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Christian Ethics and Corporate Culture pp 155–165Cite as

What of Financialisation?

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Part of the book series: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance ((CSEG))

Abstract

The attempt to introduce corporate social responsibility (CSR) takes place in a new and different economic context increasingly dominated by finance and, above all, by an increasingly diffused ‘financial way of thinking’ on economic issues. Deregulation and globalisation have had a significant impact on the way we generally conceive economic problems. Besides the effects on structural change, we may understand this change as a shift in both rules and morality, which legitimised the adoption of a strict monetary calculation over the many immaterial and social issues implied in economic choices. Such question is particularly evident in and relevant for corporate governance.

This situation is at odds with Christian Social Doctrine (CSD) church. As a consequence, we will analyse financialisation in the light of CSD to single out the specific difficulties. We will look in particular at the issues centred in corporate governance and at the impact that the priority of shareholder value poses for achieving ethical outcomes in economic interactions. We will argue that problems induced by financialisation cannot be solved by relying on individual initiative alone. Some form of collective action by ethically oriented persons is required to find a new coherence between rules and ethics. As a consequence, the institutional configuration of the economy is important in determining successful initiatives in CSR.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See [4–8].

  2. 2.

    We may even say that they are winding up such investments.

  3. 3.

    See [11–13].

  4. 4.

    Taparelli also proposes a duty of sociability and cooperation according to the natural order, in which society remains a means (against idealist thought), not an end. The law is ‘the moral force, according to reason, binding one to the will of others’.

  5. 5.

    Actually, also Tawney [18] keeps a special concern on the crisis of social values.

  6. 6.

    For example, codetermination in Germany, which owes much to von Nell-Browning [40] and which delivered good results, is presently endangered by financialisation and by the demand of institutional investors to cancel it.

  7. 7.

    Johnston [19] focuses on the fiduciary duty deriving from natural law. The fact is, however, that manager compensation increases as an incentive for short-term profit.

  8. 8.

    We intend rent in the classical notion of income deriving from property and not from productive activities.

  9. 9.

    See [20].

  10. 10.

    Since it involves voice in the definition of common rules of behaviour.

  11. 11.

    Rerum Novarum reaffirmed this principle which, however, has a long history.

  12. 12.

    Galbraith concentrated on this issue. See [24] for an understanding of unemployment on these lines.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    GianDemetrio Marangoni

  2. University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Stefano Solari

Authors
  1. GianDemetrio Marangoni
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  2. Stefano Solari
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Correspondence to GianDemetrio Marangoni .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Catholic Studies, St. Bonaventure's Center for Catholic Studies, Onitsha-ana, Nigeria

    Bartholomew Okonkwo

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Marangoni, G., Solari, S. (2014). What of Financialisation?. In: Okonkwo, B. (eds) Christian Ethics and Corporate Culture. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00939-1_11

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