Cara Beed

A Christian perspective on economics

Informed by theological perspectives and influenced by various schools of thought in economics, attempts have been made in recent decades to develop Christian understanding of economic matters. This paper explores some aspects of a Christian philosophy and methodology about economic issues, and concludes that they are incommensurable with secular thinking about the subject. Three propositions are investigated to demonstrate this contention. First is the inseparable interconnection in Christian thinking between the spiritual and material dimensions of human life; second is the normative intention God has for human existence; and third is the tendency for humankind to develop modes of interpreting human behaviour outside the bounds of a Christian framework. These three issues are contrasted with secular thinking in economics with which they are found to be incompatible. Methodological differences are drawn out between the Christian and secular economic frameworks.

A Christian perspective on Neoclassical rational choice theory

The Neoclassical approach to analysing personal choice is compared with an approach contained in a Biblical Christian mode of analysis. This paper compares the Neoclassical and Christian positions via analysis of characteristics of the Neoclassical rational choice model. The main characteristic examined is a basic assumption of the rational choice model that human choice is explained as the optimisation of utility via rational self‐interest. The two positions are compared in terms of how they treat self‐interest and rationality, the degree to which basic assumptions about human behaviour are specified, the importance they attach to the realism of assumptions underlying their models, and the explanatory and predictive purposes for which the models are used. The conclusion of the comparison is that the Biblical Christian perspective encompasses the variables regarded as important in Neoclassical explanation, but presents them in the context of a more embracing worldview perspective than the Neoclassical. This Christian belief perspective is applicable to human behaviour in both “economic” and “non‐economic” domains.

Work Ownership Implications of Recent Papal Social Thought

This paper examines a particular employment inference of recent Papal social thought, for a Western developed economy context. The Papal documents studied are Centesimus Annus (1991), Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987), and Laborem Exercens (1981). The first and shortest section of the paper outlines a number of principles from the encyclicals aiming to guide employment organisation and policy relevant to Western and all economies. To permit their full consideration, an illustration is given how implications affecting forms of employment organization might be drawn from just one of the principles--the right to private property ownership. Private property ownership rights are argued to be constrained in specific ways, to relate instrinsically to employment organization, and to underpin other principles emphasized in the encyclicals, such as the priority of labor over capital. A selection of recent non-official-Church Catholic Social Thought is compared with the approach here. Since the encyclicals deal with issues only at the level of principle, the paper notes cases where attempts have been made to apply some of the employment organizational implications in practice.

Judeo-Christian principles for employment organisation

Abstract Principles for organising employment in contemporary Western society can be interpreted from orthodox Judeo-Christian thought. The formulation of such principles and their implications are shown as derived from a current Protestant interpretative stream. This is not to detract from the contribution of Catholic Social Thought in this area, but to suggest an allied and compatible Christian emphasis. The approach constitutes an alternative basis from conventional reasoning for deducing forms of economic organisation, although it is still susceptible to economic assessment. The final section discusses feasible options applicable to intra-firm forms of private sector employment organisation by which the Judeo-Christian principles might be approached.

Realism and a Christian Perspective on Economics

Beed & Beed (1996a) argued that a Christian philosophy and methodology provide an alternative mode of thinking about economic matters than is provided by secular economics. The Christian view is shown here to be a form of realism, having affinity with the metaphysical realism propounded by Trigg (1989, 1993), but differing from the critical realism of Bhaskar (1989, 1994) and others, advocated by Lawson (1997) in economics. A brief history and outline of realism are presented so it is clear what is being compared with the Christian position. This is followed by comparison of Christian realism with metaphysical and critical realism. Some illustrations of how Christian realism might be applied to economic questions are developed to show how it differs from the way in which secular forms of realism might analyse the same questions. Applying Christian realism to socio-economic matters requires an interdependent and normative approach in the context of a given metaphysical worldview. It takes the analysis of economic questions into territory unfamiliar to secular economics and which the latter may well reject as not being economics.

