The Church on Capitalism

The Church on Capitalism

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The Church on Capitalism Theology and the Market Eve Poole

Eve Poole 2010 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2010 978-0-230-27516-4 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN 978-1-349-32468-2 DOI 10.1057/9780230290761 ISBN 978-0-230-29076-1 (ebook) This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Poole, Eve, 1972 The church on capitalism : theology and the market / Eve Poole. p. cm. 1. Capitalism Religious aspects Protestant Churches. 2. Church of England. I. Title. BR115.C3P66 2010 261.8 5 dc22 2010027548 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

Contents Preface List of Acronyms vii ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 General Synod Views 4 Introduction 4 Synod views 5 Meta-themes 28 Conclusion 37 Chapter 2 Church of England Commentators 41 Introduction 41 Academic theologians 42 Bishops 66 Academic economists 72 Businessmen 75 Methodological comment 80 Technical comment 82 Theological comment 85 Conclusion 90 Chapter 3 Types of Theology 92 Introduction 92 Worldview types 94 Worldview synthesis 110 Etiquette types 112 Etiquette synthesis 125 Taxonomical criteria 128 Chapter 4 Critique of Church of England Views 134 Introduction 134 To what extent a given theology knowingly 134 addresses both shared and asymmetric belief contexts To what extent a given theology articulates a 137 worldview To what extent a given theology attends to 149 methodological etiquette v

vi Contents To what extent a given theology attends to 152 Christian doctrine To what extent a given theology attends to 156 Christian praxis To what extent a given theology flexes mood, 160 with particular reference to audience and intent Church of England theological resources on 163 capitalism Conclusion 164 Notes 170 Bibliography 210 Index 223

Preface This book emerged from a particular context. I read theology at Durham University in the 1990s then worked for the Church Commissioners before obtaining an MBA from Edinburgh University and working for Deloitte Consulting. At the Commissioners I worked as an ecclesiastical civil servant, undertaking both case and policy work, and was involved in the implementation of the Turnbull reforms. At Deloitte I had dual expertise in project and change management, and a dual affiliation to the financial services capital markets practice and to the public sector. I now teach at Ashridge Business School, and this book represents a synthesising of my two worlds at a time when the credit crunch has called to account both capitalism and theology. In its manifestation as the capital markets, capitalism is challenged for its seeming failure. In its manifestation in the Church of England, theology is challenged for its failure to offer a robust contribution to the debate. Answering both challenges has become increasingly urgent. The book is the reworking of a PhD thesis undertaken part-time over a period of five years. There is a cloud of witnesses to whom thanks are due. First, my PhD supervisor Dr Richard Higginson, for his diligence, advice and support, and for his gracious critique of the resulting thesis. He cannot be held accountable for its flaws but is deeply implicated in its successes. Second, my employer Ashridge Business School for providing the funding for my study. Third, the generous people who read parts of the thesis at various stages of its development. For the chapter on Synod, thanks to Kenneth Adams, Michael Black, Richard Burridge, Sir Adrian Cadbury, Sir Michael Colman, Martin Elengorn, Richard Hopgood, Timothy Jenkins, Patrick Locke, Peter Selby, David Skidmore, Harry Van Buren and Neville White, as well as those members of the Christian Association of Business Executives who attended a supper discussion about my emerging conclusions at the Institute of Business Ethics on 16 January 2006. For the chapter on the commentators, thanks to Kenneth Adams, John Atherton, Malcolm Brown, Richard Harries, Donald Hay, Peter Heslam, Richard Higginson, David Jenkins, Peter Sedgwick, Peter Selby and Clive Wright for commenting on an earlier version of it. For the chapter on typology, thanks to David Ford and Wesley Kort, and to the 19 February 2009 Jesus Lane seminar group for their valuable critique. Particular thanks to the monks of Douai Abbey for their gracious hospitality while it was being written. For reviewing the vii

viii Preface entire thesis, I am particularly indebted to Katharine Craik, Nathan Percival, William Poole and Ellen Pruyne. My Examiners, Peter Sedgwick and Jonathan Chaplin, not only did me the honour of passing my thesis, but made many valuable suggestions as to how it could be improved. I am indeed standing on the shoulders of giants, or, as my father might have said, gigantum humeris insidens.

List of Acronyms ABYG ACORA AGUPA AUN BOE BOM BSR CAP CC CBF CCBI CEBR CTBI EIAG EIWG GATT GM GNP GS HOB ICF IMF LSE MPAC OECD PB UBP UN UTU WCC WHO WTO Archbishop of York s Group Archbishops Commission on Rural Areas Advisory Group on Urban Priority Areas Anglican Urban Network Board of Education Board of Mission Board for Social Responsibility Common Agricultural Policy Church Commissioners Central Board of Finance Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland Centre for Economics and Business Research Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Ethical Investment Advisory Group Ethical Investment Working Group General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Genetically Modified Gross National Product General Synod House of Bishops Industrial Christian Fellowship International Monetary Fund The London School of Economics Mission and Public Affairs Council Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Pensions Board Urban Bishops Panel United Nations Urban Theology Unit World Council of Churches World Health Organisation World Trade Organisation ix