Reforming the Social Gospel in the New Gilded Age - The Case of Extreme Economic Inequality and the Church’s Responsibility for Macroeconomic Justice
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Since the late 1970s, the US has begun to adopt and practice neoliberal ideol-ogy entailing significant structural changes not only to its economy and politics, but also to its society, culture, and even religious life. As a result of this totalistic politico-economic experimentation, the world has now witnessed an unprecedented level of economic/wealth inequality between the haves and the have-nots, between the top 1 percent and the bottom 50 percent. Along with the idea of endless competition, inequality has become an undeniable trait of a neoliberal world. As economist Joseph Stiglitz rightly warned in his 2012 The Price of Inequality, the growing economic and wealth disparity poses a formidable threat to American democracy. The purpose of this paper is to explore theological solutions to the social ills of neoliberal governance of the 21st-century global economy. I especially focus on the global phenomenon of the rising economic and wealth inequality caused by neoliberal governance. In so doing, I employ a comparative historical analysis of two periods: the Gilded Age (from the 1870s to the late 1890s) and the New Gilded Age (from the late 1970s to today). These historical periods are marked by extreme economic inequality between the rich and the poor despite many characteristic differences between these two ages. Through this comparative historical analysis and critique, I will attempt to achieve two goals: first, to lay out a new ecclesial principle of justice for the church’s engagement in neoliberalism; second, to specify the church’s ecclesial roles for advancing macroeconomic justice in an age of neoliberalism. The purpose of this exploration is to help the church become a more responsible agent in meeting the challenges of the New Gilded Age.
Abstract
Since the late 1970s, the US has begun to adopt and practice neoliberal ideol-ogy entailing significant structural changes not only to its economy and politics, but also to its society, culture, and even religious life. As a result of this totalistic politico-economic experimentation, the world has now witnessed an unprecedented level of economic/wealth inequality between the haves and the have-nots, between the top 1 percent and the bottom 50 percent. Along with the idea of endless competition, inequality has become an undeniable trait of a neoliberal world. As economist Joseph Stiglitz rightly warned in his 2012 The Price of Inequality, the growing economic and wealth disparity poses a formidable threat to American democracy. The purpose of this paper is to explore theological solutions to the social ills of neoliberal governance of the 21st-century global economy. I especially focus on the global phenomenon of the rising economic and wealth inequality caused by neoliberal governance. In so doing, I employ a comparative historical analysis of two periods: the Gilded Age (from the 1870s to the late 1890s) and the New Gilded Age (from the late 1970s to today). These historical periods are marked by extreme economic inequality between the rich and the poor despite many characteristic differences between these two ages. Through this comparative historical analysis and critique, I will attempt to achieve two goals: first, to lay out a new ecclesial principle of justice for the church’s engagement in neoliberalism; second, to specify the church’s ecclesial roles for advancing macroeconomic justice in an age of neoliberalism. The purpose of this exploration is to help the church become a more responsible agent in meeting the challenges of the New Gilded Age.
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