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Christian Ethics and Political Economy Jan C.M Reformed Theology in Africa Series Volume 3 Christian ethics and political economy Christian ethics and political economy Markers for a developing South Africa Jan C.M. Venter (eds.) Morten Bøsterud & Morten Bøsterud & Edited by Morten Bøsterud & Jan C.M. Venter Reformed Theology in Africa Series Volume 3 Christian ethics and political economy Markers for a developing South Africa Published by AOSIS Books, an imprint of AOSIS Publishing. AOSIS Publishing 15 Oxford Street, Durbanville 7550, Cape Town, South Africa Postnet Suite #110, Private Bag X19, Durbanville 7551, South Africa Tel: +27 21 975 2602 Website: https://www.aosis.co.za Copyright © Morten Bøsterud & Jan C.M. Venter (eds.). Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd The moral right of the authors has been asserted. Cover image: Original design created with the use of provided image. The image is https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-finger-keep-access-ball-boom-237143/, released under Pixabay License. Published in 2020 Impression: 1 ISBN: 978-1-928523-37-6 (print) ISBN: 978-1-928523-38-3 (epub) ISBN: 978-1-928523-39-0 (pdf) DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2020.BK220 How to cite this work: Bøsterud, M. & Venter, J.C.M. (eds.), 2020, ‘Christian ethics and political economy: Markers for a developing South Africa’, in Reformed Theology in Africa Series Volume 3, pp. i–317, AOSIS, Cape Town. Reformed Theology in Africa Series ISSN: 2706-6665 Series Editor: J.M. Vorster Printed and bound in South Africa. Listed in OAPEN (http://www.oapen.org), DOAB (http://www.doabooks.org/) and indexed by Google Scholar. Some rights reserved. This is an open access publication. Except where otherwise noted, this work is distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), a copy of which is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. Enquiries outside the terms of the Creative Commons licence should be sent to the Rights Department, AOSIS, at the above address or to [email protected] The publisher accepts no responsibility for any statement made or opinion expressed in this publication. Consequently, the publishers and copyright holder will not be liable for any loss or damage sustained by any reader as a result of his or her action upon any statement or opinion in this work. Links by third-party websites are provided by AOSIS in good faith and for information only. AOSIS disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third-party website referenced in this work. Every effort has been made to protect the interest of copyright holders. Should any infringement have occurred inadvertently, the publisher apologises and undertakes to amend the omission in the event of a reprint. Reformed Theology in Africa Series Volume 3 Christian ethics and political economy Markers for a developing South Africa Editors Morten Bøsterud Jan C.M. Venter Religious Studies domain editorial board at AOSIS Commissioning Editor Andries G. van Aarde, MA, DD, PhD, D Litt, South Africa Board Members Warren Carter Professor of New Testament, Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, United States of America Christian Danz Dekan der Evangelisch-Theologischen Fakultät der Universität Wien and Ordentlicher Universität Professor für Systematische Theologie und Religionswissenschaft, University of Vienna, Austria Pieter G.R. de Villiers Associate Editor, Extraordinary Professor in Biblical Spirituality, Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, South Africa Musa W. Dube Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Botswana, Botswana David D. Grafton Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian–Muslim Relations, Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut, United States of America Jens Herzer Theologische Fakultät der Universität Leipzig, Germany Jeanne Hoeft Dean of Students and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Care, Saint Paul School of Theology, United States of America Dirk J. Human Associate Editor, Deputy Dean and Professor of Old Testament Studies, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, South Africa D. Andrew Kille Former Chair of the SBL Psychology and Bible Section, and Editor of the Bible Workbench, San Jose, United States of America William R.G. Loader Emeritus Professor, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia Isabel A. Phiri Associate General Secretary for Public Witness and Diakonia, World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland Marcel Sarot Emeritus, Professor of Fundamental Theology, Tilburg School of Catholic Theology, Tilburg University, the Netherlands Corneliu C. Simut Professor of Historical and Dogmatic Theology, Emanuel University, Oradea, Bihor, Romania Rothney S. Tshaka Professor and Head of Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa Elaine M. Wainwright Emeritus Professor, School of Theology, University of Auckland, New Zealand; Executive Leader, Mission and Ministry, McAuley Centre, Australia Gerald West Associate Editor, School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics in the College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Peer review declaration The publisher (AOSIS) endorses the South African ‘National Scholarly Book Publishers Forum Best Practice for Peer Review of Scholarly Books’. The manuscript was subjected to a rigorous two-step peer review process prior to publication, with the identities of the reviewers not revealed to the author(s). The reviewers were independent of the publisher and/or authors in question. The reviewers commented positively on the scholarly merits of the manuscript and recommended that the manuscript should be published. Where the reviewers recommended revision and/or improvements to the manuscript, the authors responded adequately to such recommendations. Research Justification Values tell us what is good – they are the things we strive for, desire and seek to protect. Principles tell us what is right – outlining how we may or may not achieve our values. Purpose is your reason for being – it gives life to your values and principles. Ethics is the process of questioning, discovering and defending our values, principles and purpose. Therefore, the main thesis of this book is that of a normative, value-driven ethical perspective on South Africa’s modern political–economic issues. Here political economy means the social science that studies production, trade, and their relationship with the law and the government – and in the case of this book, ethics and religion. This leads to a text that provides a moral perspective on issues in the current South African political economy, but also issues that transcend time such as poverty, wealth and human rights. The research results which manifest in the book are innovative. Very few scholars adapt the normative and value-driven approach to political economy, but rather give way to a socialist, capitalist or a neo-realist perspective. The book contributes to the fields of political sciences, ethics, economics and philosophy. Its target audience is specialists in the field of religious studies, ethics, political sciences and economy who are interested in a scientific discourse that is value laden and normative instead of secular and relativistic. The field of political economy is the study of how economic theories such as capitalism or communism play out in the real world. Those who study political economy seek to understand how history, culture and customs impact an economic system. Global political economy studies how political forces shape global economic interactions. The methodologies utilised in this book are fundamental (forming a necessary base or core) and utilise qualitative aspects, which means that the research is more epistemological, focussing on the dynamic and evolving nature of social reality rather than only on that which can be counted. The book’s qualitative data collection methods are mainly focussed on gaining insights, reasoning, and motivations behind actions. The editors and authors declare that no material in this book has been previously published and as pro forma that 50% substantial reworking of authors’ formerly published material was done. The editors and authors declare that no incidents of plagiarism occurred during the writing of this book. Morten Bøsterud, Unit for Reformational Theology and the Development of the South African Society, Faculty of Theology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Jan C.M. Venter, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Government Studies, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Contents Abbreviations Appearing in the Text and Notes xv List of Abbreviations xv Notes on contributors xvii Preface xxi Introduction 1 Morten Bøsterud & Jan C.M. Venter Chapter 1: ‘Blessed are you who are poor’: Political economy under the reign of God 9 J.M. (Koos) Vorster Introduction 9 The poor under the reign of God 13 The rich under the reign of God 22 Are the poor in South Africa blessed? 27 Conclusion 33 Chapter 2: Capital use in South Africa: A Christian ethical banking alternative 35 Morten Bøsterud Introduction 35 The state of South Africa’s economy 37 In relative terms 37 Some South African specifics 39 Introduction 39 Food security 40 Poverty 40 Interprovincial differences 41 Employment rates 41 vii Contents Capitalism and the market economy 42 Capital and the market 42 Capital owners 44 Enough for all? 44 Should it
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