A Lecture by Professor Mary Hirschfeld (University of Notre Dame), followed by response from Professor Amir Sufi (Booth School of Business). Presented at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, March 30, 2023.
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Secular discourse about the problem of economic inequality rests on two foundational premises that are problematic from a theological point of view. First, individuals enter into society with the aim of bettering their own condition. Second, bettering one’s own condition entails accruing more wealth and power so that one can fulfill more of one’s desires. In this event, Mary Hirschfeld presents on how market behavior shaped by the premises described above can promote economic inequality. Can ethical responses to the problem of economic inequality promote justice without challenging these assumptions? How do we find a theological response to the problem of economic inequality? How does genuine human flourishing depend on communal ties and the higher human goods that material wealth is properly meant to support?
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This event was co-presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization (CREDO). It was cosponsored by the In Lumine Network and Catholics at Booth. This event and recording was made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this video are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
