The Crisis of Global Capitalism

Description

‘The Crisis of Global Capitalism’ is a collection of essays with a compelling introduction by Adrian Pabst which offers a much-needed moral analysis of Western political economy in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Pope Benedict XVI’s social encyclical ‘Caritas in Veritate’ poses a challenge to integrate ‘quotas of gratuitousness and communion into economic activity’, a challenge which is here given serious academic attention by a number of highly respected contributors. The essays provide a number of unique perspectives on the encyclical and what it means for the future of Western economics. Among many varied angles of approach is Eugene McCarraher’s hard-hitting critique of the union of capitalism and Christianity in the modern West, and John Milbank’s assertion that economy should be subordinate to social reciprocity. Contributors make a rigorously academic analysis of contemporary economics, and apply Roman Catholic and Anglican thought to reveal ways in which the economy can be converted into a progressive instrument for the common good. This is a work that will be of great interest to anyone seeking a moral critique of contemporary political economy which also provides a vision of future change rooted in Christian ethics. Adrian Pabst is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Kent, and teaches political economy at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Lille (Sciences Po), France. He is the author of ‘Metaphysics: The Creation of Hierarchy’ (2012). ‘Anyone interested in finding a ‘third way’ between today’s barely regulated capitalism and state socialism will find much to reward them in this collection. It goes beyond the rigid limitations of contemporary liberal thinking in order to explore some of the crucial resources, intellectual and cultural, that we need to devise a new politics of the Left.’ Charles Taylor, author of ‘A Secular Age.’