Who Is My Neighbour?

Abstract

Christian theologians and official church organisations frequently admonish members and believers to allow their economic decisions to be governed by concern for economic justice, the common good, or service to one′s neighbour. Friedrich Hayek, on the other hand, claims that today′s large population and living standards have been made possible by a shift from a morality of serving the known needs of neighbours to one of following abstract rules of the market. Elaboration and development of Hayek′s thesis shows that (1) individuals are probably unable to be efficient when they try to help others, (2) one may be able to serve 30 or 40 neighbours by seeking justice but larger numbers will be better served by following the rule of “buying cheap and selling dear”, and (3) many people would suffer economic hardship if the social teachings of theologians and the pronouncements of official organisations were taken seriously by Christians.

Citation

Shropshire, W.O. (1989), "Who Is My Neighbour?", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 16 No. 5, pp. 18-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068298910133061