Friedhelm Hengsbach
Encyclopedia
Friedhelm Hengsbach is a professor emeritus for Christian social ethics. He was also director of the Oswald von Nell-Breuning
Institute for Economic and Social Ethical Studies of the Jesuit Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology
in Frankfurt.
in 1937. After attending grammar school and passing his A-levels he joined the Society of Jesus
when he was twenty, and studied at the order's own Munich School of Philosophy. His work experience in pedagogy took him back to North Rhine-Westphalia
, before he studied theology at the Goethe University Frankfurt from 1964 to 1968, and economics at the Ruhr University Bochum from 1968 to 1972. His doctoral thesis was about African states as Associate Members of the European Community, and he obtained a professorship for his thesis on the subject of work ethics: "The pre-eminence of labour - an option of Catholic social teaching".
Before he became a professor, he was a lecturer in Christian Social Science at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt, where he was appointed professor of Christian Social Science, Economic and Social Studies in 1985. From 1992 to 2006 he was the director of that institution. He retired as a professor in 2005.
Nowadays Hengsbach lives in Ludwigshafen, where he still works as a lecturer at the Catholic Academy of the Rhine Neckar District.
But if Capitalism is left deregulated and unchecked, it inevitably leads to injustice in society and to the failure of the system itself. Then the state is needed to save the system, the same state that has been told to keep out of the economy before. Of course the state can only save the system at the expense of its millions of taxpayers - the losers of the previous ratrace. When the system has been restored, the state may withdraw again, and the old imbalances prevail: the power of the banks versus the impotence of politics, the strong position of employers in comparison with that of their employees, the constant reduction of means for public welfare, and the mindless destruction of our environment. Hengsbach's hope: "to liberate the government, the state from the maelstrom of the lobbyists". - "A different sort of capitalism is possible" is the title of one of his publications.
Oswald von Nell-Breuning
Oswald von Nell-Breuning SJ was a Roman Catholic theologian and sociologist.Born in Trier, Germany into an aristocratic family, Nell-Breuning was ordained in 1921 and appointed Professor of Ethics at the University of Frankfurt am Main in 1928...
Institute for Economic and Social Ethical Studies of the Jesuit Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology
Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology
The Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology is an academic seminary in Frankfurt am Main, Germany....
in Frankfurt.
Biography
Friedhelm Hengsbach was born in DortmundDortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
in 1937. After attending grammar school and passing his A-levels he joined the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
when he was twenty, and studied at the order's own Munich School of Philosophy. His work experience in pedagogy took him back to North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, before he studied theology at the Goethe University Frankfurt from 1964 to 1968, and economics at the Ruhr University Bochum from 1968 to 1972. His doctoral thesis was about African states as Associate Members of the European Community, and he obtained a professorship for his thesis on the subject of work ethics: "The pre-eminence of labour - an option of Catholic social teaching".
Before he became a professor, he was a lecturer in Christian Social Science at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt, where he was appointed professor of Christian Social Science, Economic and Social Studies in 1985. From 1992 to 2006 he was the director of that institution. He retired as a professor in 2005.
Nowadays Hengsbach lives in Ludwigshafen, where he still works as a lecturer at the Catholic Academy of the Rhine Neckar District.
Criticism of the present Capitalist Economy
Hengsbach has always been an outspoken critic of the present Capitalist economy. He is not against Capitalism as such - he speaks of its "positive dynamics" which will remain the dominant economic style.But if Capitalism is left deregulated and unchecked, it inevitably leads to injustice in society and to the failure of the system itself. Then the state is needed to save the system, the same state that has been told to keep out of the economy before. Of course the state can only save the system at the expense of its millions of taxpayers - the losers of the previous ratrace. When the system has been restored, the state may withdraw again, and the old imbalances prevail: the power of the banks versus the impotence of politics, the strong position of employers in comparison with that of their employees, the constant reduction of means for public welfare, and the mindless destruction of our environment. Hengsbach's hope: "to liberate the government, the state from the maelstrom of the lobbyists". - "A different sort of capitalism is possible" is the title of one of his publications.