“And You Welcomed Me”

Abstract

In this article, I assess rival liberal and communitarian ethical perspectives underlying contemporary debates regarding migration policy in the US. I then propose a critical via media in a rights-based ethics of solidarity with migrants. I conclude by addressing the distinctive role played by citizens of faith in a religiously pluralist polity like our own, noting, in particular, the place (locus) of Christian belief in immigration policy.     

智力迁移国外研究进展

智力迁移是一种国际现象,是世界各国普遍关注的问题。目前有关国际智力迁移的理论成果尽管很丰富,有新古典经济学理论、二元劳动力市场理论、新迁移经济学理论、相对贫困假说、世界体系理论、社会网络理论和机构理论等,但这些理论都有其侧重点,都不能全面综合的解释智力迁移现象。在评述这些理论的基础上,把影响智力迁移的要素归纳为四种:经济、社会、政治和国家联系;重点分析了智力迁移对迁出国的不利影响,认为应该通过国家之间的补偿机制逐渐消除其不利影响。     

The Significance of the Christian-Jewish Dialogue and Holocaust Studies for Catholic Ethics

Abstract

When I survey the vast field of literature on social ethics, including that from progressive Christian scholars, I find little, if any, recognition that the positive development in the understanding of the Christian-Jewish relationship these past forty years have any relevance for shaping Christian perspectives on social ethics today. In this presentation I share some reflections on various areas of study within the context of the Christian-Jewish dialogue, especially the experience of the Holocaust, which in my judgment do make an important difference in the way we present Christian thinking on social ethical questions. The positive impact of the Hebrew Scriptures is one important area as is the enhanced understanding of law in the Hebrew Scriptures and in Judaism generally. Also of significance is the growing body of literature linking Jesus positively to the Jewish tradition of his time, including in terms of his moral teaching. The same holds true for new studies on Paul's positive relationship to Judaism. Finally the Holocaust provides us with important links to contemporary moral issues such as genocide and human rights.     

How Does Theology Go Public? Rethinking the Debate between David Tracy and George Lindbeck

Abstract

The possibilities for taking theological ethics ‘public’ have taken on added significance amidst debates over the nature of moral norms. If realist theological ethics can find a public voice, it will enhance the prospects for interreligious ethical collaboration and the place of theology in it. A key question remains whether particular contexts of religious symbols render them meaningful only within communities of ‘origin’, or particularity actually enables broadly compelling meaning or a public voice for theology. At issue in the Tracy-Lindbeck debate are their understandings of ‘public’, their responses to philosophical anti-foundationalism, and their theological presuppositions. While postliberal emphases on the distinctiveness of the Christian community and attention to the ecclesial community complement Tracy's emphases on dialogue and coherence, Tracy's recent methods provide more adequate responses to the challenges posed by postmodernism.     

Editorial

Abstract

Solidarity has become a central concept in Christian ethics. Although solidarity or analogous concepts can be found in other Christian traditions, as well as other religious and philosophical systems of ethics, the Catholic social tradition has perhaps most fully developed a concept of solidarity over the last century. This article contends that solidarity as conceived in Catholic social teaching (CST) provides a robust and useful understanding of the social obligations of individuals, communities, institutions, and nations. As a general overview of the concept of solidarity in CST, the article elucidates its biblical, theological and experiential foundations, its historical antecedents, and the goals, methods and scope of solidarity. The article also describes contemporary applications of the Catholic ethic of solidarity, and theoretical and practical challenges to its realization.     

The Convergence Model of Pietist Ethics: Faith Active in Love (Gal. 5:6)

Abstract

From their theological and devotional writings to their social and ecclesial practices, the fathers and mothers of Pietism boldly declared the ethical spirit of the Christian faith. The core theology of Pietism is simple: faith active in love. Against misunderstandings of Pietism as individualistic, rule-based, and otherworldly, this paper argues that Pietist ethics is best categorized by convergences, e.g., of faith and life, holiness and action, piety and social reform. In addition to clarifying what scholars call "one of the least understood movements in the history of Christianity," this paper challenges a religious culture that juxtaposes faith and social action.     

