Category: Sallux Publications
ISBN: 978-94-92697-07-3
Subtitle: Rethinking Economic Relationships. By Dr. Paul Mills, Dr. Michael Schluter
The world is set to be in financial turmoil for some years to come. Searching questions are being asked about the future of Capitalism in the light of the European debt crisis, excessive levels of executive pay, short termism in share trading, and the dominance of the financial economy over the real economy of goods and services. The fall of Communism left Capitalism as the only show in town; as it grows increasingly unfit for purpose, where do we go next?
This book seeks to rethink the foundations of a market economy and argues that the Bible's central theme of relationships is the key to rebuilding a system that promotes economic well-being, financial stability and social cohesion. This book (re)views economics through the prism of the gospel, proposing that economic activity has to serve, not enslave people to the idols of capital, interest and state regulation. ''It is a powerful invitation to build economic life on lasting relationships, and not only on efficient transactions.'' Prof. Paul Dembinski, Director, L Observatoire de la Finance, Geneva ''…a challenging alternative economic approach, mining the rich vein of socio-economic teaching from the Judaeo-Christian tradition inspired by the Bible.'' David Fieldsend, Chairman, Sallux | ECPM Foundation ''This publication rightly points to the need of a new way to look at prosperity and value, and it is a useful contribution to rethink the foundations of our economy.'' Dr Bob Goudzwaard, Professor Emeritus, Free University of Amsterdam (VU)
Dr. Paul Mills
Paul Mills was awarded a PhD in economics from Cambridge University in the UK in 1995. He subsequently worked for the UK Treasury in a number of positions including head of research at the Debt Management office and team leader for Debt and Reserves Management and Financial Stability and Regulatory Policy. He then worked in the IMF from 2006 to 2009 as senior economist (Monetary and Capital Markets), before joining the London office of the IMF as senior economist, located in the Bank of England, for the period 2009 16. His job included managing a small team of financial market analysts, and liaison with the Bank of England. He also drafted and edited IMF daily financial markets reports to senior management and member country authorities, and briefed senior management on market movements. Paul has had a long-term interest in working with Michael Schluter on the relational economy, and relational finance from within a Christian worldview. This follows from his PhD research in financial economics which focused on financial fragility, debt deflation and Islamic banking. He has written many of the Jubilee Centre s Cambridge Papers, his most recent being Prodigal Stewards: the looming government debt crisis and what to do about it which was published in December 2014. After Capitalism: Rethinking Economic Relationships , spelling out both the ethical weaknesses of contemporary capitalism and exploring an alternative framework for economic life based on Relational Thinking, was published in 2012.
Dr. Michael Schluter
Dr. Michael Schluter (MBA) trained as an economist in the US and then as a consultant with the World Bank in East-Africa. Since 1982, he has launched a number of not-for-profit organisations including the Jubilee Centre, a Christian think tank which seeks to apply biblical thinking to public policy. In 1994, Michael launched the Relationships Foundation, from which have grown the Relational Thinking Network, Relational Analytics, Relational Research and more recently Relational Peacebuilding Initiatives. Co-author of The R Factor (1993), Jubilee Manifesto (2005), The Relational Manager (2009), The Relational Lens (2017) and Confederal Europe (2017) he has also contributed to a number of other books looking at social issues from a relational perspective. He is an experienced speaker who has addressed audiences all over the world, and was awarded a CBE in the Queens New Year honours in 2009.
