Orthodox primates criticise global economy

See the article here. An alternative headline probably should be, ‘Primates of Orthodox Churches deliver solid backhand to Acton Institute’. Have a read of the relevant passages:

The Church cannot remain indifferent to economic processes that have negative influence on the whole humanity. It insists on the necessity not only to build economy on moral basis, but to serve a person by action with its help.

Also:

The gap between the rich and the poor dramatically broadens in the result of the economic crisis, [as] the result of impetuous speculations of financial circles, concentration of riches in hands of few people and perverted financial activities which are deprived of justice, humanity, responsibility and eventually does not satisfy true demands of human race.

And:

[The] viable economy is the economy which combines efficiency with justice and social solidarity.

I’m very much hoping that these interesting-sounding snippets from what appears to be a much longer and more in-depth document from the pan-Orthodox council presage a much closer and more just examination in Orthodox circles of the theoretical economic work of, for example, Father Sergey Bulgakov and other Orthodox critics both of Marxist determinism and of the implicit materialism and amoralism of capitalist, libertarian and laissez-faire modes of economic organisation (for example, Vladimir Solovyov). Such a close reading and examination of these Russian religious philosophers’ economic thinking is indeed long overdue. Let’s hope they get it!