THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON INTERNATIONAL DEBT: A CRITIQUE OF THE JUBILEE 2000 DEBT CANCELLATION CAMPAIGN by MICHAEL JOHN ADRIAN LONG A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham October 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The theologically-inspired Jubilee 2000 campaign was highly successful but much theological reflection on the sovereign debt owed by the poorest nations has been overly polemical. Our study indicates that nonetheless a post-liberal, dialogical approach to the issue of international debt can be realised, and traces some of its key observations and themes. The origins and development of Jubilee 2000 are traced both in Britain and internationally, with particular reference to the campaign in Zambia. Key arguments and factors critical to the success of Jubilee 2000 are discussed and analysed. In performing this analysis we draw on the work of Atherton, whose approach offers criteria for establishing the adequacy of theological engagement in a plural and globalised context. Analysis of the themes of jubilee, grace and forgiveness, and usury reveal that despite their limitations, they offer valuable and distinctive contributions on issues of power and money, in their insights into the human condition, and into obligations across generations. Future theological engagement on debt will also require greater attention to the role that money performs, and a new synthesis of visionary and realistic elements. CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 The History of Jubilee 2000 19 Debt Crises in Antiquity 20 The Origins of the Debt Crisis and Creditor Responses 24 The Causes of the Debt Crisis 30 The Emergence of the Jubilee 2000 Debt Cancellation Campaign 36 The Aims of the Jubilee 2000 Campaign 47 Jubilee 2000 as a mass movement 50 The International Jubilee Campaign 53 Summary 59 Chapter 3 Themes of Jubilee 2000 62 Historical Precedents 65 Parallels with the campaign against slavery 67 Legal and Moral Arguments in favour of debt cancellation 73 Practical arguments 83 Summary 98 Chapter 4 Zambia 101 The historical background 101 The debt crisis in Zambia 106 The campaign for debt relief 113 ‘Vulture’ funds 128 Summary 130 Chapter 5 Theological engagement with political economy 134 A critique of the liberal model of engagement: Ronald Preston 135 Modifications to liberalism: Raymond Plant and Hans Küng 145 Radical voices of anti-liberalism: theology ‘above’ political economy 153 Post-liberal responses: John Atherton and theology ‘with’ political economy 167 A critique of Jubilee 2000 180 Summary 186 Chapter 6 Jubilee 193 The content of the jubilee legislation 196 The context of the jubilee legislation 203 Problems associated with the jubilee legislation 209 Contemporary uses of the jubilee and Sabbath economics 214 Summary: the jubilee in theological reflection on debt 227 Chapter 7 Grace and forgiveness 232 Michael Northcott: the divine sovereignty of grace 234 Peter Selby: introducing grace into economics 242 Kathryn Tanner: grace amid economics 253 Forgiveness 259 Summary 266 Chapter 8 Usury 270 Historical overview 271 Contemporary views on usury 279 Money and interest 283 Responsibility to future generations 292 Summary 296 Chapter 9 Conclusion 300 Jubilee 2000 and theological economics 301 The Jubilee 2000 campaign: theological critique 306 Themes that emerge 315 Idealism and realism 326 Bibliography 330 Appendices 362 1 Chapter 1 Introduction For centuries Christian theological reflection was dominated by considerations of debt. Regulations concerning the practice of usury in Medieval times were complex and weighty. In the closing years of the twentieth century this issue rose to prominence again, albeit in a different guise. Here the deliberations concerned not the interactions between private individuals but entire nations, and the sums were astronomical. The Jubilee 2000 campaign gave renewed expression to a strand of theological reflection hitherto overlooked for centuries, and galvanised millions of people worldwide to campaign for debts to be cancelled. The ‘credit crunch’ of 2008 also gave rise to a new awareness of the dangers of poorly regulated credit divorced from actual capital, and it may well be that the themes of credit and debt become, once again, pivotal aspects of the Church’s social engagement. The Jubilee 2000 campaign was remarkable in several ways. It was the ‘one of the biggest global campaigns ever’ (Bunting, 2000), holding the record for the greatest number of signatories to a petition. It was also a truly global campaign, beginning in the UK, but soon inspiring national campaigns in most countries of the world. It was hugely influential and successful in achieving its stated objectives - the cancellation of debts to the poorest nations - and led directly to the formation of the Make Poverty History campaign. Furthermore, the campaign 2 was rooted in Christian reflection and practice from the outset, choosing an overtly biblical symbol, and relying heavily on the contribution of Christian churches and Christian-based development agencies as the campaign gathered momentum. Indeed, its success can be attributed unequivocally to the churches, particularly those in Britain (Bunting, 2008). Not since the campaigns for the abolition of the slave trade and the ending of apartheid has the Church enjoyed such a prominent role in a mass political action. This study is concerned with the Jubilee 2000 campaign and the lessons that can be drawn from it for continued theological reflection on the subject of international debt. Accordingly the thesis is developed in two parts. The first part is concerned with the campaign itself: why did the campaign begin, and what were its origins? How and why did the campaign develop, and what were its objectives, guiding principles and motivations? What were the outcomes, successes and weaknesses of the campaign, and what were the factors contributing to these? What does a study of the campaign suggest about the Churches’ involvement in social, political and economic issues? We shall see that moral and theological themes played a significant part in the success of the campaign, and can be measured not only according to the campaign’s own objectives, but also more widely in terms of a paradigmatic shift in general attitudes to debt relief. The second part is devoted to theological issues. In performing an analysis of the way theological judgments are derived, we shall need to establish criteria for 3 establishing their adequacy or otherwise, for a critical issue at the heart of this thesis is concerned with questions of how theological reflection utilises economic insights, and how they may be correlated. Our discussion will show that a framework based on the work of John Atherton offers a valid and constructive means both of assessing the campaign and of critiquing the themes that emerge from it. This leads us into an investigation as to how ongoing theological reflection on debt might be pursued constructively. We shall be asking: what is the nature and dynamic of these themes, and where do they originate? To what extent can they be used satisfactorily for theological engagement in the future? What are their limitations, and how may they engage with secular disciplines such as economics with authenticity and lead to outcomes that will more closely resemble the character of the kingdom of God? We shall see that this investigation leads to conclusions not only concerning specific theological concepts but also on the processes of theological interaction and ways of navigating the tension between ideals and realities. The Jubilee 2000 campaign, formally the Jubilee 2000 Coalition, was a large umbrella organisation comprising hundreds of organisations and millions of supporters worldwide. A few definitions are necessary for clarity here: by ‘campaign’ I mean the Jubilee 2000 campaign in a broad sense. My use of the term ‘campaigners’ refers not only to those formally part of the campaign’s organisation or involved in its publications, but also to those who in a general sense supported the campaign’s aims; the term ‘Coalition’ refers to the 4 partnership of Jubilee 2000 campaigns internationally. The campaign’s origins lay in Britain, where the campaign enjoyed considerable prominence and led to the establishment of campaigns in other countries, some of which still persist to this day. The campaign was notable for the leading role taken by church leaders and Christian activists. It called for the cancellation of the ‘unpayable’ debt owed by the least developed countries to the West and the international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. The campaign was highly successful and, although much debt has yet to be written off, many billions of dollars of debt were indeed cancelled, leading to tangible improvements in the quality of life for millions