ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that there is a connection between the liberty of the human will according to Abrahamic theology and the liberty of human action under liberal economic ideology. Thus, contrary to contemporary skepticism, core theological tenants justify economic liberalism, as distinct from both democratic socialism and neo-liberalism. After an historically informed theoretical analysis of each of these competitors for ordering an ethical political economy, the chapter argues for a third way between a coercive state and an atomistic individual. That way lies in protecting the interdependence of propertied market sellers and buyers that necessarily produces cooperation basic to a virtuous society (albeit bourgeoise) and, ultimately, provides a better basis for the Christian ideal of human equality.
