A “Marketless World”? An Examination of Wealth and Exchange in the Gospels and First-Century Palestine
Research on the economic context of Jesus’ teaching on wealth and exchange points to the need to take into account the nature and extent of market arrangements in first-century Roman Palestine. This context involves changing relations among reciprocity, redistribution, and market exchange. Studies of the relevant archeological evidence point to intra- and inter-regional trade, increasing specialization, and monetization. This article claims that in the Gospels we find Jesus recognizing a growing role for market exchange and a legitimate pursuit of economic gain through risk-taking alongside of the need for the practice of general reciprocity. Perceived hostility toward wealth and market exchange is explained in terms of the institutional features of the Palestinian agrarian economy, including extractive wealth transfer by the Roman state and religious authorities. The article concludes that Jesus’ teachings on wealth and market exchange have greater moral relevance to modern economic life than is commonly thought. Edd S. Noell, "A 'Marketless World'? An Examination of Wealth and Exchange in the Gospels and First-Century Palestine," Journal of Markets & Morality 10, no. 1 (Spring 2007): 85-114
Gleaning as a Transformational Business Model for Solidarity with the Poor and Marginalized
“Gleaning” refers to the mandate within the Mosaic Law that harvesters should leave behind “gleanings” for the sake of the poor who subsist on the literal and figurative margins of society. Although this biblical mandate is generally neglected and considered irrelevant in modern business practice, it holds powerful lessons to help guide modern businesses into transformational solidarity with the poor and marginalized. This paper interprets the biblical significance of gleaning, to discern how the principles of gleaning, though rooted in ancient agrarian culture, might be applicable to modern business which is generally far removed from agriculture. The exegesis and analysis presented here leads to the conclusion that the operative impact of gleaning can be described in terms of guiding principles that can be applied in presentday businesses. Thus, gleaning is shown to be a formative concept for business in every age, as an illustration of God’s will for a healthy economic system that intentionally invites the participation of those on the margins of society. In the course of this analysis, we develop a useful taxonomy of business practices pertaining to the principles of gleaning. This taxonomy is expressed in the form six characteristics: (1) sustainability for business, profits, market and society; (2) experiential links with the poor; (3) enhancement of human dignity; (4) disruption of the cycle of poverty; (5) grace-infused economy (caritas); and (6) revelation of transformational power (transformatio mundi). We illustrate these characteristics by examining several business case studies, using the rubric to arrive at an assessment of business relationships with those on the margins.
Toward a Feminist Expansion of Macroeconomics: Money Matters1
Orthodox economics has long been confident that money is of minor importance in economic life. From Adam Smith onward, we have heard that it is real goods, not money, that determine economic well-being and that "economic scarcity" refers to scarce goods and scarce real resources. Though economic values are expressed in money terms, and money facilitates the circulation of goods, many economists continue to believe that it is both nominal and neutral in exchange relationships. In standard microeconomics, now dominated by the barter models of Walrasian general equilibrium, money plays no role whatever [Minsky 1990]. It is simply a mathematical convenience for avoiding the price permutations of barter. In standard macroeconomics, now dominated by monetarism, the situation is largely similar. Monetarists assert either that money does not matter or that it is all that matters. This reflects the Walrasian foundations of current monetarism: under "normal" circumstances, money is irrelevant [Minsky 1990]; but, in the closed and timeless Walrasian hermeneutic, nothing ever happens except when the essentially alien force of money is interjected. Orthodox Keynesianism, now in retreat, does include exogenous money as an economic variable, but it neglects Keynes's [1936] preeminent concern with monetary factors in business cycles.