How will this economic crisis change us?
Could there be good news in, through, and even because of this Great Recession?
What is our role in creating a moral recovery?
Some banks say they are "too big to fail." So should we make them smaller?
What are the "moral exercises" each of us can perform?
These questions and many others are explored and discussed in a new book I have written -- one I didn't expect or plan to write, but one that simply emerged as we were seeking to respond to the economic crisis that has gripped the nation and the world. I wrote it as a tract for the times, and it's titled "Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street -- A Moral Compass for the New Economy". It was released earlier this month.
This recession presents us with an enormous opportunity to rediscover our values -- as people, as families, as communities of faith, and as a nation. It is a moment of decision we dare not pass by. We have forgotten some very important things, and it's time to remember them again. Yes, we do need an economic recovery, but we also need a moral recovery -- on Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street. And we will need a moral compass for the new economy that is emerging.
The Great Recession that has gripped the world, defined the moment, and captured all of our attention has also revealed a profound values crisis. Just beneath the surface of the economics debate, a deep national reflection is begging to take place and, indeed, has already begun in people's heads, hearts, and conversations. The questions it raises concern our personal, family, and national priorities; our habits of the heart; our measures of success; the values of our families and our children; our spiritual well-being; and the ultimate goals and purposes of life -- including our economic life.
Underneath the public discourse, another conversation is emerging about who and what we want to be -- as individuals, as a nation, and as a human community. By and large, the media has missed the deeper discussion and continues to focus only upon the surface of the crisis. And most of our politicians just want to tell us how soon the crisis can be over. But there are deeper questions here and some fundamental choices to make. That's why this could be a transformational moment -- one of those times that comes around only very occasionally. We don't want to miss this opportunity.
The economic tide going out has not only shown us who was "swimming naked," as Warren Buffett put it, but it has also revealed that no invisible hand behind the curtain is guiding our economy to inevitable success. It is a sobering moment in our lives when we can see our own thoughtlessness, greed, and impatience writ large across the global sky. And it is a good time to start asking better questions.
The book suggests we have been asking the wrong question: "When will this crisis end?" It seeks to replace that with the right question: "How will this crisis change us?" The book is about the moral recovery which must accompany the economic recovery, and suggests that we must not go back to business as usual; rather, we need a new normal. The new book is about the values questions that are at the heart of how we got into this crisis, and are critical to getting us out of it. It describes the maxims that overtook us -- Greed is Good, It's All About Me, and I Want it Now - values that wreck economies, cultures, families, and even our souls. Instead it calls for a return to new/old virtues like Enough is Enough, We're In It Together, and evaluating our decisions by their impact on the Seventh Generation out.
It also calls for a conversion of our habits of the heart such as a clean energy economy and a new meaning for both work and service. It suggests that the market had become god-like, and that restoring a proper perspective means recognizing, spiritually, the limits of the market. The book describes how our many religious traditions contain many valuable correctives to this economic crisis that has spun out of control. It describes how the recent narrative of banks, bailouts, and bonuses has all the makings of a bad morality play. And it ends with 20 "moral exercises" that offer a values audit of our personal, family, community, financial, and social life.
Could there be some good news in, through, and even because of this Great Recession? Maybe so, if it becomes the opportunity to rediscover some important things that we somehow lost, but now might find again.
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Bank bonuses are merely a symptom of a deeper erosion of societal values and the new maxims that have overtaken us: Greed is Good and It's All About Me. Those values wreak havoc on economies, cultures, families, and our very souls.
Rediscovering Values: A Moral Compass for the New Global Economy
You betcha.
Greed, desire and selfishness is what has brought us to where we are. Technology is the new opium and keeps us constantly involved with self.
There's a slippery slope that seems to lead us from acting in humanity's best interest - to obsessively going after success and personal gain. We see it when people set out to develop a product to address a need (or solve a problem), only to eventually distribute an item that hurts many people - for a sizable profit.
"Greed, desire and selfishness is what has brought us to where we are."
Seems to hit the nail on the head!!! Profit and wealth come before people.
"...new meaning for both work and service"
I guess we cannot come up with that ourselves.
Well said.
"And we will need a moral compass for the new economy that is emerging."
How lucky that your book emerged at the same time as the "new economy" emerged! Will that new moral compass that we need be a christian one? No thanks. There's nothing new (or especially moral) about that.
"Could there be some good news in, through, and even because of this Great Recession?"
Who knows? Maybe the pews will start to fill again, huh?
You're right about that. My tendency is to *not* follow preachers.
"You sound somewhat bitter."
Judge not, MakeThemStop.
Je$u$ hates that.
I have decided that logic is the wrong approach because it flat out didn't work once. This really is a heart issue. A few years ago I found Jesus after my life was saved. I have read and re-read his words and bottom line is I needed to reboot. This life isn't about me, it's about how well I help others. Grace is everywhere once you realize this and walk in faith. If the heart is changed everything else will follow. We are what we worship or serve and it will always show. So yes let's rediscover the compassion Jesus taught us. When times are hard we naturally want to hoard. It's these times we need to learn to give.
Every day I have to sit with a bunch of neo-cons who are very involved in their churches, say the rosary every day, bible groups, etc. They are 100% against any kind of health care reform, most especially single payer. They actually say things like "Why should I have to pay for these people? There's only 15 or 20 million people without insurance, and I don't know anyone that doesn't have it. Why go through all the time and expense just for them? I don't want to pay for all those fat people in poor health with my taxes." These are almost direct quotes.
When I ask them what Jesus would think of what they're saying, they just reply that we should let capitalism take care of it -- as if it's some other kind of system we've been using here all along.
Mind you, I'm not in the middle of the Bible Belt or Deep South. This is in a near-west suburb of Chicago, only about maybe 10 - 15 miles from central downtown.
It's just jaw-dropping the things these so-called Christians say. These people make me hate coming into work each day, but I need the paycheck.
The Bible speaks of "rich" people who put their wealth first (man who stored up wealth in barns, rich man who wouldn't help poor Lazarus, rich young ruler who wouldn't seel his things to follow Jesus, etc.) and we are seeing numerous examples of those same "attitudes" in our country today. I keep talking and sharing real-life stories - along with scriptures - when I communicate with people like this. You never know when something you say could impact them...so, I suggest you keep sharing too!