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Movement of Christian Workers
St, Joseph’s, Watford Way,
London, NW4 4TY
Telephone: 0208 2036290,
Fax: 0208 203 62 91
E-mail:
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Registered Charity 1023530
The MCW is a member of
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It’s a Strange World! Some reflections on the Global Financial Crisis |
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When we hear that George W Bush has been called a Socialist by some of the senior members of his own Republican Party we know we are living in extraordinary times! What is illustrated is how the so called ‘credit crunch’ is challenging many of our political leaders and their former economic beliefs.
Many people are rightly concerned about the value of their savings, pensions and investments and are afraid of the unknown in that the world as we know it might be coming to an end. Governments across the globe are scrambling to ‘save' or prop up the system in whatever way they can. The solutions proposed for this ‘credit crunch' and accompanying financial crisis around the world does however raise some very important questions and reflections.
Some people have identified the present crisis as having its' roots in the deregulation of the market, privatisation of key institutions and demutualisation of Building Societies which was firstly promoted by the Thatcher Governments of the 1980s and continued under the Blair administration. These actions emerged out of the political and economic philosophy which valued individualism over society resulting in, some would say inevitably, the present chaos. This leads some to wonder why such a system, that is inherently exploitative and based on inequality, should be saved.
One danger in trying to ensure the stability of the banking system as we know it is that governments over react and make unlimited amounts of taxpayers money available to banks who have made hundreds of billions of pounds profit over the last twenty years. As one of Garry Trudeau's characters in his Doonesbury strip said "they are privatising profit and socialising [nationalising] risk"
It is instructive to observe how mutual financial institutions like Building Societies and Credit Unions are surviving the crisis. None of these have any significant exposure to sub-prime mortgage lending (a trigger of the present crisis) and most are well capitalised. None will need any public money to bail them out. Their values of not-for-profit quality service to members have stood the test of time and should be regarded as models of good practice for the future of the industry.
Many of these same values are echoed in the US Bishops' Conference letter to their political leaders in response to the crisis. They emphasise the human and moral dimensions of the situation and insist on responsibility and accountability for those who have directly contributed to or profited from the crisis. They also highlight the necessity of solidarity and the Common Good. There is more on the letter within this edition along with some reflections from a Christian Worker activist in the US. He is member of the Catholic Labour Network who have recently affiliated to the World Movement of Christian Workers.
It would be an error of historic proportions to waste the opportunity which the crisis presents. A financial system can be built which is more in tune with the Gospel values of fairness, solidarity and inclusiveness, putting the most vulnerable at the centre of things without forgetting the rest. Let's not waste this chance to do something better for everyone.
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