Politicians and policymakers back Catholic solution to economic crisis

POLITICIANS HAVE backed a Catholic approach to tackling the global economic crisis, as the Archbishop of Canterbury invited young bankers to spend a year praying with him at Lambeth Palace to form them for life in the City.

An essay that argues Catholic Social Teaching (CST) can identify and solve the problems behind the 2008 crash, by Tablet columnist Clifford Longley, was welcomed by MPs including Jo Johnson and Jon Cruddas.

In “Just Money”, commissioned by the think tank Theos, Mr Longley calls neo-liberalism “a false ideology” that underpins a flawed system undermined by ­personal greed and unscrupulous behaviour.

As an alternative, CST would make the economic system answer to the common good by prioritising respect for human dignity.

Mr Cruddas, Labour’s policy review head, called the report very significant, saying: “This space is a key one for the future of politics.” Meanwhile Jo Johnson MP, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Policy Board, called it “an important contribution to a vital debate”.

Tim Livesey, chief of staff to Labour leader Ed Miliband, told The Tablet:“I think the question is not so much whether people understand the importance of there being a moral underpinning to our economy. The question is how we embed real and sustainable change that benefits everyone and not just a few at the top.”

But Philip Booth, head of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market think tank, said it was “bizarre” to accuse the banks of operating within a “neo-liberal” framework. “It is not an accurate description of the views of those who believe in a market economy to argue that they do not believe in moral restraint and trust,” he said.

CST was debated at an International Monetary Fund (IMF) seminar on ethics and finance in Washington DC last weekend.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, told a panel that included IMF managing director Christine Lagarde and Bank of England governor Mark Carney, both Catholics, that the Churches could help rebuild the economy by providing bankers with opportunities for self-examination.

Noting that a decline of religion among business people resulted in a lack of sense of internal responsibility, the archbishop invited young bankers to join a new monastic community he has founded at Lambeth Palace in London. The Community of St Anselm would be “demanding”, he said, adding that the rules upon which it was founded would shape them. “As an organisation, the Church can make a difference. [We can] set a pattern that reboots the inner value system,” said the archbishop.