From Wasteland to Promised Land
Liberation Theology for a Post-Marxist World
Published on 1. January 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-0-85683-133-1 (ISBN)
Description
Liberation theology has been called the most significant theological development of the past generation, but, because of its Marxist leanings, it has lost some of its credibility in the light of the failure of Marxism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. However, the poverty and disparity in wealth which gave rise to liberation theology remain. The authors, while sympathizing with the concerns of liberation theologians, offer a different analysis of the major cause of poverty, based upon the work of the 19th-century American social reformer Henry George, who was at one time as well known as Marx. Advocates of his approach included Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Leo Tolstoy and Sun Yat-sen in China. As the authors point out, his approach was not unique: the Physiocrats in France proposed something similar before the French Revolution, and the economic theory which underpins the proposal is in accord with the work of the classical economists, especially David Ricardo, but, because he championed the cause of the poor so vigorously, the proposals are very much associated with Henry George's name.
The authors explain how a major land reform can be achieved without confiscation of land, through a change in the tax system. This reform would also lay the foundation for more sustainable economic development while safeguarding the environment.
The authors explain how a major land reform can be achieved without confiscation of land, through a change in the tax system. This reform would also lay the foundation for more sustainable economic development while safeguarding the environment.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-85683-133-1 (9780856831331)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
Part 1 Prologue - hope for the oppressed on every continent: beneath all, the land problem; the rise of liberation theory; good solutions that miss the mark; freedom seekers inspired by the bible; church views on land tenure; chapter and verse. Part 2 Egyptian bondage in the new world - Latin American Colonialism and its legacy: a system justifying suffering; how the colonial system worked; rural and urban subjugation persist; one continent's example of a world in bondage. Part 3 Perceptions of the promised land - struggles for liberation: the promise of land reform; failures of land reform; envisioning the Promised Land; false reports and their consequences; who owns the Promised Land? landlordism versus righteousness. Part 4 viewing life from the wasteland - the righteous society versus Baaal worship: church and government - models from the past; people-hood and justice for all; Baalism's real evil. Part 5 Poverty in the wasteland - the "preferential option for the poor" revisisted: Jesus' good news for the oppressed; not all poor included, not all rich excluded; different paths to poverty; romanticizing and charity fail to liberate. Part 6 Suffering in the wasteland - independence - but still wandering in the wilderness: economic development and dependency; the centre and the periphery; a stance against free trade; cracks in dependency theory. Part 7 Detours in the wilderness - Marxism and liberation: alienation - the worker as subhuman machine; surplus value - pseudo-scientific rationale for worker revolt; struggle to fit "class struggle" doctrine to reality; does socialism liberate?; papering over dictatorship with veneer of humanism; anticapitalism - case of mistaken identity?; a feudal-socialistic stew; basic design defects; beyond Michael Novak. Part 8 Travelling down the King's highway - how those in power maintain the status quo: clearing away roadblocks; which comes first - capital or labour?; does increased population mean more poverty?; seeking poverty's root cause; defining terms in pursuit of essential relationships; from urban blight to rain forest destruction - bitter fruits of land speculations; pushed to the margin; ethical basis of ownership; who made and owns the land? finders keepers? do old wrongs become rights? Part contents.