This is the 9th in a series introducing the book Redeeming Capitalism by Ken Barnes. You can pick up the start of this series here. See the chart here for the context of ONTOLOGY in the major historic forms of capitalism.
“Issues of morality, of course, are not merely theoretical; they are ontological [nature of our being]. That is to say, they are indelibly associated with who we are, or at least who we perceive ourselves to be as human beings created in the imago dei [image of God] and yet estranged from God.
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Were it not for human sin and frailty, there would be no need for morality or ethics; everyone would simply conduct him- or herself in harmony with the divine. Unfortunately, that is not the way things are, and we must consider our moral codes and our conduct within a soteriological [theology directed to salvation] framework.
In the case of traditional capitalism, the orthodox (Roman Catholic) construct presumed that one was judged according to his or her good works (or lack thereof), but this was not the case in the modern (Protestant) era. Calvinist belief in predestination disassociates one's behavior from one's state of grace, at least in terms of agency, and ethics are seen not as a means to an end but as a process of spiritual refinement and a dutiful response to grace. This thinking drove the nature of modern capitalism, including the belief that one's economic activity had a divine purpose.
In a postmodern era, however, all of life, including economic activity, is viewed as exclusively material and temporal, with a lessened or nonexistent concern for things spiritual and eternal because no such realms exist. Hence, in this era we have discovered a resistance to ethical constraint, barring that which may be viewed as having utility.
Virtuous capitalism – the capitalism of common grace and common good – requires an ontology rooted both in the imago dei [image of God] and the missio dei [mission of God], even among those who do not profess religious belief. The existence and the work of God are not dependent upon the assent of humankind. They exist, acknowledged or not.
Even the most hardened nonbeliever can accept the brute fact that despite human reason and intellect, people are capable of immoral and unethical behavior requiring constraint. While this realization may contradict a norm they perceive to be true about the inherent goodness of humankind, people across all faith, cultural, and societal traditions can understand these things on an ontological basis and apply them to questions of morality and ethics in economics and business” (Barnes, Redeeming Capitalism, p. 198-9)[bracketed inserts and emphasis throughout is ours].
We at BetterCapitalism.org are fond of the phrase, “Questions are the engines of thought and action.” From that posture, we invite you to give thought to a few of our questions:
In traditional capitalism a predominate ethic was that one was judged according to his or her works. Do you think this ethic could again be helpful to transform our current form of capitalism to a form that is more beneficial to everyone, whatever their position in a business?
In modern capitalism a predominate ethic was that one’s economic activity had a divine purpose. Do you think this ethic could again be helpful to transform our current form of capitalism to a form that is more beneficial to everyone, whatever their position in a business?
In postmodern capitalism our predominate ethic is that one’s economic activity is not related to our spiritual lives. Is that an ethic that you hold for yourself; that how you operate in your business is unrelated to your spiritual journey?
How would you operate differently in business if you understood that how you operate in business is connected to your spiritual journey?
How might these questions prod you to re-think your perspective of capitalism? How might these questions prod you to make different marketplace decisions? We'd love to hear your answers and so invite you to share them with us.
Stay tuned for future excerpts of Redeeming Capitalism. Or. Why wait for us? Buy and read a copy for yourself now.
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