Beyond Poverty and Affluence: Towards an Economy of Care

In the face of distressing societal realities – poverty, pollution and environmental degradation, ongoing losses in both the quantity and the quality of work – the authors argue that the foundations of our local, national and international economic order need renewal, and they provide a provocative twelve-step programme for economic recovery based on an "economy of care" for the earth and its people.

Christianity, Poverty and Wealth: The Findings of “Project 21”

Michael Taylor - In spite of 60 years of aid and development work by the churches, the ecumenical family has become less certain about how best to tackle world poverty. This study asked questions about the nature and causes of poverty and wealth, their relation to the work and teachings of the churches, and what responses the churches should now be making. Poor and rich communities, government officials, academics, non-governmental organizations, church leaders and the private sector in over 24 countries were involved. The conclusions emphasize that "wealth" is as much of an issue as "poverty", suggesting the need for much clearer Christian teaching on justice and the economic order.

Wealth Creation and Justice: The WCC’s Encounters with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

These institutions, set up soon after the end of the second world war, all speak of a world free of poverty, yet they have very different views on how poverty can be tackled. Can it be resolved, for example, by mere growth without redistribution? Or by privatizing basic services like water? The report of this first encounter raises the issues of the mandates of the institutions, their views on development, and their policies on wealth creation, justice and commodification of public goods.

Passion for Another World: WCC Internal Encounter of Churches, Agencies and Other Partners on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund

The ecumenical movement has always focused on the ethically unacceptable consequences of decisions made by the Bretton Woods institutions. The challenge has been to take a more proactive role, and together with the churches to reflect on the problems they have identified in the policies of the IFIs and to seek alternatives. There is no policy which cannot be changed, and no economic system which cannot be reformed if it promotes the accumulation of wealth at the expense of the poor and of God’s creation.

Bibliography on poverty, wealth and ecology

Daly, Herman E. (1996) Beyond Growth, Beacon Press, Boston.

Gonzàlez, Justo L. (1990) Faith and Wealth: A History of Early Christian Ideas on the Origin, Significance, and Use of Money, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Oregon.

Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau (2002), Reichtum und Armut als Herausforderung für Kirchliches Handeln, Werkstatt Ökonomie, Heidelberg.

Mshana, Rogate R. (ed.) ( 2003), Wealth Creation and Justice: The world Council of Churches' Encounters with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, WCC publications, Geneva.

Id. ( 2003), Passion for Another World: Building Just and Participatory Communities: WCC Internal Encounters of Churches, Agencies and Other Partners on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, WCC publications, Geneva.

Id. (2003), In Search of a Just Economy: Common Goals, Separate Journeys: Second Encounter of the World Council of Churches, World Bank and International Monetary Fund, WCC publications, Geneva.

Id. (2004), The Debt Problem for Poor Countries: Where are We: A Report on Illegitimate Debt and Arbitration, WCC publications, Geneva.

Id. (2004), Poverty Eradication and Injustice: Differences and Common Ground: The World Council of Churches Encounters with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, WCC publications, Geneva.

Peralta, Athena K. (ed.) (2004), Ecological Debt: The Peoples of the South are Creditors, Cases from Ecuador, Mozambique, Brazil and India, WCC publications, Quezon City.

Scott, Anthony (ed.), Good and Faithful Servant: Stewardship in the Orthodox Church, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, Crestwood, New York.

Söderbaum, Peter (2000) Ecological Economics: A Political Economics Approach to Environment and Development, Earthscan Publications Ltd, London.

Taylor, Michael (2001), Christianity, Poverty and Wealth: The findings of project 21, WCC publications, Geneva.

World Bank (2006), Where is the Wealth of Nations: Measuring Capital for the 21st Century, Washington, D.C.

World Council of Churches (1992), Christian Faith and the World Economy Today: A Study Document from the World Council of Churches, WCC publications.