Money and Wealth

It is possible there is nothing that Americans think more about than money. We think about how to get it, we think about how to spend it, and then we think about how to get more of it. Yet despite the unbelievable amount of time we spend thinking about it, it is remarkable how unreflective we are about money. Very few people have thought critically about their attitudes towards money. What is its ultimate value? How central is money to a flourishing life? And what does a healthy relationship towards money look like? These are questions we would do well to reason carefully about. This week, we will examine the role money plays in our lives, not just as a means of survival but as a force that shapes our values, relationships, and sense of fulfillment. Our goal is not only to think more deeply about money, but to develop a more thoughtful and intentional approach to it—one that aligns with our deepest values and goals we have for our lives.

Texts:

• The book of Ecclesiastes
• Michael Sandel, “How Markets Crowd out Morals,”