Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice

"Gary Dorrien is the preeminent social ethicist in North America today."-Cornel West, Princeton University

"The most rigorous theological historian of our time, moving from analyses of social context and personal struggles through the most abstruse theological and metaphysical issues."-Robert Neville, Boston University

"Gary Dorrien's scholarly investigation of capitalism's destructive collision with society has greater urgency for America than ever before. Given all the adversities our nation faces, Americans need to learn and consider the great possibilities that Dorrien discusses for disarming the conflict and creating a more equitable and humane country."-William Greider, National Affairs Correspondent for the Nation and Author of Come Home, America: the Rise and Fall (And Redeeming Promise) of Our Country

"Like his other works, Gary Dorrien's book is richly researched and beautifully written. Dorren is among the leading academic voices of progressive Christianity, and his book brings the various threads of his scholarship together in one place."-Laura Olson, Clemson University

Examining the major traditions of progressive Christian social ethics---social gospel liberalism, Niebuhrian realism, and liberation theology---Gary Dorrien argues for the social-ethical necessity of social justice politics. In carefully reasoned essays, he focuses on three subjects: the ethics and politics of economic justice, racial and gender justice, and antimilitarism, making a constructive case for economic democracy, along with a liberationist understanding of racial and gender justice and an anti-imperial form of liberal internationalism.

In Dorrien's view, the three major discourse traditions of progressive Christian social ethics share a fundamental commitment to transform the structures of society in the direction of social justice. His reflections on these topics feature innovative analyses of major figures, such as Walter Rauschenbusch, Reinhold Niebuhr, James Burnham, Norman Thomas, and Michael Harrington, and an extensive engagement with contemporary intellectuals, such as Rosemary R. Ruether, Katie Cannon, Gregory Baum, and Cornel West. Dorrien also weaves his personal experiences into his narrative, especially his involvement in social justice movements. He includes a special chapter on the 2008 Presidential campaign and the historic candidacy of Barack Obama.

Gary Dorrien is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and professor of religion at Columbia University. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including most recently the three-volume The Making of American Liberal Theology and Social Ethics in the Making: Interpreting an American Tradition.