Abstract
This article tries to answer the question: Is the initiative of Chiara Lubich, called the Economy of Communion (EoC), an example of a “sudden invention” in the field of the economic activity? EoC is an invention with some charismatic aspects produced by a leader who was active most of her life in the religious sphere. Her initiative brought together two functions of society: the economic and the social, symbolically represented by the figures of the entrepreneur and the poor. The article discusses the issue following Max Weber and his analysis of charismatic leadership, as well as other authors working directly on the relationship between economy and charism. The “invention” of EoC is linked with the preferential option for the poor of the Latin American Church and the birth of new ecclesial movements. Ultimately this article discusses the relevance for the contemporary world of the input EoC gives not only at the level of the economic rationality, but to a “culture of communion.”
Recommended Citation
Callebaut, Bernhard
(2012)
"Economy of Communion: A Sociological Inquiry on a Contemporary Charismatic Inspiration in Economic and Social Life,"
Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture: Vol. 1
:
No.
1,
Article 8.
Available at:
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/claritas/vol1/iss1/8