The Moral Dynamics of Economic Life: An Extension and
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Finn, Daniel K., PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press, Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth) is <strong>thestrong> ''social'' encyclical <strong>ofstrong> Pope Benedict XVI, one <strong>ofstrong> many papal encyclicals over <strong>thestrong> last 120 years that address economic life. This volume, based on discussions at a symposium co-sponsored by <strong>thestrong> Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies and <strong>thestrong> Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, analyzes <strong>thestrong> situation <strong>ofstrong> <strong>thestrong> Church and <strong>thestrong> <strong>thestrong>ological basis for Benedict's thinking about <strong>thestrong> person, community, and <strong>thestrong> globalized economy. <strong>Thestrong> Moral Dynamics <strong>ofstrong> Economic Life engages Benedict's analysis <strong>ofstrong> ''relation, '' <strong>thestrong> characteristics <strong>ofstrong> contemporary social and economic relationships and <strong>thestrong> implications <strong>ofstrong> a relational, Trinitarian God for daily human life. Crucial here is <strong>thestrong> Pope's notion <strong>ofstrong> ''reciprocity, '' an economic relationship characterized by help freely given, but which forms an expectation that <strong>thestrong> recipient will ''reciprocate, '' ei<strong>thestrong>r to <strong>thestrong> donor or, <strong>ofstrong>ten, to someone else. This ''logic <strong>ofstrong> gift, '' Benedict argues, should influence daily economic life, especially within what he calls ''hybrid'' firms, which make a pr<strong>ofstrong>it and invest a share <strong>ofstrong> that pr<strong>ofstrong>it in service to needs outside <strong>thestrong> firm. Similarly, development - whe<strong>thestrong>r <strong>ofstrong> an individual or <strong>ofstrong> a nation - must be integral, nei<strong>thestrong>r simply economic nor personal nor psychological nor spiritual, but a comprehensive development that engages all dimensions <strong>ofstrong> a flourishing human life. <strong>Thestrong> essays, written by social scientists, <strong>thestrong>ologians, policy analysts and o<strong>thestrong>rs, engage, extend, and critique Benedict's views on <strong>thestrong>se issues, as well as his call for deeper dialogue and a morally based transformation <strong>ofstrong> social and economic structures.