{"id":11402,"date":"2017-02-09T23:40:01","date_gmt":"2017-02-10T07:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=11402"},"modified":"2017-02-09T23:40:01","modified_gmt":"2017-02-10T07:40:01","slug":"rethinking-the-bottom-line-the-3-ps-people-planet-and-profit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/rethinking-the-bottom-line-the-3-ps-people-planet-and-profit\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking the “bottom line”-The 3 P’s: People, Planet and Profit"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Thus, the market system seems to have grown up after the Fall rather than having been inherent in God’s original design. As such, it can never lead to salvation. It will not, left to its own devices, usher us back to the goodness of the Garden.<\/em>” \u00a0[1]<\/p>\n

One thing is clear, capitalism is not a perfect system. Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism<\/em>, argues that it was Protestant ideals that fueled Capitalism in its infancy but as it continued to propel forward it no longer needed these ideals to continue to rise and grow in our society. He talks about the Protestant Reformation and how Martin Luther was fundamental in using “calling” to be applied outside religious activities. Weber even identified Calvinistic characteristics that were evident within capitalism. I will state that, in my opinion, Weber was not intending to attack John Calvin but he was simply stating his observation and connecting characteristics that influenced culture.\u00a0Furthermore, he also discusses the impact of traditionalism on the issues that rose with labor and compensation. \u00a0In addition, he address the negative effects\u00a0of capitalism and its motivation for profitability as the primary purpose.<\/p>\n

Weber definitely made a case for how the Spirit of Protestant ethics was influential in the early formation of capitalism. It is evident that today, the many problems and issues he identified remain. While\u00a0big business continues to take over leaving inequality in the labor market causing the continual fight for purposeful work and livable wages, there are those who see opportunities for redemption in the midst of its brokenness.While in my Master’s program both in the Seminary and Business School at Seattle Pacific University we were taught to think beyond profit as the only bottom-line. We were challenged to think about how do we see redemption in business and its purpose to value people, planet and profit. We referred to this as the 3P’s. There are many companies within our American capitalist society that are choosing to see beyond just profit. In fact, many of them who made the leap to hold them 3 in tandem found themselves more profitable in the end.<\/p>\n

There are two Christian business men who both wrote books focused on the redemptive opportunities for the free market and our economy. One would be considered more a “secular” main stream approach to redemption and the other uses theology to argue his case. John Allison, CEO of the Cato Institute and former chairman and CEO of BB&T bank, in The Leadership Crisis and the Free Market Cure<\/em> argues that we are innately good human beings. Our human nature gives us the ability to reason and through reason we are able to be creative, productive \u00a0and find self -reward. He goes as far to say that rational thinking is “our only means to survival, success and happiness”. [2] . He asserts that in order to solve the issues of our free market we must return to the core values of our nation laid out in the Declaration of Independence “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. In his conclusion of his book he states:<\/p>\n

“Concepts such as honesty, integrity, rationality, and personal responsibility are all rewarded in a free society. \u00a0The competition of ideas and results drives individuals to act rationally in free markets and free societies. Naturally, there will always be some deviant behavior, because human beings have free will. But the incentive structure in free societies rewards strong moral character, and moral behavior is the societal norm when the initiation of force is prohibited. Values matter for individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. A society based on the correct ideals will flourish. It is critical that we return to the principles that made America great–life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness<\/em>. “[3]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I agree that morality , principles and values do matter. However, I do not believe that they are innate to our human nature and can inevitably in and of themselves\u00a0cure the free market.t \u00a0I believe that there is a danger in placing humanity at the center and asserting that any remedy that tries to change or “fix” human behavior is an unnecessary force.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jeff Van Duzer, Provost and former Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University, in his book Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed)\u00a0<\/em>advocates for the intrinsic purposes of business being\u00a0“(1) to provide the community with goods and services that will enable it to flourish, and (2) to provide opportunities for meaningful work that will allow employees to express their God-given creativity.<\/em>“[4] He takes a theological approach beginning with the creation and goes on to consummation outlining how business can be put back together and seen with an eternal purpose. \u00a0Van Duzer lays out his argument as to why God even cares about business and so should all of us. Stewardship and sustainability are core values and drivers\u00a0of business and as such we must find our purpose within its limitation. This way of doing business refutes profit by any means necessary. It must also benefit people and planet.<\/p>\n

“In the context of business, then, the pursuit of purpose should be limited by the notion of sustainability. As business pursues even godly objectives, it should do no harm. And this do-no-harm constraint should apply to all of the business’s stakeholders. It applies to investors who provide business capital and to employees who contribute their labor. It applies to suppliers who provide raw goods and to customers who purchase finished goods. It applies to the communities that nurture businesses and, of course, to the natural environment in which business is situated<\/em>.”[5]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am hopeful that in the midst of the brokenness there is hope for redemption. I do believe that business is called to serve! Our communities can flourish and\u00a0we can experience\u00a0greater purpose that allows for meaningful work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0Van Duzer Jeffrey B., Why business matters to God: (and what still needs to be fixed)<\/i> (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2010).77.<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0John A. Allison, The leadership crisis and the free market cure: why the future of business depends on the \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/i>return to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness<\/i> (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015).193.<\/p>\n

[3]Ibid, 197<\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0Van Duzer Jeffrey B., Why business matters to God: (and what still needs to be fixed)<\/i> (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2010).42.<\/p>\n

[5] Ibid, 158<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Thus, the market system seems to have grown up after the Fall rather than having been inherent in God’s original design. As such, it can never lead to salvation. It will not, left to its own devices, usher us back to the goodness of the Garden.” \u00a0[1] One thing is clear, capitalism is not a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-11402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-weber","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}