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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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