Cavanaugh states, \u201cIn the ideology of the free market, freedom is conceived as the absence of interference from others.\u201d (Cavanaugh, Kindle, Location 81)<\/p>\n
Cavanaugh says, \u201cAugustine’s view of freedom is more complex: freedom is not simply a negative freedom from, but freedom for, a capacity to achieve certain worthwhile goals. All of those goals are taken up into the one overriding telos of human life, the return to God.\u201d (Cavanaugh, Kindle Location 138-139)<\/p>\n
\u201cFree market is a summary term for an array of exchanges that take place in society. Each exchange is undertaken as a voluntary agreement between two people or between groups of people represented by agents.\u201d [1]\u00a0 Free is not always free; there is a cost for everything, read the fine print. I have heard that statement a few times in my life. There are many gimmicks that use the word \u2018FREE’ just to get your attention. A few examples: (1) the cell phone companies would offer free cell phones, but you are required to sign a 2-year contract; (2) one month free, if you sign a year lease; and (3) Free trial but we need your credit card information. The free market is a voluntary transaction between those involved. Voluntary is free of choice, but is it? If you wanted to purchase a particular item but did not want to pay the price requested, your choices are either to pay the requested price, try to haggle to a lower price, or not pay the price. Is that voluntary or are you between a rock and a hard place?<\/p>\n
Cavanaugh quote Friedman as saying, \u201cif individuals are voluntarily entering into exchanges from which both parties expect to benefit, then the market is free. An exchange cannot be free if one party has deceived another.” (Kindle, Location 95) Using that analogy, receiving a cell phone for free is a benefit and the seller benefits by you providing them monthly funds for a two-year period. Your signing a year lease guarantees to lessor rent for twelve months, whereas you received one-month free rent. Now on these online free offers, you must raise the disadvantage of signing up for a free trial when asked to input your credit card. If you do not cancel after the free period, you are charged a fee for the next month. Been there, done that. This is not an example of a voluntary contract; they should notify you that the charge will happen if you do not cancel after the trial period. Cavanaugh states, “a free market has no telos, which is, no common end to which desire is directed. Each chooses his or her own ends.” (Kindle, Location 112) Is the FREE market really free? Is it voluntary? I believe with some deals; there are some situations this may be true – what deals can you think of?<\/p>\n
Now from a Christian point of view, Cavanaugh says, “the churches should take an active role in fostering economic practices that are consonant with the true ends of creation. This requires promoting economic practices that maintain close connections among capital, labor, and communities so that real communal discernment of the good can take place. Those are the spaces in which true freedom can flourish.” (Cavanaugh, Kindle Location 387-389) He believes the churches have to lead this practice in the past and would be the best to lead it now.\u00a0 Cavanaugh believes that “the church must seek to support and nurture alternative forms of economics which testify to God’s reign. By doing so, the church acknowledges the constant in-breaking of God’s reign even outside the church. Even in cases where economic practices are ‘consonant with the true ends of creation<\/em>.’\u201d (Cavanaugh, Kindle Location 386) He encourages the church to take an active role in support. His phrase \u2018true ends of creation\u2019 created a desire in me to understand what he meant by that with no positive results.<\/p>\n Inez Tan suggest there are \u201ctwo economic goals of the Christian perspective: equal opportunity and egalitarian outcomes. Depending on your personal view, this could mean anything from better public school systems to free universal healthcare\u2026It will be harder to bring about egalitarian outcomes. Egalitarian outcomes that imply the equality of people are another way of saying, \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019”\u00a0 [2] America currently is facing the challenges of better public school systems and universal healthcare. We have yet obtained free healthcare. America will always battle the equality of pay among genders and ethnicity. There will never be equality of pay for all occupations.<\/p>\n Cavanaugh expands his view on the Christianity perspective saying, \u201cA sacramental view of the world sees all things as part of God’s good creation, potential signs of the glory of God; things become come less disposable, more filled with meaning. At the same time, a sacramental view sees things only as signs whose meaning is only completely fulfilled if they promote the good of communion with God and with other people.\u201d (Cavanaugh, Kindle Location 645-647)\u00a0\u00a0 Sweeden says, “Cavanaugh believes a church must be a witness in its own transactions and exchanges by demonstrating how the story of abundance reverses the construct of scarcity which produces the ‘have and have-nots.’ The significance of the Eucharist ‘as an economic act’ is taken literally.” [3] Sweeden referenced Author Yoder saying, “It is that bread is daily subsistence. Bread eaten together is economic sharing. Not merely symbolically, but also in the face, eating together extends to a wider circle the economic solidarity normally obtained in the family.” [4]\u00a0\u00a0 The church places emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to support the believer’s participation in the sacramental act of worship. It promotes a closer relationship with God or one becoming one in Christ. You are repeatedly reminded that Christ’s commanded believers to partake in this act during the meal he shared with the disciples before his death.<\/p>\n In his book, Torture and Eucharist, he speaks on the Eucharist and how the churches beliefs affect the people\u2019s vision of life. \u201cThey become Christ members of the body of Christ as the Eucharist.\u201d [5] In the taking of the bread and wine, the Catholic Church believes it transforms into the body of Christ. He shares the views on the torture committed by the Pinochet reign in Chile wanting to keep it silent to prevent the victims from being viewed as martyrs. \u00a0This challenge for the state was to destroy the churches\u2019 Eschatological view from gaining power among the people. The church struggled with the view of its position on their relationship with the victims on viewing them as martyrs as well as addressing the act as being Disciples of Christ and his death. If those tortured were considered to be martyrs, their death would strengthen the power of belief that if one dies in Christ, he shall live again. The state was desired to weaken the church. The churches power over the people was seen as a threat to the survival of the state’s power and needed to be destroyed. [6]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1] Murray N. Rothbard. “Free Market” The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. David R. Henderson, ed. Liberty Fund, Inc. 2008. Library of Economics and Liberty, accessed 20 February 2017, \u00a0http:\/\/www.econlib.org\/ library\/Enc\/FreeMarket.html .<\/p>\n [2] Inez Tan, Ethics and Economics: Why Self-Interest Is Not Enough, accessed 02\/2\/2017, https:\/\/williamstelos.wordpress.com\/ ethics-and-econ\/.<\/p>\n [3]\u00a0 Joshua R. Sweeden, The Church and Work: The Ecclesiological Grounding of Good Work<\/em>, (Oregon: Pickwick Publications), 2014, 127.<\/p>\n [4] Ibid.<\/p>\n [5] William T. Cavanaugh, Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics, and the Body of Christ<\/em>, (London: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing), 1998, 64-69.<\/p>\n [6]\u00a0 Ibid.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cavanaugh states, \u201cIn the ideology of the free market, freedom is conceived as the absence of interference from others.\u201d (Cavanaugh, Kindle, Location 81) Cavanaugh says, \u201cAugustine’s view of freedom is more complex: freedom is not simply a negative freedom from, but freedom for, a capacity to achieve certain worthwhile goals. 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