The Eastern Christian Fathers ( a.d. 350-400) on the Redistribution of Wealth

Bibliographic Data

ID7448158
AuthorsAnastassios D Karayiannis (corresponding author)
Year1994
Volume26
Issue1
Pages39-67
Publication date1994-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory of Political Economy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2702 • E-ISSN: 1527-1919
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1215/00182702-26-1-39
OpenAlexW2049843523
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited8

In the second half of the fourth century A.D., the Eastern Christian Fathers developed some interesting economic ideas and suggestions, scattered throughout their religious texts, the majority of which focused on solving the problem of the extreme maldistribution of wealth. Though they blamed the institutional malfunction of the economy for this problem, they did not develop drastic measures for a revolutionary reconstruction to transform the existing institutions, or turn against the market norms. Instead, they tried to convince individuals to increase their altruistic behavior and to prove that such behavior would increase the general welfare. The Fathers, by incorporating ethical judgments in their economics ideas, developed commandments, propositions, and exhortations, justified on religious and economic grounds, in order to reduce the consequences of the unequal distribution of wealth. Their aim was to prove that such a distribution was contrary not only to Christian teachings but also to the economic interests of both rich and poor citizens. These various ideas, arguments, and suggestions are discussed in the following manner. Section 1 exposes the Fathers ' views on the

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