Quote of the Day
Put the Quakers back in charge of Barclays, which they founded, as they also founded Lloyds. In what I wish that I could turn into something witty or profound, all four of the Cadbury, Rowntree, Terry and Fry families were, and presumably still are, Quaker. Banks once against run on the principles of Simplicity, Truthfulness, Equality and Peace are exactly what we need. Likewise, confectioners, among so very many other concerns. But most pressingly, banks.
UPDATE: Tall Skinny Kiwi has an interesting post on the subject of: How Christian can Islamic banking be?
Tags: Law Moral Ethical
July 4th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
The only reason Quakers got into banking is because they were excluded from other professions on account for them not being Anglicans, prior to the Reform Acts. There is no evidence to suggest their businesses were any more or any less ‘moral’ than their non-Quaker competitors. All that we know is that they tended to treat the workers less harshly than many of their contemporaries – yet even the Titus Salts and John Brights of the 19th century still ensured workers did as they were told and received only a tiny fraction of the profits as their wages while the business owner reaped a fat reward. Social division was maintained and it would have been very difficult on the wages these ‘philanthropic’ employers paid, to afford decent further education to get oneself out of the thraldom of the factory system. Many businesses were owned by practicing Christians in the 19th century and many people – particularly the middle-classes – attended church. Yet the truth is, we live in far more socially moral times now than then.
Why is it that the appellation ‘Christian’ is supposed to imbibe a business or an individual with a greater morality than its or his or her neighbour? Even a casual glance at the social history of our forebears demonstrates that greater church attendance and religious belief didn’t make for a more wholesome society. Similarly, a look at our more Christian neighbours – esp. the USA – doesn’t provide much evidence that greater Christian belief and church attendance make for a better society in the present.
Hand on heart – how many people who are regular church goers would go to anyone in their congregation with a problem? I suspect the list of potential allies or helpers is very small – if within our own church we can’t find people we trust (or the number of those whom we trust is very small) why should we expect Christians elsewhere or in history to be replete with a greater morality and ability than everyone else?
Hence why would it be the case that if Quakers owned Barcley’s now, it would be a more moral bank? In fact the greatest irony is that as public limited companies, it is highly likely many Christian and charitable organisations own a considerable portion of Barcley’s et el. Yet few of these shareholders – particularly the pension funds that hold so much of the nation’s collective wealth – complain about behaviour, their interest is rather in fact dividends…
Ecclesiastes 7:10 is a Scripture so many of our Christian friends, eager to idolise a past that probably didn’t exist, should read!
July 4th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
In hoc signo vinces†
The Islamic Bank of England, “creeping sharia” who’s laughing now?
July 4th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Hmm, granted that is a rather apt Scripture to highlight “Fr Richard”.
July 5th, 2012 at 1:34 am
Stuart, I guess you could have argued that banks run like chocolate factories are “exactly what we need”. Come to think of it, the recent series of Barclays ads, the tilting rail track and bouncy castle etc, remind me a bit of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.