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Economics and Ethics

The recent financial crisis, which began in the summer of 2007, resulted in what some

economists have described as the near-death experience of the global economy. In a

seminal review published by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in March 2009, Lord

Turner describes the crisis as the greatest for at least a century, indeed arguably the

greatest crisis in the history of finance capitalism. In an address at a press conference in2011, US President Barack Obama described the aftermath of the financial crisis in

almost apocalyptic language: When the dust settled, and its binge of responsibility was

over, several of the worlds oldest and largest financial institutions had collapsed, or were

on the verge of doing so. Markets plummeted, credit dried up, and jobs were vanishing by

the hundreds of thousands each month. Much has been written about the financial

meltdown that affected so many countries in the world, offering both diagnoses and

cures. However, at a very fundamental level the crisis has to do with money (and

everything that is wrapped up with this powerful symbol) and our relationship to it.

For many people, money is the most natural and indispensable means of exchange.

Standard dictionary definitions of money include current medium of exchange, wealth

and resource. It is interesting to note, however, that Scripture is never satisfied with this

portrayal of money as a neutral medium of exchange. It seldom looks at money solely

from a monetary standpoint. Rather Scripture presents money as possessing a power andsignificance that could be described as religious and constantly warns of its ability to

corrupt. This is seen in Jesus description of money as Mammon (Matt 6:24), indicatingthat money, in the hands of fallen human beings it can attain spiritual significance. That is

why the Bible has so much to say about greed (Psalm 10:3; Proverbs 11:1; Luke 12:15;

Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thessalonians 2:5; 2 Peter 2:3; 2 Peter 2:14). And that is why Paul,

following the trajectory of Jesus teaching concerning money, could associate greed withidolatry (Ephesians 5:5). Our attitude to money determines how we relate to God.

URL : http://www.bible.org.sg/bss/resources/the-bible-speaks-

today/economics-and-ethics/

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It is important that we understand how money

fosters human relationships. Money creates atransactional relationship that promotes the view

that everything in this world can be bought and

sold. This includes human beings. The buying

and selling relationship that is shaped by thesymbol of money is seen acutely in the

relationship between the rich and the poor inmany countries in Asia and across the world. Asthe French Christian philosopher Jacques Ellul

has perceptively noted: Poverty leads to the

total alienation of the poor, an alienation whichputs the labour force at the disposal of the

wealthy, permitting the wealthy to impose their

own law and conception of life, their own

thought and religion.[1]What is alarming is

that this transactional relationship has

dominated our modern culture, even as the

language of customer and provider has wormedits way into virtually every aspect of our social

life. What this means is that human relationships

are reduced to carefully calibrated and

orchestrated business transactions. The realsignificance of this is that people are seen

basically as means by which our self-interests

can be furthered. [T]he most basic kind ofassessment we can make about actions of

another, writes Archbishop Rowan Williams,

is the evaluation of how much they can

increase my liberty to negotiate favourable dealsand maximise my resources.[2]

The Bible has much to say about the

destructiveness of self-interest. In the Old

Testament, the people of God are constantly

urged to take their responsibility towards othersseriously, especially those who may be at a

disadvantage: widows, orphans, the poor, the

oppressed and strangers. In the Gospels, Jesustaught his disciples that all the law and the

prophets hang on the commandments to loveGod and neighbour (Matthew 22:36-40). In theparable of the Good Samaritan, the neighbour is

defined as someone whom God may bring us

into contact. This includes not just people weknow, but also the outcast and even our

enemies. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul

exhorts his readers not to be motivated by pure

self-interest when he writes: each of you should

look not only to your own interests, but also tothe interests of others. Your attitude should be

the same as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians2:4-5).

When these moral considerations are taken

seriously, we will come to realise that

economics is not just about value. It is always

also about values. The values that we embracewould determine the way in which we relate

with one another in the economic community.

Ethics and moral consensus are in fact vitalfactors for generating economic value. This

brings us back to the most basic meaning of the

economy, which simply means housekeeping.Economics therefore has to do with taking care

of the household in such a way that everyone

who belongs to itchildren, adults, the elderly

and the vulnerablecan enjoy their commonlives together. Christians who are in business or

who are able to influence economic policies can

set the example. As salt of the earth and light ofthe world, Christians can demonstrate how

economic pursuits can be conducted without

ransacking the environment, promotingunfettered hedonism, and exploiting customers

and suppliers. As Williams has again put it so

well, housekeeping is guaranteeing that this

common life has some stability about it thatallows the members of the household to grow

and flourish and act in useful ways. Such a

vision can only be achieved if economics is not

divorced from ethics.

Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor of

Christian Doctrine at Trinity Theological

College. He worships at the Fairfield Preaching

Point in Woodlands, an outreach work of

Fairfield Methodist Church.

[1]Jacques Ellul,Money and Power(Downers

Grove, Ill.: IVP, 1984), 78.

[2]Rowan Williams, Knowing Our Limits, in

Rowan Williams and Larry Elliot (Eds), Crisis

and Recovery: Ethics, Economy and Justice

(Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan,2010), 20.

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