Many Christians vaguely sense that all is not well with their relation to consumer society, but find it difficult to name just what ails them. In
Being Consumed William Cavanaugh offers the clearest, most helpful diagnosis I have ever seen. No liberal guilt-tripping here, just some serious theological reflection on matters like God, desire, justice, pluralism, and the nature of human freedom. I especially like Cavanaughs concrete examples of economic practices consistent with life in the body of Christ. This book will be required reading in my introductory theology course. -Joseph Mangina, Wycliffe College, Toronto
Rampaging retail therapy in our Western economics requires a radical analyst. We have an Augustinian prophetic voice in William Cavanaugh, who subjects the free market, consumer culture, globalization, and scarcity to Catholic interrogation. He employs the traditions of Augustine, Aquinas, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and John Paul II, proposing an alternative desire that transforms the church and our practices. Envisioning a eucharistic justice that leaves us rich in community-caring and prosperous in our constant sharing, Cavanaugh is lucid, personal, practical, and theologically wise. -Gavin DCosta, University of Bristol
Can a book free Christians from the invisible hand that seems more and more to dominate every aspect of our lives? William Cavanaugh provides a much-needed how-to manual for just such a liberation. Clearly written and even entertaining, Being Consumed first frees us from the ironic position of having no choice but to live by the rules of free-market consumerism in a globalized world of scarce resources. Incisive analysis of the powerful and often contradictory assumptions and realities that shape contemporary economic rhetoric and practices finds its counterpoint in a theological vision of freedom, desire, consumption, and economy far richer than that of Milton Friedman. What is more, Cavanaugh shows the practical difference theology makes by telling the stories of real, contemporary Christians who are creating truly free and economically viable practices and spaces structured by the gospel. Through such examples, Cavanaugh makes clear that the everyday economic life of Christians can be different and can make a difference. And he sows seeds that could, if taken seriously by Christians and churches, produce well over a hundredfold produce, that is, a revolution. -M. Therese Lysaught, Marquette University
