Author Alberto M. Piedra lucidly illustrates the notion of ‘natural law’ through the examination of economic, social, political, and cultural issues. In this work Piedra draws on classical and Christian sources as well as his personal experience as an economist, diplomat, and lecturer on world politics to address philosophical views in a constructive and morally guided exegesis of natural law and economics. This innovative book shows the value of appeals to a governing, natural law and attendant principles such as the common good, subsidiarity, hierarchy, spiritual welfare, the reciprocity of freedom and authority, and the cultivation of personal moral and intellectual virtue. Natural Law will appeal to scholars, professionals, and others interested in the cultivation of personal moral and intellectual virtue.
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Virtue Based Management, a complete text book of management, applies the wisdom and the teachings of the Church, especially “Laborem Exercens” and “Centisimus Annus” to all themes of management showing an improvement both descriptively and normatively over the insights offered by the social sciences.
It shows that all the themes of management are better understood and resolved with the application of the cardinal virtues, drawing copiously from St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica.
It is written of all students of business and all managers in the economy. A starting point is the theory of work of St John Paul II.
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Most people think that free-market ideas and theories were first substantially developed in the eighteenth century by figures such as Adam Smith. In this revised edition of Faith and Liberty, Alejandro A. Chafuen illustrates this misconception by examining the sixteenth and seventeenth century writings of a group of Catholic theologians and philosophers. The Late- Scholastics, as they are called, were the first to engage in a systematic moral analysis of the ethical issues associated with trade and commerce. In doing so, they arrived at solutions that are in many senses indistinguishable from the ideas of many modern free market commentators. In this revised edition, Chafuen bolsters his case by including recent and pertinent material which gives rise to new questions and concerns. Reading this book will force to consider what they understand to be an authentically Christian approach to economic questions.
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Many managers who believe themselves to be religious are all too willing to “check their religion at the door” of their workplaces. They may simply be ignorant of the implications of their faith for their business practices. Catholic teaching on business and economics has been described (with intentional irony) as the Church’s “best kept secret.” The Catholic Church has over the years developed extensive and detailed guidance for many areas of business. But this guidance is often buried within lengthy teaching documents that may not be easily accessible to the busy executive. Answers to specific moral questions may be tough to find. A Catechism for Business presents the teachings of the Catholic Church as they relate to more than one hundred specific and challenging moral questions that have been asked by business leaders. Andrew V. Abela and Joseph E. Capizzi have assembled the relevant quotations from recent Catholic social teaching as responses to these questions. Questions and answers are grouped under major topics such as marketing, finance, and investment. Business ethics questions can be too subtle for definitive yes/no answers, so the book offers no more and no less than church teaching on each particular question. Where the church has offered definitive answers, the book provides them. When the church has not, the book presents guidelines for reflection and insights into what one should consider in given situations. The book’s easy-to-use question and answer approach invites quick reference for tough questions and serves as a basis for reflection and deeper study in the rich Catholic tradition of social doctrine.
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In times of crisis, we are forced to reexamine our ways and ponder our future. It is in this framework that we need to consider our present economic plight and the charting of our path forward.
In his penetrating analysis of contemporary society, author John Horvat focuses on the present crisis with great insight and clarity. He claims modern economy has become cold, impersonal, and out of balance. Gone are the human elements of honor and trust so essential to our daily lives. Society has discarded the natural restraining influence of the human institutions and values that should temper our economic activities.
Return to Order is a clarion call that invites us to reconnect with those institutions and values by applying the timeless principles of an organic Christian order. Horvat presents a refreshing picture of this order, so wonderfully adapted to our human nature. He describes the calming influence of those natural regulating institutions such as custom, family, community, the Christian State, and the Church.
A return to order is not only possible but crucial. Horvat shows us how to make it happen.
Based on nearly twenty years of ground-breaking research, this book is being recognized as one of the most important and influential on the subject to be published in the past ten years. Its original insight into both the present crisis and remedies for the future thrust Return to Order into the center of the raging debate over how to restore America to prominence as a proud and great nation.
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Since the late 1960s American culture has been involved in a struggle to articulate an effective business ethics. The scandals of Enron and WorldCom constitute egregious examples of the absence or deficiency of ethical decision-making in matters of commerce. The purpose of this volume is to inaugurate a dialogue on the common elements of all three Abrahamic traditions – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – that touch on ethical issues in business. With more than 40 scholars, religious and business leaders joining the debate, this anthology is the beginning of a reconstruction of the understanding of the relationship between religion and commerce.
Main Features: The following questions are addressed:
Is a purely secular business ethics irremediably deficient?
Does a substantive business ethic require a religious and spiritual framework?
To what extent does current business practice reflect a spiritual dimension?
What are the various religious traditions perspectives on the ethics of commerce?
Can the various religious traditions generate a non-adversarial, consistent, and coherent business ethic?
Is there a role for religion and spirituality in a global and post-modern business world?
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Care for the poor has been a hallmark of Christianity since its beginning. Yet the economic world that provides the context for both Christianity and poverty has changed dramatically since the time of Christ. Professor William Luckey helps us to understand that context by tracing the history of Christian thought on poverty and wealth, as well as the history of wealth creation. The creation of wealth requires not only technical expertise and innovation but also social and cultural support. By fostering the attitudes and institutions that provide the context for wealth creation, the Church can make a special contribution to care for the poor. Luckey offers an informed reflection on how Catholics and other Christians might more effectively promote this wealth-creative culture, one that will in turn more effectively lift our brothers and sisters in need out of poverty and desperation. “If Catholics are serious about improving the lives of the poor,” he insists, “we must be serious about understanding the sources of wealth creation.”
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