Habermas and Taylor on Religious Reasoning in a Liberal Democracy

Abstract

This article compares Habermas’s and Taylor’s approach to the role of religious language in a liberal democracy. It shows that the difference in their approach is not simply in their theories of religious language. The contrast lies deeper, in their incompatible moral theories: Habermas’s universal discourse ethics vs Taylor’s communitarian substantive ethics. I also explore William Rehg’s defence of discourse ethics by conceding that it is based on a metavalue of rational consensus. However, I argue that Habermas’s and Rehg’s discourse ethics and translation proviso are untenable. While Taylor rightly argues that there is no reason to exclude religious reason from the formal political sphere, his proposed fusion of horizons to generate a new hybrid framework is also problematic. I suggest that Taylor’s historical hermeneutics should be extended to include the narrative approach to ethical deliberation as conducive to mutual experiential understanding, and hence to achieving a fusion of horizons of the diverse worlds of citizens in a liberal democracy.     

Intellectual Migration and Economic Thought: Central European Émigré Economists and the History of Modern Economics

Summary

This article examines the life and thought of Thomas Balogh and Nicholas Kaldor, two Hungarian-born British economists, to suggest how the personal background and émigré status of these economists changed their view of the British economy and the economic policy recommendations they put forward as high-profile government advisers in the post-1945 period. This article combines research on inter-war intellectual migration and the history of British economics and economic policy making after the Second World War. It shows how the large scale migration of Central European intellectuals to the English-speaking countries affected the academic, intellectual and cultural lives of the host countries; it also suggests how economics, a relatively young social science discipline, has been crucially enriched by the contributions of exiles from old Europe, and how the mainstream paradigm of modern economics, the so-called neoclassical synthesis, was the result of the cross-fertilisation of ideas facilitated by the physical movement of academics and thinkers.     

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937): European Politician and Christian Philosopher

Abstract

This article looks at aspects of the life and thought of Tomá? Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937), Czechoslovakia's first President when the country was established at the close of the First World War. Masaryk was a significant thinker in the fields of philosophy and social theory. He was probably the first major scholar to take seriously the challenge of Marxist philosophy, and Lenin spoke of Masaryk as his most serious ideological opponent in the whole of Europe. Masaryk became one of the most influential European politicians of the early twentieth century. This article examines the connections between his political agenda and his Christian faith, arguing that his ethical commitments and his Christian beliefs were at the core of his life and thought as a Christian humanist.     

Ethics Appropriate for an Empire: A Question Whose Time Has Come

Abstract

This article offers a Christian ethical commentary upon the debate over the contemporary "American Empire." While many decry unprecedented US global dominance based on various secular standpoints, few have articulated religiously-grounded perspectives on this new US relation to the world. The task of mustering religious objections to openly imperial ambitions looms particularly large in light of prominent unabashed defenses of US global hegemony. The paper has three parts: (1) preliminary clarifications regarding terminology and context; (2) a survey of policies (e.g., unilateralism in foreign policy, interventions, a doctrine of pre-emptive war, diminished regard for international institutions) that reflect imperial ambitions and conflict with mainstream Christian perspectives on global justice and self-determination; and (3) a tentative listing of seven criteria appropriate for the pursuit and exercise of power on the part of global hegemons, in light of Christian principles. The constructive task is aimed at offering ethical constraints, such as the judicious correlation of means and ends in foreign policy. We will evaluate the contributions of Catholic social thought and the school of Christian realism on key questions: Is the notion of empire ever morally acceptable? Is "benevolent hegemony" possible in our times? If so, on what terms?     

