Economist to Discuss the Ethics of Economic and Fiscal Policy

As consumers and citizens, are we responsible for the working conditions in factories that produce our iPods, iPhones and iPads? Is offshore outsourcing — with the attendant loss of American jobs — immoral? In the face of our burgeoning debt problem, should we raise taxes on wealthier citizens, cut spending on entitlement and social programs, or both? Should there be limits to CEO pay and bonuses, or are such matters private contractual arrangements between consenting adults? Should there be restrictions on speculative investments in food and other vital commodities, whose price swings hurt the poor? Should “hot money” of speculators in financial markets that can cause wild price gyrations be subject to higher tax rates or specific regulation to limit its impact?

These questions will be the subject of a free talk on Tuesday evening, September 18, at 7:30 PM at the St. Thomas Aquinas Student Center, 46 North Eagleville Road on the UConn Storrs campus by Fr. Albino Barrera, O. P., Professor of Economics and Theology at Providence College. The talk is titled “Ethical Dilemmas of a Globalizing Marketplace: What can Christian Social Thought Offer a Secular, Pluralistic Public Square?” It will examine the questions above and more generally the multiple ethical questions spawned by recent economic progress and globalization. Many of these will be or already are the subject of passionate debate during the Fall election campaigns. Fr. Barrera will share some of the insights that Catholic philosophical and moral principles can offer those looking for fair and just political and social policies to address the many challenging problems facing America, Europe and the world economy generally.

Fr. Barrera, a member of the Dominican Religious Order, earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale and his Licentiate in Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. Since 1994, he has been a member of the faculty of Providence College, where his teaching and research apply his background in economics and moral theology to explore ethical questions in global economics.

Fr. Barrera’s recent books include Market Complicity and Christian Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 2011), Globalization and Economic Ethics (Palgrave MacMillan, 2007), Economic Compulsion and Christian Ethics (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005), God and the Evil of Scarcity: Moral Foundations of Economic Agency (Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 2005) and Modern Catholic Social Documents and Political Economy (Georgetown University Press, 2001). He also contributed the initial chapter (“What Does Catholic Social Thought Recommend for the Economy? The Economic Common Good as a Path to True Prosperity”) to the collection The True Wealth of Nations: Catholic Social Thought and Economic Life (Daniel Finn, Editor, Oxford University Press, 2010).

Fr. Barrera’s lecture will be followed by a period of questions and open discussion, and there will be an informal reception with an opportunity for small-group conversation with the speaker. We also hope to have copies of one of his books available for purchase.