Economics in Spirit and Truth: A Moral Philosophy of Finance PDF
Preview Economics in Spirit and Truth: A Moral Philosophy of Finance
Economics in Spirit and Truth Radical Theologies Radical Theologies is a call for transformational theologies that break out of tradi- tional locations and approaches. The rhizomic ethos of radical theologies enable the series to engage with an ever-expanding radical expression and critique of the- ologies that have entered or seek to enter the public sphere, arising from the con- tinued turn to religion and especially radical theology in politics, social sciences, philosophy, theory, cultural, and literary studies. The post-theistic theology both driving and arising from these intersections is the focus of this series. Series Editors Mike Grimshaw is associate professor of Sociology at Canterbury University in New Zealand. Michael Zbaraschuk is lecturer at the University of Washington, Tacoma, and visiting assistant professor at Pacific Lutheran University. Joshua Ramey is visiting assistant professor at Haverford College. Religion, Politics, and the Earth: The New Materialism By Clayton Crockett and Jeffrey W. Robbins The Apocalyptic Trinity By Thomas J. J. Altizer Foucault/Paul: Subjects of Power By Sophie Fuggle A Non-Philosophical Theory of Nature: Ecologies of Thought By Anthony Paul Smith On Philosophy as a Spiritual Exercise: A Symposium Edited by Philip Goodchild The Counter-Narratives of Radical Theology and Popular Music: Songs of Fear and Trembling Edited by Mike Grimshaw Theology after the Birth of GOD: Atheist Conceptions in Cognition and Culture By F. LeRon Shults Theopoetics of the Word: A New Beginning of Word and World By Gabriel Vahanian; Foreword by Noëlle Vahanian Economics in Spirit and Truth: A Moral Philosophy of Finance By Nimi Wariboko Economics in Spirit and Truth A Moral Philosophy of Finance N W IMI ARIBOKO ECONOMICS IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH Copyright © Nimi Wariboko, 2014. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-47549-7 All rights reserved. Portions of chapter 2 are reprinted from “Theological-Ethical Critique of Accounting,” pp. 122–141, Nimi Wariboko, Accounting and Money for Ministerial Leadership: Key Practical and Theological Insights, Wipf and Stock, 2013. First published in 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-50183-0 ISBN 978-1-137-47550-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137475503 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wariboko, Nimi, 1962– Economics in spirit and truth : a moral philosophy of finance / Nimi Wariboko. pages cm.—(Series—radical theologies) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Finance, Personal—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Money— Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Finance—Moral and ethical aspects. I. Title. BR115.W4W36 2014 261.8(cid:25)5—dc23 2014023158 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: November 2014 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To my dearest sister, Awoibi Wariboko Briggs This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xix Introduction: Economics Is Not an Alien Monster 1 1 The Idea of Finance 19 2 Theological-Ethical Critique of Accounting 39 3 The Ontology of Moral Hazard in Finance 57 4 Faith Has a Rate of Return 87 5 The Knot of Finance 105 6 A Political Theology of Market Miracles 123 7 Care of the Soul: Resistance to Finance Capital as Virtue 159 Conclusion: Rethinking Economic Ethics 173 Notes 185 Bibliography 207 Index 215 This page intentionally left blank Preface Today finance capital and freedom are the two opposing forces that shape our common economic existence. Finance capitalism renders most per- sons’ economic life fragile to undermine their freedom. This book demon- strates how ordinary citizens can build an antifragile social ethics capable of resisting finance capital and promoting freedom and human flourish- ing. This ethics of antifragility is fashioned as an economic and political philosophy of care of the soul, the pragmatic concern for and social prac- tices to engender democratic subjects faithful to full-orbed freedom as the event of “life and the good life.” This is a conception of Christian economic (political) ethics that promotes the economic ethos of radical, creative dis- obedience, novelty, and emergence that deploys the logic of finance capital against itself, transforming it into a paradigm of care of the soul for any democratic citizenry that wants to resist global capitalism and advance human flourishing. The book’s emphasis on freedom, creativity, novelty, adaptability, and antifragility draws from a deep theology of the Spirit, the philosophy of emergence, and the logic of finance capital. The notions of antifragility and care of the soul derive from and deeply inform the constructive proposal of this book; a proposal that accents play, becoming, and unpredictability as the marks of the social ethics that must embrace (i.e., engage it without existential ressentiment) as well as resist finance capitalism. Finance capital is a dynamical system that is always becoming and benefits from volatility and vulnerability it imposes on all spheres of society. The best way for citizens to properly relate to finance capital’s world of becoming is through the ethics of antifragility, that is, an ethics of potent freedom, surprise, and uncalculatability rooted deeply in the philosophy of emergence and theology of the limitless Spirit. As political theorist William E. Connolly puts it in his book, A World of Becoming: In a world of ungodly becoming . . . “divine” accidents periodically unsettle political programs; markets periodically lurch into volatility; this or that aspect of nature sometimes erupts in a surprising way; and such force may
The list of books you might like
