Economies built upon the ideas of scarcity, competition, selfishness, and domination of the earth are not cast in iron. Our views of how to handle the basic needs of human life — food, housing, clothing, and work — are created by our beliefs and hopes for the future. This means that we can use our spiritual values to transform the marketplace and our roles in it.
That in a nutshell is the assumption of Denise Breton and Christopher Largent, a husband and wife team who divide their time between writing and teaching in the philosophy department at the University of Delaware. They have put their revolutionary ideas in a book, The Soul of Economies: Spiritual Evolution Goes to the Marketplace. After critiquing the assumptions about human nature underlying our present economies, Breton and Largent use four meta-maps from the Bible to direct our thoughts about the soul of economies. Ideas, values, and principles found in the Creation Story, the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Lord's Prayer can serve as the basis for more creative, compassionate, just, and whole seeking economies. This fascinating book will stretch your mind and help you to see the deep connection between spirituality and economies.