Review by Choice Review
Economic personalism, which seeks to analyze the moral ramifications of economic activity in light of a theological vision of the human person, is the overarching theme of three book-length monographs. The thesis of these works is that the connecting point and ground for dialogue between economics and moral philosophy is that both seek to develop an understanding of the acting person. The first monograph develops outlines of personalism through a synthesis of the work of Ludwig von Mises and Karol Wojtyla (Pope Paul II). Using this concept of personalism, the second work develops a synthesis of theology and economics, which is then further developed in the last monograph, which argues that a truly humane economy requires an adequate understanding of both free persons and free markets. These works provide a needed corrective to Christian thinkers who ignore economics and market theory as unimportant and define wealth creation as inherently evil, as well as to economic theorists who fail to acknowledge people as anything more than individuals acting out of pure self-interest. They provide an excellent overview of the history of economic theory and moral theology and an interesting synthesis of these two fields of thought, which too seldom find a common ground and a common vision. Recommended for general readers, upper-division undergraduates, and above. C. L. Hansen formerly, Midland Lutheran College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
