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Full-Text Articles in Religion
Gleaning As A Transformational Business Model For Solidarity With The Poor And Marginalized, Bruce D. Baker
Gleaning As A Transformational Business Model For Solidarity With The Poor And Marginalized, Bruce D. Baker
SPU Works
“Gleaning” refers to the mandate within the Mosaic Law that harvesters should leave behind “gleanings” for the sake of the poor who subsist on the literal and figurative margins of society. Although this biblical mandate is generally neglected and considered irrelevant in modern business practice, it holds powerful lessons to help guide modern businesses into transformational solidarity with the poor and marginalized. This paper interprets the biblical significance of gleaning, to discern how the principles of gleaning, though rooted in ancient agrarian culture, might be applicable to modern business which is generally far removed from agriculture. The exegesis and analysis …
Free Markets With Caritas: A Transformational Concept Of Efficiency, Bruce D. Baker
Free Markets With Caritas: A Transformational Concept Of Efficiency, Bruce D. Baker
SPU Works
The logic of caritas transforms conventional concepts of economic efficiency in a direction conducive to the health and sustainability of a market system, by distinguishing between economic activities which are additive or extractive toward the common good. The beneficent power of the market to serve human flourishing is based not in a morally tacit concept of economic efficiency as a cardinal good, but rather in a gift-bearing efficiency aligned with caritas. This thesis is explored through three business case studies: (1) patents related to pharmaceutical drug design and marketing; (2) “monetization” strategies in recent internet-based business models; and (3) …