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Wolfgang Huber: "A Moral Upsurge Is Needed"
"Economic practices must be thoroughly reconsidered," says the Council chairperson as the EKD presents its new text on The global financial and economic crisis
July 2. 2009
Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD has called for a debate on the future of the economic system. In Berlin on Thursday, at the launch of the "Statement on the global financial and economic crisis," the underlying theme of which is a verse from the Book of Isaiah "Like a high a wall, cracked and bulging," he said, "The foundation of our economic order is responsible freedom ... Freedom without responsibility disintegrates."
Many take comfort in the fact that the crisis has already reached its lowest ebb and dream of a new upsurge, Huber warned. "Equally high returns are being promised that can only be achieved by a correspondingly high share of risky investment banking, he said. Yet, many businesses are still at risk of being swept away by the economic crisis. Many employees are in limbo, not knowing whether after a phase of reduced working hours they will be made completely redundant," Bishop Huber added. We might ask ourselves if "we have learned any lessons from this shock," for "whether international monitoring institutions will be reformed and equipped in a way that enables them to keep pace with the dynamics of global financial markets has still not been decided."
The Council chairperson called for further extension of the social market economy: "Self-interest as the driving force of the market economy must go hand-in-hand with a commitment to the common good. When life's realities are totally subordinated to the desire for profit, economic utility translates into a loss of quality of life - social well-being declines, the common good crumbles, the environment is further compromised and the burden on future generations becomes overwhelming.
According to Huber "the current crisis owes much to the absence of a sense of responsibility." Hence, what is needed "is not only economic recovery, but also a moral upsurge." The Council chairperson greeted indications of a change of mentality in handling the crisis as an extremely positive development: "Responsibility means learning from the crisis and redirecting our efforts in the direction of sustainable economic management." He stated further, "The new emphasis on ethical standards in the conduct of business, the serious discussions on the future of the economic order and the urgent calls for a political framework to regulate globalization give me good reason to be hopeful. I should like to encourage political leaders who see further than the next election deadline and decision-makers in the economic arena who see further than the next quarterly report. Our "Statement on the global financial and economic crisis" draws its inspiration from the biblical insight that a turnaround is possible if we place our full trust in God.
Hanover, July 2, 2009
Press Office of the EKD
Reinhard Mawick
Note:
EKD Text 100 in German ("Like a high wall, cracked and bulging ") is available at a cost of € 0.60 per copy at the EKD Church Office (Herrenhäuser Straße 12, 30419 Hannover, Telephone: 0511/2796-460, email: versand@ekd.de)