| web link | bahai-library.com/bibliography/BIB30595 |
| reference type | Journal Article |
| title | Invisible Hand-in-Glove? : The Uneasy Intersections of Friedrich Hayek's Neoliberalism and 'Abdu'l-Bahá’s Bahá'í Economics |
| journal | Religions |
| author | Hughey, Matthew W. |
| authority control | Matthew W. Hughey |
| year | 2025 |
| epub date | 19 September 2025 |
| issue | 9 (1203) |
| volume | 16 |
| ISSN | 2077-1444 |
| abstract | The theological rendering of economics in the Bahá'í Faith—particularly from 'Abdu'l-Bahá—advocated progressive taxation, a strong welfare state, the abolition of trusts, and the redistribution of wealth. These orientations directly diverge from "neoliberal" economic theory, especially as articulated by Frederick Hayek: concerns that social justice exacerbates poverty and claims that progressive taxation is "discrimination." Despite these seemingly antithetical orientations, there has been a slow and tentative, if not uneasy, meeting of Bahá'í and neoliberal ideals in global organizations and scholarship. Through a comparative analysis of the writings of both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Friedrich Hayek, I first illuminate the fundamental disagreements on economy and society between Bahá'í theology and neoliberalism. Second, I cover recent scholarship on the moralization of markets and the sacralization of financial actors in order to contextualize the historical and contemporary unions of theology and economy. Third, I outline how 'Abdu'l-Bahá's theological vision and Hayek’s neoliberal theories accrete around four mutual worldviews, which can tempt hermeneutic deemphases of the fundamental divergences in Bahá'í and neoliberal logics: (1) the duality of human nature, (2) the limits of materialist reason, (3) the apotheosis of the market and self-love, and (4) sacrificial submission to transcendent authority. |
| notes | This article belongs to the Special Issue The Bahá'í Faith: Doctrinal and Historical Explorations—2nd Edition. |
| language | English |
| keywords | ECONOMICS; HAYEK, FRIEDRICH; 'ABDU'L-BAHA; NEOLIBERALISM |
| URL | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/9/1203 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16091203 |
| pages | 1–24 |
| Legal note | 11. |
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