Commonwealth and Covenant

In Commonwealth and Covenant Marcia Pally argues that in order to deal with current socioeconomic problems, we need not economic formulas but rather a better understanding of who we are, where we’ve come from, and how we interact with one another in our shared world.Pally describes the basic setup of human society as “separability-amid-situatedness” or “distinction-amid-relation.” Though we are all unique individuals, we are also inextricably interconnected with the people and environments around us. Pally argues that our culture’s overemphasis on “separability” — our individualism run amok — results in corporate greed, adversarial and deceitful political discourse, resource grabbing, broken relationships, and a host of other social ills. Arguing that separability and situatedness can and must be brought into greater balance, Pally draws upon intellectual history, philosophy, and — especially — historic Jewish and Christian theologies of relationality to construct a new framework for addressing our most serious economic and political problems.ADVANCE PRAISE“In her previous writing Marcia Pally has demonstrated keen insight into the American religious situation. In this well-crafted and highly readable book Pally takes a central principle in the American spiritual heritage —the covenant — and relates it with impressive skill to the psychological and political dimensions of our lives. This book advances the discussion in many ways and should not be missed" -- Harvey Cox, Harvard University