Economic Growth is not a virtue - economic justice is

The news today that UK home repossessions have risen by 48% (compared with the same 6 month period last year) is yet more dismal news about the economy. Yet these raw statistics hide many stories of personal tragedy and misery, disproportionally shared of course by those who are least economically secure or mobile. As always, the poor are hit first by economic woes. For most of us at the moment, the economic downturn might mean shopping in Aldi rather than Tesco - but that hardly counts as a tragedy. (And if you've never shopped in Aldi you should give it a try - their salmon is particularly good).

Every downturn or recession is accompanied by much analysis of what has gone wrong with the economy. But the fundamental questions are rarely asked. Talk of global changes in the availability of credit don't get to the heart of the problem but simply deal with the 'unpleasant ocassional side effects' of the economic system to which we all appear enslaved.

The thought of an economic system having a moral or even a spiritual dimension would probably have most city traders looking either bemused or quietly chuckling behind their Pimms. But in the same way that it is now widely recognised that the global political and physical environment has an interdependent dimension to it (look at the instant worries created across the world by what has happened in Georgia today), so, I suggest, does the economic system. And wherever there are relationships, corporate or personal, there are moral and spiritual questions to be faced.

The core spiritual question posed by the economy for me is this: if we accept that how we spend our money directly or indirectly affects other people, then surely the act of consumption is either an act that aids mutual sustainability or it is an act of economic exploitation? If it is the former, then consumption can be considered something that enhances our spiritual well-being; if it is the latter, then it is degrading, not simply to those who it affects, but to those who effect it - me or you.

It remains my belief, that mutually sustainable economic relationships (and economies) are incompatible with an economic policy that presumes that continuous economic growth is the only route to economic stability. For exploitation - of people, resources, the environment - is in-built to the logic of economic growth. If that doesn't sound right, consider how our economy in the UK might change if the real cost of manufacture and distribution was charged to the consumer. Small would not simply be beautiful, it would become essential. Profit only exists in the UK economy because none of us are paying the real cost of anything.

These are deeply spiritual issues for anyone who believes - as I do - that the world was created for our enjoyment and care, not for its exploitation. And that world includes us. If we are to have life, and to have it abundantly, as Jesus promises, then that 'we' must include everyone. If we want to be truly globally inclusive, then our economic exploitation of others must cease. Yes, that means a drop in 'living standards', but that might not be a bad thing, given the level of conflict and violence such living standards generate in our communities today.

Dave Ford