Marjorie Kelly: From Greed to Grace

Encompassing themes from Enron-style greed (and its alternatives) to women's spirituality, author-editor Valerie Andrews interviews Marjorie Kelly, editor of Business Ethics magazine and author of The Divine Right of Capital.

Andrews: Most of us dream of making the world a better place, yet we also have to pay the mortgage. Can we address our material and spiritual needs in a single breath? For example, coins originally had pictures of the gods engraved on them. They were viewed as talismans of good fortune and representatives of good faith. How can we reclaim a view of money as a sacred element in our lives?

Kelly: Money is a kind of a talisman -- when it comes to you, you can make anything you choose from it. It's like a wish that's magically granted, and the first question is, "What are you going to do with it?" Of course we need to be aware that money has its own rules, and these must be heeded. But how different would our lives be if we could get rid of our fear of scarcity and think of its potential to unite us?

We mistakenly believe that if we pile up enough money we'll be safe forever. Yet in that pursuit, we end up making everyone else unsafe. What do you think the CEO of Enron was trying to do? He was trying to shore up his own domain and in the process, he destabilized the entire stock market. This notion that we can exist apart from community, insulating ourselves with money, is sad and also very dangerous.

Read the full interview.

(Thanks, John K.)