Abstract
The emergence of conscious capitalism has purportedly led to a number of corporations actively applying its principles in their business endeavors. But are these organizations truly executing and implementing the ideals and concepts of conscious capitalism? Organizations are made up of people; although we think our intentions are sound, our natural tendencies toward selfish endeavors exert themselves, despite the loftiness of our ideals. This plays out (within individuals or groups) in an underlying myopia, that leads to self-serving decision making and/or actions, to the detriment of not only said organizations, but to all stakeholders (all of creation). If this is humanity’s plight, why even bother with conscious capitalism? Because existence demands it. If we examine the concept of conscious capitalism through the framework of Christian principles and beliefs, perhaps these principles and beliefs can render the understanding needed to successfully work within the constructs of conscious capitalism, thus avoiding the pitfalls of humanity’s natural tendency to seek its own gain to our own detriment and the unintentional sabotage of the espoused ideal. This chapter explores conscious capitalism from the framework of Christian principles, beliefs, and teachings, as well as the use of scripture as guidelines for adhering to its tenets.
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Glossary
- Concupiscence
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Insubordination of man’s desires to the dictates of reason, and the propensity of human frailty to sin as a result of original sin. More commonly, it refers to the spontaneous movement of the sensitive appetites toward whatever the imagination portrays as pleasant and away from whatever it portrays as painful. However, concupiscence also includes the unruly desires of the will, such as pride, ambition, and envy (Trinity Communications 2020).
- Regenerated Christian
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A Christian who is spiritual as opposed to one who is sensory or sensual-delimited; a believer who draws their strength from God and operates from the power of God’s love.
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Eusebio, M.A. (2022). Christianity and Conscious Capitalism. In: Dion, M., Pava, M. (eds) The Spirit of Conscious Capitalism. Ethical Economy, vol 63. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10204-2_11
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