This is a guest blog by an old friend of mine, Professor Atul K. Shah of City St Georges, University of London.
The science of finance is profoundly broken and damaging.
The pain of animal factory farming, or industrialised agriculture, or environmental pollution and climate change has been removed from its equations and teaching.
This cognitive dissonance and the growing inequality of both income and power are not a concern for corporate finance, one of the most popular subjects in business schools all over the world.
The science is heartless, soulless, and pretends that this helps it keep objectivity and universality. Yet readers of this blog will know that neo-liberal market economics commands huge power, with disastrous results for the planet.
In practice, there is little natural universality about money, financial systems and cultures. Instead, there is a vast diversity of communities, faiths, beliefs and languages of trust and relationships which influence grassroots finance, even for small and medium-sized businesses.
As an academic, lecturer and former colleague of Richard Murphy when he was at City, University of London, I have long reflected on the core principles of accounting and finance, their morality and cultural consequences, and the role and purpose of professionals working in these fields.
Raised as a Jain, one of the oldest living cultures of the world, finance was part of my everyday language and upbringing, but it is never discussed in the Western classroom, textbooks or research articles.
Jains are one of the world's most successful finance and business communities, but few outside India are aware of this; I usually get asked to spell the word Jain, such has become our cultural ignorance and arrogance in business. We have a deep mono-theism and universalism when it comes to money and business science, which is unsustainable. Culture ought to be central to our learning of finance. And faiths are critical to this discussion.
Two books I have written help fill this void by shaping a plural, multi-cultural language and morality of finance and go beyond critique to showcase a theoretical and practical framework upon which future teaching and research can be influenced. Given the global interest in inclusion and diversity, such research can also enable effective teaching and engaged professionalism, where students learn to become more reflective about the nature and limits of money, and the ways in which different cultures and religions perceive the roles of finance. They are both published by Routledge. They are ‘Inclusive and Sustainable Finance', published in 2023, and ‘Organic Finance' which is published next month.
Martin Palmer, founder of Faith Invest and author of over 20 books has written of this new book I have written:
Professor Shah has produced a once in a lifetime book. He takes us on one of the most extraordinary explorations of the intellectual, cultural and significant insights to be found throughout the cultures of the world which fundamentally challenge just about everything conventional economics teaches.
My aim in writing this book is to change the dialogue and debate so that different experiences and perspectives are allowed to engage with one another, in a similar way to the public engagement work of Richard Murphy.
I also want to explore fundamentals like trust, relationships, community, knowledge and confidence, all of which are so critical to long-term success in accounting and finance.
Stories, field trips, and dialogues about the variety of roles money plays in personal and family life, in business affairs, and in directing public resources and charitable efforts can really help expand our imaginations and help everyone see the limits of calculations and equations.
I want to empower future researchers to explore their own cultural perspectives and use a variety of methods, data collection sources and disciplinary perspectives to widen the fields of accounting and finance.
For me, culture lies at the very heart of sustainable living – if we cannot reform our habits and behaviours, we are doomed to stay selfish and arrogant, and betray future generations. Many accounting practitioners depend on trust and relationships in building their clientele and practices.
The books are now available for pre-order at Routledge.
The global launch of ‘Organic Finance' is at City-St Georges, University of London, on June 24 and features a panel of guests including the award-winning artist and environmentalist Brian Eno, Lord Prem Sikka, an eminent accounting researcher and activist, and Lord Bhikhu Parekh, a world authority on multi-culturalism.
A wide range of leaders from various cultural and belief communities have also been invited to attend. This is an open invitation to readers of this blog to come, either physically or on-line.
If you want to attend, please comment, and I will share your details with Atul, if that is what you say you want.
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So, there really IS more to life in all its fulness than “fiscal rules” and “balancing the books” and permanent life & soul destroying austerity?
That will be a shock to Rachel Reeves and Morgan McSweeney (if they ever discover it).
Thank-you for your hard work, and may your book make waves that give academic (and real life) economics a good soaking.
I asked ChatGPT for a list of principles for the UK economy. Here’s the answer. And I think perhaps it really is.
Drawing on the article by Atul K. Shah and common moral principles shared across major world religions — including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and others — here are a set of potential reforms or shifts that could help align the UK economy with a more spiritually grounded, ethically consistent moral framework:
1. Prioritise the Common Good over Individual Greed
Emphasise policies that promote social welfare and reduce inequality, echoing religious calls to serve the vulnerable (e.g., zakat in Islam, tzedakah in Judaism, charity in Christianity).
