Series #4: Christian Economics
Is there a Christian way to think about economics? This series answers that question with a big YES, BUT not all Christians agree on precisely what economic system is entailed by Christianity. Carmody and Barney interview economics experts, financial investors, and theologians with a range of views - from right-wing capitalist to left-wing Marxist - and learn a great deal in the process.
Episode #1: Can we really choose how we spend our money?
Barney and Carmody kick off the new series, asking difficult questions about the limits of our financial freedom. Our present economic system is neither inevitable nor ethically neutral, but it does have a huge impact on how we spend our money. What might we be able to do about it?
Episode #2: Economy as gift: beyond the capitalist-socialist dichotomy - with Edward Hadas
Carmody & Barney interview Edward Hadas, research fellow in moral economics at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford. He tells us what he thinks is wrong with the current way of debating economics and offers a whole new paradigm to help us imagine our labour and consumption differently.
Episode #3: Is veganism impossible? - a response to listener feedback
This short episode is prompted by a listener who sent us a voice message. He questioned Carmody's point about veganism (made in this episode), and in this episode Carmody responds to the point. Questions discussed in this episode:
Is veganism too hard or too expensive for most people?
How much can people be held responsible for their buying habits?
Is there a difference between concern for animal welfare and concern about climate change?
Have something to say? Send us a message and join the conversation!
Episode #4: Is capitalism the only fair system? - a debate
In the middle of our faith & economics series, this episode features a debate between Carmody, Barney, Ondrej, and Jared about whether or not it's possible to think beyond the typical polarities of capitalism/socialism. We also discuss:
What does it mean to ‘own’ something?
Can anyone own the climate, and is that a problem for the climate?
What is the purpose of ownership?
Who or what determines whether I own something?
Can the idea of property be extended beyond individual ownership?
Episode #5: Investing in your success: Islamic economics and the role of community - with Professor Adeel Malik
Carmody & Barney invite Adeel Malik of Oxford University to discuss the Islamic view of economics and finance. We discuss questions like:
Why is lending money at interest banned in traditional Islam, Judaism, and Christianity?
Why can economics never be separated from morality and religion?
Why is community a neglected dimension of economic theory?
Hope you enjoy the episode!
Episode #6: Freedom and Loneliness: Reflecting on recent episodes
Barney and Carmody respond to feedback and reflect on the last two episodes (with Ondrej & Jared, and with Adeel Malik). Themes that appear include:
What role does freedom play in an economic system?
Episode #7: Transforming economic theory through the Christian tradition - with Helen Alford
We interview Helen Alford, one of the leading voices in Christian economics. Helen offers an amazing array of insights. Helen had a transformative experience upon reading the following article:
Howard Rosenbrock, 'Engineers and the Work People Do', in The Experience of Work, ed. Craig Littler.
The key insight was that 'If engineers could think of people as if they were robots, they would give them more human work to do'.
This led Helen on to a journey of discovery about the Christian tradition's perspective on economics and the need to address the problems we are seeing in the present day.
Episode #8: The power of the free market to create wealth - with Dylan Pahman
Barney and Carmody interview Dylan Pahman on whether there is any such thing as ‘Christian economics’, or whether economics is a value-neutral space like mathematics. We discuss questions like:
Is the free market the most natural and universal economic system?
Should theologians stay out of economics?
Should economists stay out of theology?
What should our goals for society be in the first place?
Episode #9: God, Mammon, and Ethical Investing - with Robert Netzly
Barney and Carmody interview Robert Netzly, founder and CEO of Inspire Investing. Robert recently made the decision to withdraw all ESG investment on the basis that it has been overtaken by a Marxist agenda. We ask Robert about his understanding of faithful Christian investment and the principles on which he founded his business.
Episode #10: Christian Finance: Creating a Virtuous Circle - with Pete Gladwell
Carmody and Barney interview Pete Gladwell, who works for one of the largest investment companies in the UK. Pete explains how he views investment as a community service and tries to make investments that will benefit society rather than only making money for himself or his company.
This episode is really interesting to compare to the previous one with Robert Netzly: two Christian investors with different visions of what Christian values in investment look like.
Episode #11: What we really think about capitalism and other things - a reflection on recent episodes
Carmody & Barney pause to reflect on our recent episodes and the opinions presented by our guests. We appear to have invited quite a few capitalists recently without intending to over-represent one viewpoint. So most of this discussion is our own reflections on the varieties of capitalism that we’ve encountered from our guests. We reflect on things like:
What are the conditions for the possibility of economic activity?
Is there such a thing as an isolated individual?
What happens when you build a worldview out of fear?
Episode #12: How Christianity transforms the most fundamental economic principles - with Prof. Paul Williams
For our final episode on faith & economics, we’ve invited Prof. Paul Williams to share his vision for a Christian transformation of economics. Prof. Williams has studied economics and theology, and worked as both an economist and a theology professor for many years. He is uniquely qualified to give insight on our question and this episode is a powerful ending to an incredible series.
Written by Paul Williams:
‘Christianity and the Global Economic Order’, in The Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Economics, ed. Paul Oslington (Oxford University Press, 2014)
Entry on ‘Capitalism’ in The Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics, ed. Joel Green (Baker Academic, 2011).
‘Evangelicals, Pope Benedict, and the Financial Crisis’, The Review of Faith & International Affairs 8, no. 4 (1 January 2010): 65–68.
Books/articles recommended by Paul Williams:
Peter J. Buckley and Mark C.Casson, “The moral basis of global capitalism: Beyond the eclectic theory,” International Journal of the Economics of Business, 8(2), 2001, pp.303-327.
Donald A. Hay, Economics Today: A Christian Critique (Regent College Publishing, 2004).
William T. Cavanaugh, Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2008).