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Banking for the common good: A Lonerganian perspective

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  • Ballantine, Joan
  • Kelly, Martin
  • Larres, Patricia

Abstract

The financial crisis of 2008 left a legacy of hardship in its wake and exposed a culture of moral penury in UK banking. In an ex-post attempt to address this malaise and restore confidence in the sector, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) affirmed, in its mission statement, a strong commitment to serving the public interest. We appraise the FCA’s public interest rhetoric and contrast the term public interest with its antecedent, the common good. In so doing, we conclude that the common good is superior to the public interest insofar as the former incorporates a moral dimension which is absent from the latter. Moreover, the common good embraces an inclusivity in its altruism that renders it superior to the majoritarism of the public interest. Thereafter, we illuminate the concept of the common good by drawing on Bernard Lonergan's philosophical anthropology and, in particular, his cognitive structure of dynamic knowing. Finally, we provide a discourse for the banking sector which incorporates Lonergan's philosophy as a mechanism for conceptualising accounting and accountability for the common good. We argue for a new focus to liberate banking from self-interested desires, embedded in a neoliberal ideology, and redirect it towards a compassionate caring culture.

Suggested Citation

  • Ballantine, Joan & Kelly, Martin & Larres, Patricia, 2020. "Banking for the common good: A Lonerganian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 67.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:67-68:y:2020:i::s1045235418302806
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2018.09.003
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