Christian-omics?
I understand next to nothing about the turmoil on Wall Street, even though it is closer to me than even Russia is to Alaska, and yet the human toll of the crashes and crises and meltdowns is becoming clear, and is spreading. My wife pointed out this morning that AIG, possibly the next giant to fall, actually holds our life insurance policy. Gulp.
But I suspect my life insurance policy is the least of it. Like the mortage meltdown, the current fallout is too much and terrible to ignore, even if I want to. Over the years I have written pieces on what the variety of religious traditions say about a rightly-ordered economy, but for every assertion of a principle there is an equal and opposite reaction, or, as is often the case, especially among some Christian communities, the view that economics is not the proper forum for Christian preaching (beyond vague appeals to the Golden Rule). The economy becomes a person, in a sense, afflicted by original sin that will inevitably bring the cycle of prosperity down again, with the only hope of salvation a true and full liberty to make proper choices. (The differing approaches may be summed up by the McCain and Obama responses, as summed up in a Times article today: McCain pointed to greed on Wall Street, Obama to lax regulation in Washington.)
That’s actually understandable in the Christian context especially, as Christianity seemed initially like an enterprise built for the short term. Only by the end of the first century did we start selling long-term bonds. But Adam Smith was no mean theologian, and the Catholic bishops wrote what I thought was a truly powerful pastoral letter on the economy in 1986, called “Economic Justice for All.” Unfortunately it is hard to find (good luck searching the bishops’ web site; the link here is to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul social justice office) and amid the debates over who is a good enough Catholic to receive communion, it doesn’t look as though the pastoral letter will get much of a hearing. It should. As Dickens might have said, the present crisis is so much like the past that they are almost indistingushable. And as the bishops say up top:
“Our faith calls us to measure this economy, not by what it produces but also by how it touches human life and whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person. Economic decisions have human consequences and moral content; they help or hurt people, strengthen or weaken family life, advance or diminish the quality of justice in our land.”
So is there a “Christian-omics,” so to speak? And is it one that is applicable to today’s crisis and future policies? And can it be made comprehensible to simple believers like moi? There is much talk of the virtue of small-town values these days. But in one of the few pieces I’ve been able to read, the Times‘ Joe Nocera points out that the current crisis has a shared dimension from Main Street to Wall Street: Denial.
Hard to deny what’s happening now. What to do?
UPDATE: Of course I should read Commonweal before I post anything, and Mark Sargent’s review of Charles Morris’ “The Trillion Dollar Meltdown” is a very good and insightful read, as is the book, I’m sure. (Subscribers only, but whatever it costs, you’ll save in the long run.)
on September 16th, 2008 at 9:43 am
I am retired surplus lines insurance broker. I worked for AIG about 30 years ago. I had a greedy reaction to the news that AIG is failing. Whether they fail or not, insurance premiums will probably increase because insurance capacity will probably decrease. This means commissions for brokers will increase since they are a percentage of premium. It is probably a good time to be an insurance broker again. Among other things the doctrine of original sin teaches us that human desire can lead to behavior that abuses others for money. I am tempted.
Perhaps if some of us get beyond our preoccupation with communion, we can spend more time and energy to help create a imagination that will lead to a more just and peaceful and equal world for everyone including women.
on September 16th, 2008 at 10:23 am
David, thanks to the link to the US bishops pastoral – haven’t looked at it for many years, it still seems quite up-to-date.
Just a couple of random thoughts for now: for most of us, we are to the economy as fish are to water – it’s the environment in which we swim every day, and individually we are as powerless to change it as a fish is to change the ocean. As Christian participants in the economy, it’s incumbent on us to “swim” in a Christian way: dealing fairly; opposing workplace injustices; treating our subordinates, co-workers, clients, etc. with love; observing a preferential option for the least among us in the workplace; forgiving those who wrong us; etc.
In my view, this is the most clear-cut economic application of Jesus’ teaching – very much a “micro” view.
