Poverty and Morality: Religious and Secular Perspectives

by Edited by William A. Galston , Peter H. Hoffenberg

• ISBN13: 9780521127349
• ISBN10: 0521127343
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-20
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This multi-authored book explores the ways that many influential ethical traditions - secular and religious, Western and non-Western - wrestle with the moral dimensions of poverty and the needs of the poor. These traditions include Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, among the religious perspectives; classical liberalism, feminism, liberal-egalitarianism, and Marxism, among the secular; and natural law, which might be claimed by both. The basic questions addressed by each of these traditions are linked to several overarching themes: what poverty is, the particular vulnerabilities of high-risk groups, responsibility for the occurrence of poverty, preferred remedies, how responsibility for its alleviation is distributed, and priorities in the delivery of assistance. This volume features an introduction to the types, scope, and causes of poverty in the modern world and concludes with Michael Walzer's broadly conceived commentary, which provides a direct comparison of the presented views and makes suggestions for further study and policy.

Author Biography

William A. Galston is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has also taught at the University of Maryland, College Park, and served as deputy assistant to President Clinton and executive director of the National Commission on Civic Renewal. Peter H. Hoffenberg is associate professor of history at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa, where his courses include Comparative Economic History and the History of Economic Thought.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Global Poverty and Unequal Development: Contemporary Trends and Issues	p. 15
The Karma of Poverty: A Buddhist Perspective	p. 44
Poverty and Morality in Christianity	p. 62
Classical Liberalism, Poverty, and Morality	p. 83
Confucian Perspectives on Poverty and Morality	p. 115
Poverty and Morality: A Feminist Perspective	p. 134
Hinduism and Poverty	p. 160
The Problem of Poverty in Islamic Ethics	p. 180
Jewish Perspectives on Poverty	p. 204
Liberal Egalitarianism and Poverty	p. 220
Marxism and Poverty	p. 242
Poverty and Natural Law	p. 265
Afterword	p. 285
Select Bibliography	p. 295
Index	p. 299
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