Ethics and Community Book

Introduction     1
Ten Fundamental Themes
Praxis and the Reign of God     7
State of the Question     7
Praxis as Act and Relationship     8
Person: Face, Corporeality and "Neighbor"     9
Relationship as Agape     10
The "We" of the Face-to-Face: The Community     10
"Eucharistic" Community     11
Need, Satisfaction, Festival     12
The Reign of God as the Absolute Face-to-Face     13
The Reign Begins now in Community     14
The Reign as Beyond: Utopia     15
Conclusions     16
Evil and Death     17
State of the Question     17
What Is Wickedness, Evil?     18
Idolatry, Fetishism     19
Individual or Abstract Malice     20
Social or Concrete Sin     21
Inherited Sin     21
The "Poor"     22
"Death"     23
Conscience and Responsibility     24
The "Prince of this World"     25
Conclusions     26
Prevailing Social Morality: The "Babylon Principle"     27
State of the Question     27
Some Necessary Distinctions     28
"This World"     29
The "Flesh"     30
The "Babylon Principle"     30
The System of Moral Practices     31
Morality of Praxis     32
"Moral" Conscience     33
The Poor "by Nature"     34
The "Cross" as Effect of Repression by Sin     34
Conclusions     35
Goodness and Life     37
State of the Question     37
Ethical Conscience and the Voice of the Poor     38
Conversion     39
The "Covenant"     39
Goodness as Service     40
Communal Goodness     41
Inheritance of the Good     42
Life Regained     43
The Poor Have their Fill     44
The Reign of the Servant     45
Conclusions     46
Community Ethics: The "Jerusalem Principle"     47
State of the Question     47
Some Necessary Distinctions     48
From "Morality" to "Ethics"     49
The Poor in Spirit     50
The Jerusalem Principle     51
Utopian Practices     52
The New Ethical Code     53
The Poor as Agents of the Reign of God      54
"Ethicity" of the Praxis of Liberation     55
The New Jerusalem     56
Conclusions     57
Sensibility, Justice, and Sacramentality     58
State of the Question     58
Hellenism, Gnosticism, and Manicheism     59
Dignity of the "Flesh"     59
Sensibility: The "Skin"     60
Injustice and Sensibility     61
Ascetical Morality: Corporeal Ethics     62
Eating and Food, Residing and Habitation, Dressing and Clothes     63
Cultural Poverty     64
It is the Flesh that Rises     65
Sacramentality     65
Conclusions     66
Moral Legality and Ethical Illegality     68
State of the Question     68
Some Necessary Distinctions     69
The Law of Morality     69
Paul against Moral Legality     70
Ethical Praxis and Faith     71
Lawfulness of the Prophet and Hero     72
The Absolute Principle of Ethics     73
Principles Derived from the Ethico-Communal Principle     74
Ethico-Communal Law     74
When Jerusalem Can Become Babylon     75
Conclusions      76
Relationships of Producers and Praxis of the People     78
State of the Question     78
"Social" Relationships of Domination     79
Community Relationships     79
What is "Class"?     80
What is Meant by "People"?     81
Praxis of the People as Oppressed     82
Praxis of the People as Exteriority     83
A Communo-Utopian Praxis among the People     84
A Prophetico - Community Praxis of Liberation among the People     85
Liberation Praxis of the People     86
Conclusions     87
Political Heroism, Ecclesial Martyrdom     88
State of the Question     88
Some Necessary Distinctions     89
Hero and Prophet in Persecution and Liberation     90
The Hero also Builds the Wall     91
The Prophet also Builds the Temple     92
The Politician: Manager of the Power of the State     93
The Ecclesiastic: Administrator of "Religious Affairs"     94
When the State Represses the New Poor     95
The Christendom Model: Fundamentalism     96
The Need for an Ongoing Dialectic between State and Church     97
Conclusions     97
Relative Morality, Absolute Ethics     99
State of the Question     99
Some Necessary Distinctions     100
Relative Moralities     101
The Transcendental Imperative of the Gospel Ethic     102
Moralization of the Gospel Ethic in Christendom     103
Communal Christian Ethics     104
How Does Ethics Criticize the Moralities?     105
Multiplicity and Evolution of Moralities     106
Transcendental Uniqueness of the Gospel Ethics     107
The Dialectical Relationship between Moralizing Incarnation and Critical Transcendence     108
Conclusions     108
Ten Disputed Questions
The Ethics of Work     113
State of the Question     113
Need and Life     114
The Product: Objectified Life     115
Exchange among Producers     116
