The market economy and Christian ethics /

This book examines the impact of the market economy on the nature of work, consumption, community, and human identity. Sedgwick (Board for Social Responsibility, Church of England) begins by applying Habermas's critique of modernity to the impoverishment of personal identity. In subsequent chapters, he examines the shift from production to consumption that has taken place in Western economies and the loss of local and national cultures as global capitalism advances, all the while considering what this might mean for personal identity. Sedgwick also discusses the nature of work in the global marketplace, suggesting that a Christian theology of work might contribute a humanizing vision of vocation, identity, and commutative justice in the workplace. The book ends with a look at some of the social teachings of the Catholic Church. Here Sedgwick critically examines the US Roman Catholic Bishops' Letter on the Economy (1986) and the papal encyclicals Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987) and Centesimus Annus (1991), arguing that the Church, while historically idealistic in its critique of the market, must remain involved and prophetic. Sedgwick is clear and well organized, developing a nuanced argument in dialog with important interlocutors. Recommended for upper-division undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. C. R. Piar; California State University, Long Beach