The fusion of law and ethics in cultural heritage management: The 21st century confronts archaeology

Abstract

Archaeologists around the world face complex ethical dilemmas that defy easy solutions. Ethics and law entwine, yet jurisprudence endures as the global praxis for guidance and result. Global legal norms articulate ‘legal rights’ and obligations while codes of professional conduct articulate ‘ethical rights’ and obligations. This article underscores how a rights discourse has shaped the 20th century discipline and practice of archaeology across the globe, including in the design and execution of projects like those discussed in the Journal of Field Archaeology. It illustrates how both law and ethics have been, and still are, viewed as two distinct solution-driven approaches that, even when out of sync, are the predominant frameworks that affect archaeologists in the field and more generally. While both law and ethics are influenced by social mores, public policy, and political objectives, each too often in cultural heritage debates has been considered a separate remedy. For archaeology, there remains the tendency to turn to law for a definite response when ethical solutions prove elusive.

As contemporary society becomes increasingly interconnected and the geo-political reality of the 21st century poses new threats to protecting archaeological sites and the integrity of the archaeological record during armed conflict and insurgency, law has fallen short or has lacked necessary enforcement mechanisms to address on-the-ground realities. A changing global order shaped by human rights, Indigenous heritage, legal pluralism, neo-colonialism, development, diplomacy, and emerging non-State actors directs the 21st century policies that shape laws and ethics. Archaeologists in the field today work within a nexus of domestic and international laws and regulations and must navigate increasingly complex ethical situations. Thus, a critical challenge is to realign approaches to current dilemmas facing archaeology in a way that unifies the ‘legal’ and the ‘ethical’ with a focus on human rights and principles of equity and justice. With examples from around the world, this article considers how law and ethics affect professional practice and demonstrates how engagement with law and awareness of ethics are pivotal to archaeologists in the field.     

Reinhold Niebuhr: Public and Private

Abstract

Little has been written in recent Christian ethics regarding the moral basis of the voluntary military service of Christian individuals. This article identifies some sources of that lack of discussion. Furthermore, it explores the moral basis of voluntary military service, especially in the modern United States' military. This is critical because service in the US military is not, in many respects, simply equivalent to generic military service. This is due to the unique and historically unprecedented military superiority of the United States in the world—its ‘sole remaining superpower’ status. This status places unique political responsibility and obligations on the military forces of the United States in the twenty-first century global community. The article attempts to articulate a moral argument in support of the voluntary military service of thoughtful Christian individuals in the US military in this geopolitical environment.     

Cultural diversity in nanotechnology ethics

Abstract

Along with the rapid worldwide advance of nanotechnology, debates on associated ethical issues have spread from local to international levels. However, unlike science and engineering issues, international perceptions of ethical issues are very diverse. This paper provides an analysis of how sociocultural factors such as language, cultural heritage, economics and politics can affect how people perceive ethical issues of nanotechnology. By attempting to clarify the significance of sociocultural issues in ethical considerations my aim is to support the ongoing international dialogue on nanotechnology. At the same time I pose the general question of ethical relativism in engineering ethics, that is to say whether or not different ethical views are irreconcilable on a fundamental level.     

Caesar: a life in Western culture

Abstract

Professional associations of archaeologists and anthropologists have produced numerous codes of ethics in recent years. Their compilation is motivated as much by the desire to promote standardized professional practice as a wish to enshrine correct ethical responses. The precise wording of these is often minutely scrutinized (although not minutely enough, I argue), but their overall purpose, status or value is rarely considered. This paper considers that the formulation of ethical codes is of limited value and may even be counter-productive. The ambiguities and problems in interpreting concepts such as ‘respect’, ‘indigenous’ and ‘compromise’ are never explored or even acknowledged. Instead, the complexities of genuine ethical dilemmas, when contradictory or incompatible values collide, are circumvented or ignored. Codes of ethics fail to provide a clear guide to practice in cases of profound and complex conflicts of interest. Instead, it is argued here that ethics are historical and contextual; appropriate responses to ethical dilemmas should be developed on a case-by-case basis and require thought, debate and discussion, rather than the application of a rule. Codes of ethics promote conservatism and conformity, reinforce the power of hegemonic institutions and pre-empt ethical debate. Moreover, because they pretend to supra-contextual applicability, several of the principles enshrined in ethical codes could easily be used to support racist or otherwise politically objectionable movements.     

