{"id":20969,"date":"2019-01-24T08:00:51","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T16:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=20969"},"modified":"2019-01-24T08:01:26","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T16:01:26","slug":"church-money-and-politics-aka-easy-topics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/church-money-and-politics-aka-easy-topics\/","title":{"rendered":"Church, Money and Politics…aka Easy Topics!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Karl Polanyni\u2019s, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, <\/em>is considered a seminal work in the field of political economics[1]<\/a> as well as a classic in other fields such as sociology, political science, and anthropology.[2]<\/a> While tracing the historical roots of the modern day economic system known as the free market, Polanyni is not producing a historical work but sets out discover the trends within human institutions that enabled the self-regulating free market system to come into existence.[3]<\/a> His thesis is, \u201cthe idea of a self-adjusting market implied a stark\u00a0utopia\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 created by economic liberalism through the creation of false commodities of land, labor, and money, which in turn created a system outside of societal control which was the norm.[5]<\/a> Economist Greg Clark views this work as short sided in the fact that \u201cfree markets\u201d had already existed before the 19th-century and said this work “ultimately offers more insight into the nature of the professoriate than it does to societies they study.[6]<\/a> Juxtaposed to Clark’s position, sociologist Fred Block says it is the four letter word “free” that makes all the difference, and Polanyni’s research supports markets in human history, but all were a society based until the late 18th<\/sup> and early 19th<\/sup> century.[7]<\/a> It is this insight into the market and societies role that I will discuss further.<\/p>\n

In chapter four, “Societies and Economic Systems,” Polanyni displays how much of written history shows that trade was based on reciprocity and redistribution, not personal gain or profit.[8]<\/a> He writes,<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The outstanding discovery of recent historical and anthropological research is that man’s economy, as a rule, is submerged in his social relationships. He does not act so as to safeguard his individual interest in the possession of material goods; he acts so as to safeguard his social standing, his social claims, his social assets. He values material goods only in so far as they serve this end. Neither the process of production nor that of distribution is linked to specific economic interests attached to the possession of <\/em>goods; but every single step in that process is geared to a number of social interests which eventually ensure that the required step be taken. These interests will be very di\ufb00erent in a small hunting or fishing community from those in a vast despotic society, but in either case, the economic system will be run on noneconomic motives.<\/em>[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Simply put, historically people functioned inside of an economy based on\u00a0social\u00a0relationships not for gain or profit. The identity of the people in the economy was less about material accumulation and more about relational equity. Hence when the economy shifts to a self-regulated market so too do the identity of an individual, mainly into one of two spheres, economic or political.[10]<\/a> While this work was initially written in 1944, it continues to speak prophetically into 2019’s cultural contexts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In a recent survey, 25% of 23 to 30-year-old’s, who are recent dropouts of church stated, \u201cdisagreements over their church\u2019s stance on political and social issues contributed to their decision to stop attending, compared to 15 percent in 2007\u201d.[11]<\/a> My fear (in America) is that we have aligned the church with the economic and political systems and that young people seek more to their identity than those two choices. Manuel Castell\u2019s, social theory, The Network Society[12]<\/a>, is helpful in that it shows how a free market economy can thrive in modern culture, which is connected but lacks deep social and relational ties, because of the free-flowing nature of such system in which no clear leadership is evident.[13]<\/a> It is in this crisis that Spirit-led leadership can provide an answer.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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In closing, Polanyi\u2019s states, \u201cInstitutions are embodiments of human meaning and purpose. We cannot achieve the freedom we seek unless we comprehend the true significance of freedom in a complex society\u201d.[14]<\/a> The complex for Polanyi is that we need both a society (the whole of people) and the individual to be able to exercise authority at any given time. One should not be regulated above the other but able to hold the other in balance. Josh Alexakos provides this solution to Polanyi in writing,<\/p>\n

The tension in which Christ holds both society and the individual gives real substance to Polanyi\u2019s solution, allowing it to exist not as a fragile balancing act but as a galaxy of orbiting priorities which work together harmoniously in their proper place. Christ\u2019s challenge that we love our neighbors as ourselves is the fundamental moral command that gives weight to Owen\u2019s theory that a society flourishes most when its members are responsible for one another.[15]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The foundation of Spirit-led leadership is what Len Sweet calls first followers[16]<\/a>, meaning leaders are nothing more than first followers (disciples) of Christ. In any organization that involves people, there will always be disagreements and the church is no exception, but I also believe that in order to reach and retain the next generation major shifts need to happen. Maybe that shift is back to our first love and not to a new one.<\/p>\n

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———————————————<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Brian Meier,\u00a0Social Thought & Research<\/em>\u00a029 (2008), http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/23250067, 155.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Fred Block, and Greg Clark, \u201cEconomist’s View.\u201d\u00a0Economist’s View: Is Poverty Caused by Irrational Behavior?, Last modified June 11, 2008. https:\/\/economistsview.typepad.com\/economistsview\/2008\/06\/polanyis-the-gr.html.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Karl Polanyi, Great\u00a0Transformation:\u00a0The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time<\/em>, (Boston: Beacon Press, 2001), Accessed January 22, 2019, ProQuest Ebook Central, 4.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 4.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 76.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>” Block, and Clark, \u201cEconomist’s View.\u201d\u00a0Economist’s View: Is Poverty Caused by Irrational Behavior?, https:\/\/economistsview.typepad.com\/economistsview\/2008\/06\/polanyis-the-gr.html.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Karl Polanyi, Great\u00a0Transformation:\u00a0The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time<\/em>, 45-58.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Ibid., 48.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Ibid., 76.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Jackson, Griffin Paul. \u201cThe Top Reasons Young People Drop Out of Church.\u201d\u00a0Christian History | Learn the History of Christianity & the Church. Last modified January 16, 2019. https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2019\/january\/church-drop-out-college-young-adults-hiatus-lifeway-survey.html.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a>Anthony Elliott,\u00a0Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction<\/em>, (Routledge: New York, NY, 2014) 309.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> See image (2).<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Karl Polanyi, Great\u00a0Transformation:\u00a0The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time<\/em>, 262.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> Alexakos, Josh. \u201cREVIEW: KARL POLANYI\u2019S \u2018THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION.\u2019\u201d\u00a0Fare Forward, Last modified April 5, 2018. http:\/\/farefwd.com\/2018\/04\/review-great-transformation\/.<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> Sweet, Leonard. I Am a Follower (p. 4). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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