When Mark Allman noted that the twenty-fifth anniversary of the landmark 1983 pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace passed with no official statement of recognition from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), he decided to organize a sort of Festschrift to celebrate the silver anniversary of the bishops’ 1986 pastoral letter, Economic Justice for All (EJA). The result is an important reflection by nine scholars on Catholic social teaching (CST) and economic justice at a crucial time for the American and global economy. Like EJA itself, The Almighty and the Dollar stimulates and contributes to a public conversation about the application of Gospel values to the US economy.
Following an introduction in which Allman sets the context for EJA, recounts the reaction to the pastoral letter, and puts forth the principles of CST, the book reprints all but chapter 3 (“Selected Economic Policy Issues”) of EJA. The principles in the pastoral letter continue to be relevant and challenging. Of the nine chapters relating CST to contemporary issues of social and economic justice, the first four are more theoretical or foundational, and the remaining five are more practical. Each is by an established or emerging Christian social ethicist.
First, David Hollenbach, SJ, a theological consultant on EJA, addresses globalization, a complex reality that demands a wise and careful response in light of CST. Especially noteworthy is Hollenbach's critical discussion of foreign aid, which he suggests should be targeted at grassroots health initiatives and education lest it unintentionally support corruption.
Next, Daniel Finn, a professor of both economics and theology, explores the reciprocal relationship between CST and the social sciences through the “True Wealth of Nations” research project. This effort focuses on a humanistic understanding of prosperity that includes both wealth and well-being. Finn summarizes some of the research done by historians, economists, and other social scientists testing the hypothesis that implementing the principles of CST will actually result in human flourishing.
In the third chapter, Rebecca Todd Peters, a Presbyterian social ethicist, argues that neoliberal economic policies, which stress deregulation, privatization, and international trade, have resulted in greater inequality, increasing poverty, and environmental destruction. She calls for a Gospel-based “solidarity economy” rooted in compassion, community, and the common good. She concludes with some examples of a solidarity economy, such as fair trade cooperatives and Business for Local Living Economies (BALLE), which are locally owned and socially responsible. One wonders, however, if a solidarity economy would be sufficiently productive.
Mark Allman traces the principle of participation in the tradition of CST and in the thought of the Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen. It is an impressive and illuminating academic exercise that could benefit from some concrete examples.
The fifth chapter bridges the theoretical and practical sections of the book by focusing on the social advocacy efforts of the USCCB. Thomas Massaro, SJ, analyzes some of the advocacy efforts by the bishops, including welfare reform and universal health-care coverage. He concludes that Catholic voices have consistently been prominent public proponents of an adequate safety net for persons in need.
Next, Alex Mikulich traces “a map of white complicity in the economic oppression of people of color” (189). He argues that EJA overemphasizes individual racism and overlooks the white advantage structured into US society. He deconstructs the three erroneous assumptions of “white common sense theory”: that race is biologically valid, that racism is individual prejudice, and that racial prejudice is intrinsic to human nature. The implication of this insightful analysis of white privilege is that a fundamental change in American culture is required.
In the seventh chapter, Maria Teresa Davila points out that the precarious economic plight of immigrants is as invisible in EJA as immigrants themselves are in our society. She thinks this is because of the social reform perspective of the bishops, which relies on civic participation; thus undocumented noncitizens occupy a blind spot. Davila contends that a more liberationist “epistemology of suffering” would both include immigrants in our vision and result in a call for more radical social change.
Margaret Pfeil creatively connects subsidiarity and solidarity in a chapter that focuses on food. Industrial agriculture harms both the environment and human health. Further injustice creates “food deserts” (or “food swamps”) in poor urban areas. Food cooperatives can effectively link local farmers with urban consumers, moving an unhealthy situation toward one that is more just and sustainable. The key is cooperation among people and with the movement of God's Spirit in the world.
Finally, Christopher Vogt corrects another lacuna in EJA by focusing on spirituality through a reflection on the connection between liturgy and justice. This well-developed chapter is essential, since social change is ultimately rooted in personal conversion.
Every chapter admirably fulfills the book's overarching goal—to stimulate and contribute to a public conversation on economic justice. Many of the chapters suggest that the principles of CST logically call for fundamental change in economic structures. I am using this book to good effect in a senior seminar that uses CST as a perspective for examining social issues.