A Judeo-Christian Theory of Unemployment

Explanations for unemployment in a Western developed economy context remain contested. Competing theories relate particular economic phenomena to types and levels of unemployment, but no theory either explains all unemployment or is accepted uniformly. Recently, selected Protestant economists have proposed the relevance of principles contained in Judeo-Christian thought to a range of contemporary economic matters. How a selection of these principles might be used to partially explain certain forms of Western-type unemployment is illustrated. A normative framework for employment organisation contained in Judeo-Christian thought is presented from recent work of two economist (Protestant) Christian author groups whose approaches have had significant influence in Judeo-Christian circles. Unemployment is explained by differences between features of this framework, and employment organisational characteristics of the real (Western) world. In the third section, implications from the Judeo-Christian framework are compared with selected reasons for frictional and structural unemployment proposed in mainstream economics.

Socio-economic Principles in Contemporary Islamic and Judeo-Christian Thought

Principles applicable to socio-economic life contained in two modern interpretations of Islamic economic thought, and in two modern Judeo-Christian interpretations are compared. The relevance of this investigation is that these two religious systems encompass over fifty percent of the world’s population, and the percentage is believed to be increasing gradually. The four interpreters claim that each of their belief frameworks is replete with normative theological principles of direct implication to contemporary socio-economic life. As such, the two religions pose a challenge to secular economic frameworks of thought that eschew religious or theological input. The four interpreters are all economists who profess allegiance to their systems of belief. The comparison reveals a marked similarity in normative theological socio-economic principles between Islam and Judeo-Christianity, as interpreted by the authors examined. Seven comparable principles are derived from the four interpreters in the second section of the paper, ranging from their conjoint emphasis on the necessity for employment to be provided to all people, to their focus on the importance of an equitable distribution of the fruits of production. Two of the principles are investigated more closely in the third section. The first relates to the participatory nature of work and the ways in which it might contribute to people becoming economically independent. The second concerns the stress on reducing inequalities in the distribution of wealth and income, and to the way in which the reform of employment organisation can contribute to this end.

The autonomy of economics from Judeo‐Christian thought: a critique

In the contemporary relation between economics and Judeo‐Christian thought, Smith identifies three positions. These are disciplinary autonomy for economics, disciplinary interdependence between economics and Christian thought, and distinctively Christian economic analysis. Little evaluation has been made of these positions. Two representatives, as Smith classifies them, of the disciplinary autonomy and interdependence positions are evaluated from the distinctively Christian economic analysis viewpoint. Unlike Smiths classification, both J. David Richardson and Anthony Waterman are assessed as belonging to the disciplinary autonomy group, in which mainstream orthodox economic science is allegedly able to proceed independent of religious input. This position is criticized insofar, as Richardsons major and influential paper in the area (1988) is found to disregard any appraisal of the contribution of modern orthodox economic theory to the explanation of real world processes, and to overlook the contribution Christian thought might make to economic explanation. Both Richardson and Waterman assume an understanding of the “science” in economic science that is problematic, while Waterman utilizes arguments from the philosopher Leslek Kolakowski, and the economist Frank Knight, that are contestable from a Christian perspective.

Australia's waterfront container productivity & international benchmarking: A review of the productivity commission's 1998 and the bureau of industry economics' 1995 reports

In the recent Australian waterfront dispute, a 1998 Report by the Productivity Commission, and a 1995 one by the Bureau of Industry Economics, assumed public importance. They were used by the Commonwealth Government to undergird its claims that the Australian waterfront exhibits low international container productivity. This paper contests such conclusions via a critique of the methodology of the Reports.

Is the Bible Value-Neutral Toward Competition?:

Competition is pervasive in modern society, affecting work, education, and recreation. The question arises whether competition is consistent with scriptural teaching. The context for this enquiry is that Christians today disagree among themselves about whether Scripture has any normative content relating to competition. Some view competition as incompatible with Scripture, while for others it is compatible. On the basis of a given definition of competition, Christian contributions to the debate in the last decade are reviewed. Only six inputs were discovered (involving seven authors), with five arguing that Scripture takes no normative position toward competition. Most of this article is taken up with evaluating their cases that are found to be unpersuasive. A sixth paper claims that Scripture is incompatible with competition, examined in the penultimate section. From reviewing the six contributions to the debate, the conclusion is that that Scripture does not have a favorable attitude toward competition.