Virtue and Business, Can Ethical Principles Help the Troubled Markets?

Gregory Mussmacher, Faith In Jesus Christ!!

Virtue and Business Can Ethical Principles Help the Troubled Markets?

By Father John Flynn, LC ROME, OCT. 5, 2008 (Zenit.org).-

As efforts continue to resolve the financial crisis a number of commentators argue that it's not only a lack of monetary capital, but a lack of spiritual capital that has contributed to the problems. "The market is vital, but is the market has an essentially social function," declared Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland. "It can only function in an ethical and judicial framework where the vulnerable are protected and the natural arrogance of the powerful is curbed. We see today how gross and unregulated individual misbehavior in market activity affects the stability of companies but also of countries and then of the men and women who make up the society in which we live," he declared in an address titled: "Ethics, the Economy and Caring: Lessons to Be Learned." From England the Anglican archbishop of York, John Sentamu, had strong words for traders who had profited from the crisis, calling them "bank robbers," reported the London-based Times newspaper Sept 25. He also said that no one was guiltless in the present crisis and that everyone had joined in worshipping the false god of money. While not denying the gravity of the current crisis, Peter Mullen, an Anglican priest in charge of two parish churches in London's financial center, and also chaplain to the Stock Exchange, reminded readers that there is no viable alternative to capitalism. In an article published in the Sept. 26 edition of the Catholic Herald, Mullen noted that every time there is an economic or financial crisis we hear arguments about capitalism being incompatible with Christianity. The only alternative in recent times -- socialism -- proved to be much worse, he argued. So while it is true capitalism is imperfect, it's better than any other option, he concluded. Moral principles For their part the bishops of the United States, by means of a letter sent to government leaders by Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chairman of the episcopal conference's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, spoke of the need for considering key moral principles. The letter warned of the dangers of excessive speculation and recommended greater responsibility and accountability. Bishop Murphy also wrote of the importance of the principles of solidarity and the common good. The need to anchor the economy and markets in solid virtues was the theme of a book published earlier this year by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch. In "Spiritual Enterprise: Doing Virtuous Business," (Encounter Books) he defends capitalism, but also insists it requires a "spiritual capital" as a foundation. Malloch had experience in Wall Street, having worked at Salomon Brothers. He currently heads the Roosevelt Group. He starts by noting that in the wake of a number of recent corporate failures it's clear that greater accountability and better governance are needed in the business world. "The moral outrage that people feel in response to the past decade of scandal and deceit is entirely legitimate, and it leads to compelling questions about the true purpose of business and the virtues that are necessary to sustain it and a free economy," Malloch comments. Defenders of capitalism and the free market extol its capacity to produce wealth. Critics, however, Malloch notes, argue that putting the profit motive at the center of life is a mistake as it falsely takes the place of ethical and spiritual values. Malloch's thesis is that we do need to create wealth and that this is a legitimate activity, but we should do so in a way in which God's gifts are used responsibly. As well, creating wealth should not be done for the purpose of dominating others or for accumulating personal power. Spiritual capital Malloch declares himself to be a "committed Christian, and people of faith, he points out, see freedom not just as an array of possibilities but as the capacity to choose between right and wrong and to develop our faculties guided by virtue. The concept of social capital, he explains, is well-known and refers to the accumulated social resources handed on from one generation to the next. This body of customs, culture, manners and morals has been a key factor in the economic development of Western countries. More recently some have started to talk about a spiritual capital, including Malloch notes, two Nobel laureate economists. This is a necessary counterbalance to the reductive model of the human being used by many economists, who reduce activity to a balance of costs and benefits. "Human beings are not just profit-maximizers," he affirms. Our age, he continues in a chapter of the book dedicated to the concept of virtue, tends to consider the moral life as a matter of following rules. This is, however, a departure from previous times where the moral life was conceived of not in terms of duty, but virtue. The spiritual capital that is built up through the cultivation and practice of virtues adds something that social capital does not have, explains Malloch. Spiritual capital comes from a relationship with God through worship, prayer and devotion, and also through a discipline that is not just that of a human society. This spiritual capital, he warns, must be something more than just a public relations exercise, often termed these days as corporate social responsibility, but which is frequently termed these days merely a device to ward off criticism from nongovernmental organizations. We also have to avoid a superficial sort of business ethics that is often driven by a political agenda. Instead, a company needs to be guided by virtue, Malloch concludes. This virtuous behavior is by no means easy in a world often marked by corruption and dishonesty. Moreover, in a global economy marked by swiftly moving technological change it is more necessary than ever for companies to be guided by spiritual values. There may even be short-term costs in doing business virtuously, Malloch acknowledges. In the end, however, he argues that virtue will lead to long-term benefits, both personal and commercial. Choices Benedict XVI offered some words of guidance on how financial activities and the economy should be guided by ethical principles, in a homily given Sept 23, 2007. During his homily, given during a Mass celebrated in the plaza of the Cathedral of San Clement, on the occasion of a pastoral visit to the Diocese of Velletri-Segni, one of the suburbicarian dioceses, which are those nearest Rome. The Pope reflected on the parable of a dishonest steward who is praised (Luke 16: 1-13). "Life is truly always a choice: between honesty and dishonesty, between fidelity and infidelity, between selfishness and altruism, between good and evil," the Pope said. Moreover, the conclusion of this Gospel passage is clear: You cannot serve both God and Mammon, the Pontiff continued. "As a result, it is necessary to make a fundamental decision between God and mammon, it is necessary to choose between the logic of profit as the ultimate criterion for our action, and the logic of sharing and solidarity," the Pope noted. If we do choose this logic of sharing and solidarity, he added, then it will be possible to direct economic development in way that will ensure the common good of all. To do this, the Pontiff explained, we need to be able to choose between selfishness and love, between justice and dishonesty, and not to allow ourselves to be absorbed "by a selfish quest for profit." Useful pointers to help redirect financial markets so they serve the common good of the whole society. email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23810?l=englishSphere: Related Content