Challenge unrestrained market individualism with an economic ethos rooted in compassion and responsibility.
2. Establish Ethical Limits to Wealth Accumulation
Introduce progressive taxation and wealth caps to discourage hoarding (linked to the Jain principle of aparigraha and teachings in Christianity and Islam about the dangers of wealth).
Promote equitable wealth redistribution mechanisms, reinforcing values of justice and balance.
3. Embrace Stewardship and Care for Creation
Strengthen environmental protections and promote sustainability, grounded in stewardship doctrines (e.g., khalifa in Islam, creation care in Christianity, and dharma in Hinduism).
Incentivise renewable energy and ecological business practices to honour the sanctity of the natural world.
4. Promote Honest and Transparent Governance
Build institutions grounded in integrity, resisting corruption and deceit (echoed in all major religious ethics: e.g., sach in Sikhism, sila in Buddhism, and emet in Judaism).
Embed transparency and accountability into financial systems and corporate governance.
5. Ensure Economic Justice and Fair Wages
Advocate for living wages and labour protections, aligned with scriptural calls to treat workers fairly (e.g., Deuteronomy 24:15, James 5:4, Islamic injunctions against exploitative labour).
Protect against predatory lending and financial exploitation, akin to bans on usury in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
6. Cultivate Simplicity and Mindful Consumption
Encourage minimalist, sustainable lifestyles as opposed to consumerism (aligned with teachings across Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism).
Offer incentives for ethical consumption and support of local, community-rooted economies.
7. Uphold the Dignity and Equality of All People
Promote inclusive economic policies that address structural discrimination, in line with the belief in the inherent worth of all individuals (Genesis 1:27, Qur’an 49:13, Buddhist teachings on suffering and compassion).
Advance gender and racial equity in access to education, employment, and capital.
8. Support the Vulnerable and Marginalised
Expand social safety nets to care for the poor, elderly, sick, refugees, and disabled — mirroring universal religious imperatives to care for the “least among us.”
Frame welfare not as charity but as justice and duty.
9. Cultivate Humility in Economic Thinking
Reject economic triumphalism or technocratic arrogance, replacing it with humility and openness to ethical pluralism (anekantavada in Jainism, via negativa in Christian mysticism, Buddhist emptiness).
Encourage diverse moral perspectives in economic decision-making.
10. Rebalance Finance Toward Purpose, Not Profit
Refocus financial institutions on serving community needs, not just shareholder returns.
Support alternative banking models (e.g., mutuals, cooperatives, Islamic banking) that align with moral and religious values.
In summary: A UK economy shaped by the shared moral vision of world religions would be more compassionate, equitable, restrained in its materialism, and more attuned to human dignity and ecological balance. It would shift from dominance to service, from accumulation to sufficiency, and from abstraction to relational accountability.
Thanks for this. It is indeed a good summary and glad to see Chat GPT was able to access my perspectives. We now need to widen this dialogue and help transform the curriculum urgently.
I suggested to Richard that he might like to undertake a gap analysis of the Code of Conduct for MPs. Nolan Principles and all that. I have a feeling that you might enjoy doing one too, Professor Shah.
Economics is about who gets the resources, when and how they get them but why is not addressed enough. We need that vision for, without, we perish.
Thank you for this guest blog. Off to my local library… Is anyone thinking of raising a subscription so we can send a copy to Rachel Reeves?
It is not out until next month
Around 40 years ago, I did come across Jain culture during a visit to Jodhpur – a wonderful evening camel ride to watch the sunset in the Thar desert and to engage in discussion, and a little quiet music (one person had a guitar) – only 5 or 6 in the group – we were informed about this culture – it was interesting and fascinating. As a retired Chartered Accountant, I especially look forward to this book – thank you.
Thanks Susan. There is also a large and thriving Jain community in the U.K. with a stunning temple in London on a 70 acre greenfield site. It’s open to the public and the details are http://www.oshwal.org.uk- hope you can visit.
Professor Atul K. Shah’s guest blog, Beyond the Equations: Diversity and Culture Enrich Finance Wisdom, offers a profound critique of conventional finance education, highlighting its detachment from real-world issues like environmental degradation and social inequality.