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Satisfaction for Whom? Freedom for What? Theology and the Economic Theory of the Consumer

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  • Mark Nixon

Abstract

The economic theory of the consumer, which assumes individual satisfaction as its goal and individual freedom to pursue satisfaction as its sine qua non, has become an important ideological element in political economy. Some have argued that the political dimension of economics has evolved into a kind of “secular theologyâ€\x9D that legitimates free market capitalism, which has become a kind of “religionâ€\x9D in the United States [Nelson: 1991, Reaching for Heaven on Earth: The Theological Meaning of Economics. (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, Savage, Maryland); 2001, Economics as Religion: From Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond (The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Pennsylvania); Thurow: 1983, Dangerous Currents: The State of Economics (Random House, New York); Milbank: 1990, Theology and Social Theory, Beyond Secular Reason (Basil Blackwell, Cambridge, Massachusetts)]. Consumer theory in its ideological form provides an important base for this religion and is no longer merely a positive framework for understanding consumer choice or estimating market demand. The paper explores the view of the human being, the “anthropology,â€\x9D that is implicit in the economic theory of the consumer and compares its “theologicalâ€\x9D implications with the corresponding theological anthropologies in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. The paper outlines the assumptions of consumer theory and then focuses on three aspects of the theory from a critical theological perspective: the individual in community, property ownership, and human destiny (or “eschatologyâ€\x9D in theological terminology). The principal conclusion is that consumer theory, viewed from this perspective, leads to a reductionist and existentially harmful view of human beings. The maximization of individual satisfaction raises genuine ethical issues when viewed as a political and religious value. The paper argues that the issues could be ameliorated if economists would include more explicit treatment of a social dimension and ethical alternatives in consumer theory and if theologians would give greater attention to economic theory. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007

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  • Mark Nixon, 2007. "Satisfaction for Whom? Freedom for What? Theology and the Economic Theory of the Consumer," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(1), pages 39-60, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:70:y:2007:i:1:p:39-60
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9078-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ghassan, Hassan B., 2015. "نموذج النفقة والإعتدال حسب كتابات الشيباني [Spending and Fairness Model Based on the Writing of Shibani]," MPRA Paper 80603, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2016.
    2. Ghassan, Hassan B., 2015. "A Consumer Model and Social Welfare Based on the Writings of Shibani (750-805 AD, 131-189 AH)," MPRA Paper 72441, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Mar 2016.
    3. Ghassan, Hassan B., 2015. "Islamic Consumer Model, Fairness Behavior and Asymptotic Utility," MPRA Paper 67141, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. João Neves & Antonino Vaccaro, 2013. "Corporate Transparency: A Perspective from Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(4), pages 639-648, April.
    5. Liselot Hudders & Mario Pandelaere, 2012. "The Silver Lining of Materialism: The Impact of Luxury Consumption on Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 411-437, June.

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