On a “macro” level, obviously there are competing views on how best to effect Christian outcomes in the economy, such as full employment, protection of human rights, distributive justice, and so on. These issues are titanic in their complexity, and frankly nobody fully understands the nature and degree to wjhich a change in a specific policy (say, a reformulation of income tax rates to make them more progressive) will affect the overall economy. So what can we do? Support candidates and policies that espouse Christian values; and participate vigorously in the public-square discussions of these policies.
FWIW – I believe that Senators Obama and McCain are formed in Christian values, and are guided to greater or lesser extents by Christian principles. Good news for our country.
on September 16th, 2008 at 10:38 am
David: As my humble eyes see things, one important difference between what is going on now and what the bishops had to say in Economic Justice for All is the rise of finance capitalism. Many who hang out on the left and emphasize issues of distribution on matters of economic justice often work from an idea of wealth as a zero sum game. They are very mistaken in this assumption. This mistake matters now more than ever, because it is precisely the highly volatile character of purely financial wealth, rather than productive wealth, that is driving this crisis. Here, the issue is not so much distribution as it is stewardship. The Christian reason to care about this is that carelessness of a few is going to have a massive impact on the wealth of many.
FWIW, I am not much of a fan of Economic Justice for All; too many empty slogans that just about anyone can agree with in principle. What is needed is better analysis of the means to achieve economic justice; that is where the rubber bounces the check, or something like that.
on September 16th, 2008 at 11:18 am
“FWIW, I am not much of a fan of Economic Justice for All; too many empty slogans that just about anyone can agree with in principle. What is needed is better analysis of the means to achieve economic justice; that is where the rubber bounces the check, or something like that.
What is needed is better analysis of the means to achieve economic justice; that is where the rubber bounces the check, or something like that.”
True, there are a lot of bromides and signs of committee-work in the doc, but it’s hard to see how a national bishops’ conference could be more specific than that. Too many variables. As with medicine and sex, it’s possible even for a bishop to get out of his depth :-)
I’d suggest that finding the means to achieve economic justice is what the laity are commissioned to do.
on September 16th, 2008 at 11:31 am
While Rome was burning, this administration was conciously staying on the sidelines. From 2002 to 2008 our currency depreciated by over 50%. We became dependent upon foreign investments of mostly petro dollars and kept inventing new ‘funds’ for them to hold. Regulations were ignored or unenforced and a giddy real estate boom ensued. Thankfully, I was deliberately inactive as a realtor/appraiser during this insane run-up and speculative period. I noted the deliberate reduction of FHA involvement in the housing market all in the interests of increasing private rather than public mortgage activity. We are now reaping the bad harvest of both greed and suspension of regulations that were originally in place to prevent such catastrophes. We are now in the grip of world-wide financial panic and who knows where it will ultimately lead.
on September 16th, 2008 at 11:32 am
“Here, the issue is not so much distribution as it is stewardship. The Christian reason to care about this is that carelessness of a few is going to have a massive impact on the wealth of many.”
This is a great point, Joe. To my mind, stewardship serves as an umbrella notion encompassing such notions as the sinfulness of greed, the virtue of prudence, and the necessity of working toward the common good.
Btw, Obama is absolutely right in that better oversight is needed. My guess is that there aren’t many people outside of Wall Street who understand what a credit default swap is. I confess to not fully having my arms around it myself. Here is Wikipedia’s summary, which would need a good deal of unpacking by me in order to digest:
“A credit default swap (CDS) is a credit derivative contract between two counterparties, whereby the “buyer” or “fixed rate payer” pays periodic payments to the “seller” or “floating rate payer” in exchange for the right to a payoff if there is a default[1] or “credit event” in respect of a third party or “reference entity”.
“If a credit event occurs, the typical contract either settles by delivery by the buyer to the seller of a (usually defaulted) debt obligation of the reference entity against a payment by the seller of the par value (”physical settlement”) or the seller pays the buyer the difference between the par value and the market price of a specified debt obligation, typically determined in an auction (”cash settlement”).
