Liberation Theology versus Neo-liberalism

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Liberation Theology versus Neo-liberalism

Nora Adel

Theo- 316

May 4, 2004

Final Essay

        Liberation Theology, a concept brought about in the 1970’s, responds to globalization in a variety of ways.  The view of most Liberation Theologians is that economically globalization cannot do much to help the poor.  Instead, globalization does things that affect the poor in negative ways widening the wage gap.  Neoliberalism, a movement that has its roots in the same time period beginning in the 1960’s, responds to globalization in a much more positive fashion.  Neo-liberalists are fans of the free market and attempt to blend traditional liberal concerns for social justice with an emphasis on economic expansion.  Although these two camps appear to be very different in goals, they do share some similarities in that they both have concerns for social justice.  However, they differ greatly in their views of how this justice is to be obtained and what role globalization plays in the pursuit of this goal.

        Webster’s online dictionary defines Liberation Theology as “a religious movement especially among Roman Catholic clergy in Latin America that combines political philosophy usually of a Marxist orientation with a theology of salvation as liberation from injustice”.  Liberation Theology mainly emerged in the 1960’s and came about from a variety of different factors.  The second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church played an important role in bringing about Liberation Theology.  During Vatican two, the Catholic church “affirmed the role of lay people in the church, emphasized the importance of the church working as a sign of the kingdom in the world, and proclaimed the central importance of human rights and dignity” (Pattison 25).  These assertions made in Vatican Two are said to have been key contributors to the success of the Cuban revolution in Latin America.  As a result of this, Christian activists began to see the possibility of real social change.  This social change was brought on by new ideas which would eventually comprise what is known as Liberation Theology.

        A fundamental principle that much of Liberation Theology centers around is known as the dependency theory.  The dependency theory is the first objection to developmentalism that liberation theologians made.  During the 1950’s, many underdeveloped countries were becoming “developed” by already prosperous countries.  The problem was, as it is now, that the underdeveloped countries were becoming dependent on the countries that were supposedly developing them.  In Populorum Progressio, Pope Paul VI suggested that “whole populations live in a state of dependency, destitute of necessities and cut off from initiative, social responsibility, and cultural advancements” (Andelson 43).  This assertion can be seen as the keystone of the dependency theory.  This theory is very much an anti-globalization principle and it attempts to explain the cause of the poverty in underdeveloped nations.

        A major aspect of globalization is this relationship between underdeveloped countries and developed countries.  Liberation theologians have many issues with this “dependent relationship” that serve as their main criticism of globalization.  This unjust relationship can be seen in the example of the Latin American foreign debt situation.  Liberation Theologians believe that this debt came as a result of corrupt activity between the wealthy and the government.  In order to pay off this debt, the government cut the budget of social programs, health care, and education which are designed to support the poor.  (Rowland 220)

        Liberation Theologians object to what they call “economic materialism”.  According to them, this is the foundation for globalization in which the rich gain material wealth from the poor.  They complain that this economic model of globalization is subsidiary and puts the poor in a subservient position to the rich.  Liberation theologians claim that today’s world economy involves “increased poverty and cultural domination, arising from unequal exchange in international trade and the dominance of multinational corporations over investment, employment and cultural decisions in poor countries” (Rowland 220).  An example of this lies in the statistic that 50% of the global market is controlled by only five firms. In the view of liberation theologians, these corporations cause unemployment, hunger, and poverty as they “drive out all local competition by high subsidies and discriminatory rules of the World Trade Association that is biased in their favor” (new challenge).

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        Liberation theologians believe that we are experiencing a globalization of poverty.  It should come as no surprise that Liberation Theology has its roots in Latin America where, in certain countries, 10% of the richest have 84 times more resources than 10% of the poorest.  (Lampe)  In the Latin American country of Brazil, 2.8% of the population owns 57% of the country side.  As if this isn’t bad enough, about 62% of this land is unused.  (Robinson)  It should also come as no surprise then that the World Bank has characterized Latin America as the region with the greatest social and ...

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