{"id":3989,"date":"2015-02-12T20:49:20","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T20:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=3989"},"modified":"2015-02-12T20:49:20","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T20:49:20","slug":"haunted-by-unconditional-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/haunted-by-unconditional-responsibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Haunted by unconditional responsibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading Collateral Damage<\/span> by Zygmunt Bauman creates a tremendous argument for good biblically reflective public theology. In fact I would encourage a revision in the reading order for the next cohort, the trio of books on contextual theology would be a practical next step after reading Bauman; largely because this book cries out for God\u2019s wisdom and power to address public concerns. In light of that, the focus of this post will be Bauman\u2019s chapter: \u201cConsumerism and morality\u201d. [1]<\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have a background in the social sciences, so my perspective might be a bit sophomoric, but Bauman seems to see society as the great organizing principle, and almost god-like in its sovereignty. Perhaps this is the influence of Marxism. However, and this seems significant, \u201csociety\u201d is only an \u201cimagined principle\u201d and an amoral one at that. Without any basis or a standard for morality, Bauman in his scholarly way, attaches a moral standard to society. He borrows it from Emmanuel Levinas whom he considers \u201cperhaps the greatest ethical philosopher of our time\u201d. [2]<\/a> That moral standard is the \u201cunconditional responsibility of the Other\u201d[3]<\/a>. Jewish thought helps me understand the origin of this concept, yet with no basis for this propositional truth, Bauman accepts it as a societal standard. This approach creates a tension with consumerism, which he goes on to explore.<\/p>\n

Bauman, reflecting on Levinas, makes the case that perfect \u201cresponsibility for the Other\u201d isn\u2019t really possible, in as much as your care for your Other, might conflict with another\u2019s care for their Other. He also sees it as an unattainable standard: \u201cfew people can manage to rise to the level of saints\u201d.[4]<\/a> He postulates this standard then discounts it but doesn\u2019t discard it. He writes that we\u2019re \u201chaunted by unconditional responsibility\u201d[5]<\/a> (read unconditional love). Society, in its god-like way, \u201ctrims down\u201d this impossible standard and replaces it with \u201cethical and procedural rules.\u201d Consumerism is yang to morality\u2019s ying; good and evil battling for preeminence.<\/p>\n

Somehow \u201csociety\u201d in collaboration with the \u201cuniverse of moral obligations\u201d[6]<\/a> works out a system where by moral persons\u2014I\u2019m not clear on who\u2019s included\u2014can limit their responsibility to others, to refuse some ethical responsibility, and be absolved of a measure of moral guilt. Ethical rules are in flux and change with the populations\u2019 willingness to do or not do the moral thing. Consumerism is positioned as the evil that is slowly eroding our society. Over time human relationships are affected: we don\u2019t eat dinner with the family, we work too many hours, we\u2019ve abandoned our weekends, and all because of our consumerism[7]<\/a>. Inasmuch as consumer markets have so completely captured our psyche, we even use shopping to numb our guilty conscience.[8]<\/a> For example, earlier today our women\u2019s ministry sent out an email asking all the church women to buy items for the homeless, \u201cblessing bags for the homeless,\u201d they are calling it. Bauman might argue that they are assuaging their materialistic guilt through more consumerism. He writes that we\u2019ve gone from the morality of \u201cResponsibility for the Other,\u201d and under the influence of our consumer markets we\u2019ve bought into the \u201cresponsibility for oneself\u201d[9]<\/a>. Our selfishness doesn\u2019t stop at buying what we want and need, but we justify our consumerist tendencies, our self-indulgence, with the rationale that \u201cI\u2019ve got to have more so that I can do more and eventually give more.\u201d As our morality shifts from \u201cresponsibility for the Other\u201d to a focus on oneself, it begins to be redefined not as sacrificial for others but as self-improvement.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

A word of praise and a hope: my praise is yes, Zygmunt Bauman has his finger on the pulse of the American consumerist culture. He describes a reality that is common, a bent towards materialism that most of us know all too well. He rightly exposes even how our bent towards consumerism influences our altruistic activities, ultimately exposing our core selfishness.<\/p>\n

And now the hope: Bauman\u2019s arguments necessitate morals, absolutes, convictions, guilt, and allegiance to a higher being. He\u2019s basically a prophet without a god. He\u2019s preached a wonderful message without the authority of scripture, or the enlightenment of the Spirit. So often as I read, I was reminded of the parable of the good Samaritan, but by no means did I hear Jesus\u2019 voice in Bauman\u2019s writing. Eccl 3:11 says \u201cHe has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.\u201d I think eternity is haunting professor Bauman and I hope his social thinking leads him know God, and know him more deeply.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Zygmunt Bauman, Collateral Damage: Social Inequalities in a Global Age<\/em> (Cambridge, UK.: Polity, 2011), 72-82.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid, 73.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

[6]<\/a> Ibid, 74.<\/p>\n

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

[8]<\/a> Ibid, 77.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Ibid, 78.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Ibid,.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Collateral Damage by Zygmunt Bauman creates a tremendous argument for good biblically reflective public theology. In fact I would encourage a revision in the reading order for the next cohort, the trio of books on contextual theology would be a practical next step after reading Bauman; largely because this book cries out for God\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"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":[604,371,599,605],"class_list":["post-3989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-collateral-damage","tag-consumerism","tag-public-theology","tag-zygmunt-bauman","cohort-lgp5"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989","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\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3990,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989\/revisions\/3990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}