“A credit default swap resembles an insurance policy, as it can be used by a debt holder to hedge, or insure against a default under the debt instrument. However, because there is no requirement to actually hold any asset or suffer a loss, a credit default swap can also be used for speculative purposes and is not generally considered insurance for regulatory purposes.”
on September 16th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
The current news reminded me of a day in 1987 when I went up to 42ST to see an attorney; many faces, etched with nervousnessand incomprehension, were watching the stock tickers in windows near the IRT station.
The NPR report today was excellent as to how these matters run in cycles; we seem though not to have learned about the continuing unfortunate combination of simplistic (Friedman) economics, lack of sufficient regulation and pure greed.
Mark Sargent’s prescient review of Morris is indeed must reading( in fact editorial staff should be congratulated for a superb issue), but the current crisis drew my attention to Robert Bellah’s excellent article on Charles Taylor and made me wonder how deeply we’ve become enmeshed in the world of Self.
As to Christo-nomics, when was the last time anyone heard a good homily on avarice (or a mention of the capital sins)?
Are there any current moral writings on the role of government in the common good issues around the economy, e.g. extent of lobbying, earmark transparency, support of financial institutions?
Clearly there are questions we need to ask about the values we bring not only as individualsa in our own actions but also the institutions effecting our lives in these matters.
on September 16th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Five Ex-Secretaries of State Urge Talks With Iran
Monday, September 15, 2008 7:30 PM
Five former secretaries of state urge talks with Iran while the bishops focus on one issue. The first economic is to bring peace. How sad the bishops are. The following is from AP.
WASHINGTON — Five former secretaries of state, gathering to give their best advice to the next president, agreed Monday that the United States should talk to Iran.
The wide-ranging, 90-minute session in a packed auditorium at The George Washington University, produced exceptional unity among Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Warren Christopher, Henry A. Kissinger and James A. Baker III.
on September 16th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Though not Christian in origin or specifically focused on Christian goals, the Grameen Bank, by pioneering the use of micro-credit in the Third World, has nevertheless embodied the Christian ideal of helping the poor. Though perhaps not practical for widespread use in global markets, micro-credit has brought economic improvement–and hope–to many of the world’s poor. The Nobel Peace Prize that the bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunis, won in 2006 was well-deserved.
on September 16th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Too bad that the United States wasn’t as concerned about its mortgage systems as it has been about its immigrants. Today the United States is going through probably the worse credit crisis it is has had since 1929. This crisis was not caused by an act of nature. Those who
caused it were rational human beings devoted to maximizing their profits. This crisis didn’t arise from debt or even bad debt. It is arose from *speculation* in debt. Very simply the original lenders knowingly created bad loans for the sole purpose of creating
debt that could be sold for a profit. If AIG fails, the consequences are enormous!
on September 16th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
“Though not Christian in origin or specifically focused on Christian goals, the Grameen Bank, by pioneering the use of micro-credit in the Third World, has nevertheless embodied the Christian ideal of helping the poor. ”
Amen, William. And I’ve heard that there are parishes that have gotten involved in microlending.
on September 16th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Our problem is really that we can’t decide whether the economy is part of the moral order or part of some sort of technical order. In the US, we mostly talk about it as though it is the latter and therefore something that we can inject some Christian stuff into once in a while, sort of like loaning someone an umbrella when it’s raining.
on September 17th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
“Our problem is really that we can’t decide whether the economy is part of the moral order or part of some sort of technical order. In the US, we mostly talk about it as though it is the latter and therefore something that we can inject some Christian stuff into once in a while, sort of like loaning someone an umbrella when it’s raining.”
I’m sure the answer probably is “both/and”.
FWIW – I do believe that a lot of economic behavior isn’t particularly morally freighted. e.g. if I buy milk at Store A for $2.69/gallon rather than Store B for $3.59 a gallon, I don’t think any virtue or culpability attaches to that decision – “all other things being equal”, as the economists say.