Doing Well and Doing Good: The Challenge to the Christian Capitalist

by Richard John Neuhaus

With this timely reissue, Image celebrates the twentieth anniversary of an important, classic work on faith and economics from one of the leading Catholic intellectuals of the past century.


As pertinent today as it was when it was first published in 1992, Doing Well and Doing Good argues that for too long Christianity has had nothing to say to Wall Street or to Main Street. Some churches have blasted the greed of the former or the bourgeois grasping of the latter. Others have insisted on a socialist alternative. But the time has come, Neuhaus says, to stop such silliness. Drawing on the writings of Pope John Paul II, Richard Neuhaus has written a classic, groundbreaking work that unashamedly seeks to bestow a blessing on business. The common good depends on it.

Genres: Economics, Christianity

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 1992

About the author

Richard John Neuhaus was a prominent Christian cleric (first as a Lutheran pastor and later as a Roman Catholic priest) and writer. Born in Canada, Neuhaus moved to the United States where he became a naturalized United States citizen. He was the founder and editor of the monthly journal First Things and the author of several books, including The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America (1984), The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World (1987), and Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth (2006). He was a staunch defender of the Roman Catholic Church's teachings on abortion and other life issues and an unofficial advisor of President George W. Bush on bioethical issues.

Reviews

[Gene · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked up this book by Richard John Neuhaus, I didn't realize it was going to be an analysis of Pope John Paul II's encyclical Centesimus Annus. I don't regret reading it, though, because I respect JPII and was glad to see a bit more about the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

The English title of the encyclical seems to be The Economics of Human Freedom, and Neuhaus's book shows the emphasis that this encyclical puts on the idea of freedom. I have to admit that I went into the book fearing that the teaching would be an all-out condemnation of my libertarian views, but it was not. In fact, Neuhaus makes clear that the Pope sees human freedom as a necessary element of giving each of us our dignity and of lifting society out of poverty. And in this freedom he includes economic freedom.

I can't see eye-to-eye with all of the Pope's views as described by the author. I can never wrap my head around the concept of the mandate to give an employee a "living wage." As I see it, the employer is already giving employment at a rate that the employee agrees to because he sees it as a beneficial exchange for his labors, why then should the employee then be the one to bear the burden of making sure the employee has enough income to meet the needs of his family? Already doing him a good turn, he is now "punished" for his good deed and made to pay out even more. Why he rather than somebody who has yet to provide something good for the one employed? It'll take a bit more convincing before I'm ready to say I'm behind that instruction.

Nevertheless, the Pope's teaching is most often described in a way that would lead me to see him as a borderline minarchist. That's already much closer to my stance than I had supposed going into the book. Neuhaus shows the Pope's writing to be upholding the principles of private property and the way it is attained by taking something in a state of nature and adding one's work to it in a Lockean understanding. This warmed my heart.

Since Neuhaus wrote this book for a broad audience, he spends a lot of time explaining the authority that a papal encyclical holds in the teaching of the church. It got perhaps a little too into the weeds for those already familiar with the concepts of authoritative teaching in the church. Also, I found Neuhaus to be a bit too political, that is to say, he is a bit equivocal about things, not wishing to plant statements that are too rigid or dogmatic. There's a lot of giving something away in one sentence and taking it halfway back in the next. But I guess anyone who has been as involved in the workings of ecumenism as Neuhaus has been will be very cautious to leave wiggle room in his explanations.

I started the book prior to returning to Taiwan this fall, and I had placed it in luggage that was shipped and not my carry-on. This left me without reading material for a bit, so I started something else to carry me over. That something else was a long Dostoyevsky novel, so it took a long time to get back to Neuhaus. That's the only reason this review was five months since I started reading the book.

[Brandy Swartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this one. It was very informative and gave an insight on the challenges to the modern christian who are what some call wealthy. I plan on rereading this book again.

"I received this book from Library Thing giveaways. My opinions are unbiased and are of my own"

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free via Goodreads. Richard J Neuhaus was a founder of First Things, a journal of religion in the public square, to which I subscribe. If you are familiar with Fr. Neuhaus or First Things, you'll have a good idea whether this book will appeal to you right up front.

This edition is a 20th anniversary reprint, and still timely in its discussions of economics and society. It took me a long time to read, hence the lateness of this review. Neuhaus uses John Paul II's encyclical, Centestimus Annus, The Economics of Human Freedom, as a jumping off point for this extended philosophic discussion and commentary on politics and society. Centesimus is itself a commentary on Rerum Novarum ("New Things"), an encyclical written 100 years prior by Leo XIII. Word to the wise, a condensed version of Centesimus is presented as an appendix at the end of the book; my comprehension would have been aided by having read this first (too late).

Neuhaus, now deceased, was a Lutheran pastor who was active in the civil rights movement, working alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., and Abraham Joshua Heschel. His faith was informed by his inner city ministry. He converted to Catholicism, and some would say became more conservative, but I wonder if he would agree. Part of this book provides a Christian defense of capitalism as preferable to its alternatives, with a focus on socialism. Part of this book also considers the expansion of the government, and in particular, provision of social services by government agencies. I don't know if this book will convince anyone who is still unconvinced of Neuhaus' point that not only do the poor deserve our care and services, but these are not best delivered via governmental agencies. A thoughtful book by a humane man.

[Linda]

I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I tend to read the first chapter, or several if they are short, of books I receive in order to get a better feel for them, before I have time to read them entirely through and write a proper review. Randy Boyagoda wrote the Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition, explaining that Neuhaus' book examines the challenge of seeking "financial success and moral excellence without presuming the one makes the other impossible, or pretending these are one and the same." This idea was what prompted me to enter the giveaway for this book, and after reading the Preface and Introduction, I am encouraged that this book will be what the blurb description made it out to be.

[Nick Woodall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Good, different perspective on wealth and money.