.90 The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1982 ); W il l I t

Li bera te? Q ue sti on s A bou t Lib erat ion Th eolog y (Mahwah, N J: Paulist Press, 1986); The Catholic

Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (New York: The Free Press, 1993 ).91 Novak combines various intellectual sources to augmen t Catho lic social thou ght. Relying

on principles of classical liberalism, personalism, Thom ism, Austrian econom ics, and natural

law theology, Novak strings together a coherent body of thought. His influence has been

widespread. Placed in what is sometimes called the neo-conservative troika with George Weigel

and Richard John Neuh aus, Novak has lectured and published h is way into the Mont Pelerin

Society, leading th eological associations, and even a 199 4 Templeton Prize. Defenders of bo th

free markets and Catho lic social concern recognize Novak as an original thinker and autho r.92 Ziga, Polish Phen omen ology, 14.93 Emmanuel Mounier, Personalism (Notre Dam e: University of Notre Dame Press, 1952),

105.

the need for economic personalism

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