Product Value     117
Product Ownership     118
Does Work Have Value?     118
Money as Objectified Life     119
Work Capacity and Wages     120
An Ethico-Productive Community     122
Conclusions     123
Ethical Critique of Capital     124
State of the Question     124
The "Poor" Today      125
Sin as the Social Relationship of Domination     126
What is Capital?     127
The Poor as Wage-Earners     128
Accumulation of "Surplus Life"     129
The Institution of Invisible Sin     130
The Person of the Worker as "Nothingness"     131
Blood Circulation     132
Idolatry Consummated     133
Conclusions     134
Ethical Critique of Dependence     135
State of the Question     135
Some Necessary Distinctions     136
The Nation as Poor     137
The International Social Relationship     138
What is Dependence?     139
The Poor Nation: A People and its Double Exploitation     140
"Surplus Life" Transferred to the Center     141
Theology, Populist and Popular     142
Liberation from Sin Today: Essential Level     143
Liberation from Sin Today: World Level     144
Conclusions     144
The Transnationals     146
State of the Question     146
Some Necessary Distinctions     147
Transnationalization of Productive Capital     148
Support Nation and Host Nation      149
How Does Transnational Capital Extract Surplus Life?     150
Where Is the Injustice?     151
Second Injustice: Overtransfer of Surpus Life     152
The Third Level     153
Arteries of Life     154
"Civilizing" Power of the Transnationals?     155
Conclusions     156
International Loans and Weaponry     158
State of the Question     158
Some Necessary Distinctions     159
Interest on Capital     160
Money Creating Money?     161
The New Moloch     162
New Transfer of Surplus Life     163
War as Business     164
Sinfulness of the Arms Race     165
Unproductive Investment: Instruments of Death     166
Armed Might of the Beast     167
Conclusions     169
"Class Struggle," Violence, and Revolution     170
State of the Question     170
What is Meant by "Class Struggle"?     171
Cause of Class Distinctions: Sin     172
Cause of the Class Struggle: Sin     172
The Reign of God: Without Classes or Struggles     173
Reformism and Developmentalism     174
Dependence, Breach, and Revolution     175
Violence     176
Just Defense and a People's Right to Life     177
Revolution, Morality, Ethics     179
Conclusions     180
Ethical Problems of Contemporary Socialism     181
State of the Question     181
The Institutionalization of Socialism     182
... And the "Law of Value" Abides     183
The Rate of Production Growth     184
Individuality in Community     185
Socialization of the Means of Production     186
Consciousness of the Productive Process     188
Planning and Autonomous Enterprises     189
Ambit of Negotiable Conflicts and Democracy     191
Mystification of Technology and Social Progress     192
Conclusions     193
Ethics of Culture and Ecology     194
State of the Question     194
Person, Nature, Product: Poiesis     195
"Mother Earth"     196
Destroying the Earth     197
Ecology and Liberation     198
Culture     199
Cultural Domination     200
Transnational Culture     201
Popular Culture, Resistance, and Cultural Creation      202
Culture and Popular Pastoral Practice     203
Conclusions     204
The Gospel and the Social Teaching of the Church     205
State of the Question     205
From Rerum Novarum (1891) to Quadragesimo Anno (1931)     206
From Mater et Magistra (1961) to Octogesima Adveniens (1971)     207
Laborem Exercens (1981)     209
Ethical Demands of the Gospel     211
Status of the Social Teaching of the Church     211
The Prophetic Function     213
Ultimate Responsibility of the Christian Community     214
Evolution of the Social teaching of the Church     215
The Social Teaching of the Church and Communal Theological Ethics     216
Conclusions     218
Liberation Ethics as Fundamental Theology     219
State of the Question     219
What is Fundamental Theology?     220
How is Revelation Possible?     221
How is Faith Possible?     222
The Starting Point of Theology     223
Praxis Determines Theology     224
Orthopraxy and Orthodoxy     225
Community, Prophets, Theologians, and the Magisterium     227
The Poor and the God of the Poor      229
Fundamental Theology in the Theology of Liberation     230
Conclusions     232
Liberation Ethics: Fundamental Hypotheses     233
Morality within Systems     233
Liberation Ethics     235
Something about Method     242
Notes to Appendix     245
Bibliography     251
Subject Index     256