Working Alternatives: American and Catholic Experiments in Work and Economy

by John C. Seitz (Editor), Christine Firer Hinze (Editor), Gerald J. Beyer (Contribution by), Alison Colis Greene (Contribution by), Christine Firer Hinze (Contribution by)

Overview

Working Alternatives explores economic life from a humanistic and multidisciplinary perspective, with a particular eye on religions' implications in practices of work, management, supply, production, remuneration, and exchange. Its contributors draw upon historical, ethical, business, and theological conversations considering the sources of economic sustainability and justice.

The essays in this book--from scholars of business, religious ethics, and history--offer readers practical understanding and analytical leverage over these pressing issues. Modern Catholic social teaching--a 125-year-old effort to apply Christian thinking about the implications of faith for social, political, and economic circumstances--provides the key springboard for these discussions.

Contributors: Gerald J. Beyer, Alison Collis Greene, Kathleen Holscher, Michael Naughton, Michael Pirson, Nicholas Rademacher, Vincent Stanley, Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar, Kirsten Swinth, Sandra Waddock

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823288342
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Series:	Catholic Practice in North America
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

John C. Seitz (Edited By)
John C. Seitz is a scholar of U.S. religion. He serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and as an Associate Director for the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University.

Dr. Christine Firer Hinze (Edited By)
Christine Firer Hinze is Professor of Theology and Director of the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University.

Table of Contents

Introduction
John C. Seitz and Christine Firer Hinze | 1

PART I: SEEING DIFFERENTLY: ALTERNATIVE VISIONS OF ECONOMY AND WORK

The Care Economy as Alternative Economy
Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar | 21

An Integral Ecology as the Ground for Good Business:
Connecting Institutional Life in Light of Catholic Social Teachings
Michael Naughton | 45

Inaugurating a “Bold Cultural Revolution” through Prayer and Work
Nicholas Rademacher | 71

Generative Businesses Fostering Vitality:
Rethinking Businesses’ Relationship to the World
Sandra Waddock | 96

PART II: VALUING DIFFERENTLY: CHALLENGING WORK AND BUSINESS AS USUAL

The Homemaker as Worker: Second Wave American Feminist
Campaigns to Value Housework
Kirsten Swinth | 121

Curing the “Disease” in Corporatized Higher Education:
Prescriptions from the Catholic Social Tradition
Gerald J. Beyer | 148

Working Alternatives: From Capitalism to Humanistic Management?
Michael Pirson | 189

PART III: PRACTICING DIFFERENTLY: CREATING ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF WORKING

The “Dignity of Motherhood” Demands Something Different:
A Catholic Experiment in Reproductive Care in New Mexico
Kathleen Holscher | 225

Southern Christian Work Camps and a Cold War
Campaign for Racial and Economic Justice
Alison Collis Greene | 253

Meaningful Work in a Time of Crisis
Vincent Stanley | 280

List of Contributors | 305

Index | 309

Editorial Reviews

Working Alternatives' practical and pluralistic approach to economic justice is an original and important intervention for equality and change. It overcomes a longstanding pitfall of Catholic social teaching: grand schemes and moral appeals that lack traction against powerful interests that benefit from the status quo. These authors show how creative local efforts can rebalance economic power, even if a major overhaul of market capitalism is still aspirational. If you have ever felt that Catholic economic thought involves a lot more exhortation than it does realistic plans of action, this book will give you renewed energy and hope.---Lisa Sowle Cahill, Monan Professor of Theology, Boston College

John Seitz and Christine Firer Hinze have produced a multi-disciplinary collection of essays exploring creatively the character of work. The personal commitments of the authors and the diversity of contexts they address - from business to university to the unpaid work of care-givers - provide the reader with a wide range of insights for understanding and transforming work in the 21st century.---Daniel Finn, College of St. Benedict/St. John's University

This is an excellent exploration of solutions to problems and issues of work and economics. Highly recommended.-- "Choice"

From the Publisher

This is an excellent exploration of solutions to problems and issues of work and economics. Highly recommended.

Choice

Working Alternatives’ practical and pluralistic approach to economic justice is an original and important intervention for equality and change. It overcomes a longstanding pitfall of Catholic social teaching: grand schemes and moral appeals that lack traction against powerful interests that benefit from the status quo. These authors show how creative local efforts can rebalance economic power, even if a major overhaul of market capitalism is still aspirational. If you have ever felt that Catholic economic thought involves a lot more exhortation than it does realistic plans of action, this book will give you renewed energy and hope.

Lisa Sowle Cahill

John Seitz and Christine Firer Hinze have produced a multi-disciplinary collection of essays exploring creatively the character of work. The personal commitments of the authors and the diversity of contexts they address – from business to university to the unpaid work of care-givers – provide the reader with a wide range of insights for understanding and transforming work in the 21st century.

Daniel Finn