Two systems in one country: the origin,functions, and mechanisms of the rural-urban dual system in China

ABSTRACT

This paper takes an interdisciplinary perspective to focus on the role played by the rural-urban dual system in China’s urbanization and migration. We explain its establishment in China in the 1950s and its genealogy in the industrialization strategy adopted in the USSR in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In the reform era, the system has been refashioned to suit a new set of demands of the state industrialization strategy to cater for the global economy. We analyze the mechanisms of the dual system, and how it has helped generate low-cost migrant labor for urban employers and siphon off revenues for urban governments by expropriating rural land. We also argue that there are fundamental differences between the dual system and the common “dualism,” based on the Lewis dual-sector model, as observed in many developing countries. The plight of children of migrants is used to illustrate the main points made in the paper. Our research challenges the prevailing perspectives in Chinese geography and urban studies, many of which are based on market-driven neoclassical economics or global neoliberalism, often ignoring China’s historical and institutional contexts.     

The Conflict between Traditional Christian Churches in Ukraine as a Conflict of Identities: Where to Search for the Prospects of Reconciliation? A Reflection in the Light of the Theories of Paul Ricoeur and John Paul Lederach

Abstract

After the independence of Ukraine in 1991 there emerged or re-emerged four churches that derive their roots from ancient Kyiv Christianity. Those churches conflict with each other, the main cause of the split and tensions being the issue of cultural and social–political identities in the country. Such conflicting narrative identities have to be reconciled by the mutual recognition of their diversity when churches in Ukraine want to become a real force for transformation in society. Among the different models of the search for rapprochement in this article I refer to the theories of Paul Ricoeur and John Paul Lederach. According to the ethics of memory of Paul Ricoeur, traditional Ukrainian churches should abandon endless circles of melancholia about their losses and create new identities through the process of mourning. Because the tensions among traditional Christian denominations in Ukraine are not likely to be solved by institutional measures as history proves, churches should concentrate their efforts on working on social and relational platforms. Here I refer to the ethics of moral imagination of John Paul Lederach that envisions focusing the reconciliatory activities on locations of interaction between people that should finally contribute to the rapprochement.     

William Temple: Christianity and the Life of Fellowship

Abstract

William Temple is best known for his contribution to the forging of a social consensus that resulted in the foundation of the post-war British welfare state following his untimely death in 1944 after only two years as Archbishop of Canterbury. Widely regarded as the most theologically gifted holder of that office since Anselm, his pioneering contribution to the elucidation of a methodology for Christian social ethics which emphasized the role of ‘Principles’ that should inform Christian social action and reflection reinvigorated the Church of his generation in the task of bringing to bear the Christian message on social problems. What is less well appreciated is how he was not only the spokesperson for the most advanced Christian witness in the inter-war years, but that he also provided a basis for Christian ethics that brought together the strengths of the Anglican incarnational theology stemming from F. D. Maurice with the British tradition of philosophical social idealism. Often moving from the circumference to the centre, he sought to relate philosophical questions and insights to the richness of the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ. He was as at home in this task as he was in leading a mission on a Blackpool beach and the British public loved him for it. He was, as Winston Churchill said at the time of his elevation to Canterbury, "the half-crown article in a penny bazaar."     

Science and Religion

Abstract

A dialogue between science and religion must supersede the clash of the past, and here the teachings of Christ and Buddha are considered. Modern cosmological theory is contemplated in relation to these two religions and man's insignificance in the Universe accepted. Various theories of evolution, including creationism, are compared with theories of theology; consciousness is discussed and finally it is argued that spiritual experiences could be subject to a scientific analysis.