At a panel moderated by the Harvard Business Review at the Washington National Cathedral, Christine Lagarde tackles inequality.<\/p>\n
Moderator Idi Ignatius, editor of the Harvard Business Review, posed this question: \u201cIs Christian faith incompatible with vast wealth?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lagarde, who grew up Catholic in France, parried the question with aplomb.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s how you use it, what you do with it, and what purpose you give to your life as a result which really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those words echoed her June speech before a Catholic conference in Belgium in which she asserted, \u201cIt is not immoral to enjoy one\u2019s financial success.\u201d
\nSummers, who\u2019s Jewish, drew laughs when he observed, \u201cI hope this is the last time I\u2019m asked to opine on Christian morality,\u201d then agreed with Lagarde:<\/p>\n
The discussion of public morality, sustainable economic growth and government policies that encourage redistribution of wealth included themes touched on by Pope Francis during his apostolic visit to the United States in September.<\/p>\n
The pope, in fact, was the only religious leader quoted during the evening. Ignatius referred to the pope\u2019s speech in Bolivia July 8: \u201cLet us say \u2018no\u2019 to an economy of exclusion and inequality, where money rules, rather than service. That economy kills. That economy excludes. That economy destroys Mother Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rev. Gary Hall, dean of the cathedral, reached back farther in his introduction to the program, quoting from the pope\u2019s apostolic exhortation of 2013, in which he called capitalism \u201ca new tyranny\u201d and called on political leaders to address income inequality.<\/p>\n
Lagarde avoided specific observations on the morality of income inequality. \u201cAs far as the IMF is concerned,\u201d she said, \u201cwe\u2019re not taking a political stand; we\u2019re not taking an ideological stand.\u201d \u00a0Instead, she said, \u201cwe have to ask ourselves, is that good for financial stability? Is that good for sustainable growth?\u201d
\nShe concluded that \u201cexcessive inequality is not good for sustainable growth,\u201d adding, \u201cWe need to have a moral compass\u201d in government economic policies.<\/p>\n
At a panel moderated by the Harvard Business Review at the Washington National Cathedral, Christine Lagarde tackles inequality. Moderator Idi Ignatius, editor of the Harvard Business Review, posed this question: \u201cIs Christian faith incompatible with vast wealth?\u201d Lagarde, who grew … Continue reading ![\"Inequality\"](\"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Inequality1.jpg\")
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