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Profits and Prophets

Market Economics and Jewish Social Ethics

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

  • Compares and contrasts market economics and Jewish social ethics

  • Discuss current contemporary policy issues

  • Written in clear language accessible to students in economics or Jewish theology

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

Keywords

About this book

This book is a study of potential, perceived, and real conflicts and similarities between market economics and Jewish social justice. The book’s ultimate focus is on public policy issues. In the first two chapters, the author presents the conceptual and theoretical foundations of market economics and Jewish social justice.  Subsequent chapters analyze minimum wage, immigration, climate change, and usury from both market economics and Jewish social justice perspectives, discussing conflicts, and, if they exist, similarities.   

Reviews

“Economics emphasizes the ‘me.’ Judaism, not unlike Christianity, emphasizes the ‘we.’ You might think the two perspectives are always at loggerheads, which they sometimes are. But Fox’s beautifully written little book points out important places where Judaism and economics mesh. As a Jewish economist, I was glad to learn of my errors!” (Alan S. Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University)
“As an economist who integrates the Catholic Social Tradition into my teaching and research, I encourage others interested in economic justice questions to read this work in order to gain a deeper understanding the Jewish Social Justice tradition and its applicability to contemporary questions, such as income inequality, environmental protection, and immigration.” (Margarita M. Rose, Professor of Economics, King's College)


“Hirschfeld's Aquinas and the Market and Tanner's Christianity and the New Spirit of Capitalism have notably advanced critical reflection on the constructive relations between religious ethics and economics. Now in Profits and Prophets, Fox offers her own fine contribution. Mining the rich resources of Jewish traditions and drawing on her own professional expertise as an economist, Fox discusses such timely topics as immigration policy, the minimum wage, environmental damage, and usury (read payday loans) with clarity and insight.” (William Werpehowski, McDevitt Professor of Catholic Theology, Georgetown University)


“For those seeking to address current economic policy issues by drawing on the Jewish social ethics tradition, Profits and Prophets offers a cogent way forward. It provides an attractive entry into modern economic thinking on the social benefits and possible costs of market-based policies, while recognizing and discussing the complexities of contrasting market norms with the end values of Jewish social teaching. This book will advance current scholarship in the arena of Jewish social ethics applied to economic policy challenges such as immigration, climate change, and payday lending.” (Edd Noell, Professor of Economics, Westmont College)


“This book is meticulously researched and passionately argued. We live in a time when more and more people are demanding of historic faith traditions a moral compass on how we can create a more compassionate and just world. Fox does that admirably on behalf of the Jewish tradition in this book.” (Rabbi Sid Schwarz, Senior Fellow, Hazon: The Jewish Lab for Sustainability)


Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Economics, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, USA

    Nancy Ruth Fox

About the author

Nancy Ruth Fox is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Saint Joseph's University, USA.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Profits and Prophets

  • Book Subtitle: Market Economics and Jewish Social Ethics

  • Authors: Nancy Ruth Fox

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40556-4

  • Publisher: Palgrave Pivot Cham

  • eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-40555-7Published: 07 July 2020

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-40556-4Published: 06 July 2020

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVI, 116

  • Topics: Economic Policy, Political Economy/Economic Systems, Judaism

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