Tag: Economic Justice
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Theologians and Economists: Economic Justice
(Today, we return to this series after a two-week hiatus due to duties with the Presbyterians. 🙂 ) [Series Index] In recent posts, I've been suggesting some biblical themes that need to be a part of deliberations on theology and economics. God created humanity for dominion. It is our mission. Our relationship to material things…
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Dynamic Versus Static Perspectives on Economic Justice
This comes from Social Welfare and Individual Responsibility: For and Against by David Schmidtz and Robert E. Goodin. (This is Schmidtz writing.) From a static perspective, we see society as a snapshot, and what is wrong with the picture is that some people have unmet needs while others have plenty. The question defining the static…
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Living Simply in Abundance (8)
What did the prophets have to say about wealth and justice? It is frequently preached today that the prophets condemned economic inequities and proclaimed God’s desire to equalize wealth. Is this true? First, we need to recognize that there are three aspects to economic justice. Distributive Justice – Addresses how capital and goods are distributed…
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Sweatshops, Sweatshops Everywhere
Dani Rodrik's Weblog: Sweatshops, Sweatshops Everywhere Rodrik is reacting to an article in the New York Times about Con Edison discovering their manhole covers are being made in a sweatshop in India. An embarrassed Con Edison says that it is now rewriting its international contracts to include safety requirements. Fine, but what if these requirements…
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Economic Fallacies: “Biblical Redistribution”
The Biblical Redistribution fallacy identifies wealth equalization as the primary economic concern of the Bible; the Jubilee Code of Leviticus 25 is the most exemplary passage. Based on this perspective, public policies ranging from tax rates to debt cancellation for developing nations are advocated. These policies may be worthy and appropriate, but that is distinct…
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Theology and Economics: Remedial Justice
Remedial Justice – Just compensation and punitive action when malicious or careless damage has been done to life, liberty, or property. Remedial justice addresses just compensation and punitive action when malicious or careless damage has been done to life, liberty, or property. Someone must be reasonably certain that the fruits of their labor will not…
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Theology and Economics: Commutative Justice
Commutative Justice – The truthfulness of parties to an economic exchange. Commutative Justice is about honest and just economic transactions. It is a major theme in both Testaments of the Bible. From the Old Testament: Lev 19:11 NRSV You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another.…
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Theology and Economics: Distributive Justice
Distributive Justice – How capital and goods are distributed throughout society. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…" and only God is eternal. Therefore, everything ultimately belongs to God. Yet God created us to be "stewards" of his creation. "Steward" is not widely used today. I love its Old English origins. Hundreds…
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Theology and Economics: Justice in the Old Testament
Any discussion of economics in the Old Testament must begin with the Pentateuch, especially the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Clearly, these are not economic textbooks. The Hebrews were an agricultural people without the compartmentalization of life we have today, and to speak strictly of economics would have been unintelligible to them. Both Leviticus and…
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Theology and Economics: Rights, Obligations and Justice
Human rights. Civil rights. Property rights. Reproductive rights. Right to Life. Gay rights. Immigration rights. States rights. Right to privacy. Everywhere we look today there, we find "rights." Some talk of a right to a good education or a right to good health care. Some even talk about the right to reliable cellphone service. The…