Overview

In this religious and moral critique of liberalism, Travis Kroeker investigates what happens when religio-ethical discourse is translated into the economic policy discourse of North American liberalism. Focusing on influential representatives of contemporary Christian social ethics, he examines their attempts to reconcile prophetic religion and rational public policy. Kroeker argues that, in trying to make their theological ethics relevant to economic policy, Christian social ethicists have accepted assumptions that are incompatible with theological beliefs. Starting with the Social Gospel movement, he discusses the positions of theologian Walter Rauschenbusch and Canadian politician James Shaver Woodsworth. He then turns to Christian realism and compares the attitudes of Reinhold Niebuhr with those of Gregory Vlastos, the central figure in the Canadian fellowship for a Christian social order. He also reviews recent pastoral letters on the economy by the Canadian and US conferences of Roman Catholic bishops. In conclusion, Kroeker suggests an alternative theological approach based on the classical liberal realism of Thomas Hobbes and the classical Christian realism of Augustine that might better address the moral malaise of liberal political economy.

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Reviews

Provocative and well thought out, Kroeker's analysis challenges prevailing orthodoxies and raises important questions that those involved in theology, ethics, and economic analysis must now address. Randi Warne, Departments of Religious Studies and Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

""Provocative and well thought out, Kroeker's analysis challenges prevailing orthodoxies and raises important questions that those involved in theology, ethics, and economic analysis must now address."" Randi Warne, Departments of Religious Studies and Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

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