Depression, Recession, and Recovery: Niebuhur's Christian Realism Applied to Macroeconomics
Following decades of macroeconomic theories applied to counteract the business cycle, the Great Recession of 2008-2010 was an unexpected challenge to economic dogmas that had been part of American consciousness. In like manner, early economic principles such as the Protestant Ethic and the promise...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[publisher not identified]
[2011]
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| In: |
Journal for the sociological integration of religion and society
Year: 2011, Volume: 1, Issue: 1 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Following decades of macroeconomic theories applied to counteract the business cycle, the Great Recession of 2008-2010 was an unexpected challenge to economic dogmas that had been part of American consciousness. In like manner, early economic principles such as the Protestant Ethic and the promise of industrial capitalism were challenged by the harsh injustices of the Great Depression in the 1930s. While it is tempting for people of faith to align with radical economic and political factions that purport unilateral solutions to economic problems, more often than not solutions are far more complicated and multifaceted than platitudes reveal. Following the Great Depression, Reinhold Niebuhr argued for a perspective of Christian Realism that could remain critical of both capitalism and socialism, and seek practical, moderate solutions to advocate both prosperity and justice for all people. Niebuhr's perspective, when applied to macroeconomics, recognizes that corporations, individuals, and government are each inherently oriented toward corruption and thus, need one another for purposes of mutual security and accountability. Both imaginative and moderate possibilities for macroeconomic and social change are briefly explored. |
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| ISSN: | 2159-8711 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the sociological integration of religion and society
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