How the 'Economy of Communion' approach seeks to put faith, beauty in business

Catholics are called to bring faith into their everyday lives -- including in the world of business. Andrew B. Gustafson, professor of business ethics and society at Creighton University and executive director of the Business, Faith and Common Good Institute, spoke with OSV News' Charlie Camosy about bringing faith into the business realm. Gustafson particularly discussed his work as an active entrepreneur member of the Economy of Communion, a project of the Focolare Movement that seeks to unite people through economic activity and enterprise. Gustafson and his wife, Celeste, edited the book "Finding Faith in Business: An Economy of Communion Approach" (2024).

--Charlie Camosy: First, can you tell us a bit about your broader project as a philosophy professor who engages Catholic social teaching in the context of a business school?

--Andrew B. Gustafson: I would describe my life as well-integrated. I love philosophy, but I am also practical (having been raised on a corn, hog and cattle farm) and my faith is central to who I am and what I want to do in life. So being able to practice business as an Economy of Communion entrepreneur in a way that is informed by faith and Catholicsocial teaching in particular, and then to get to write articles about it and bring those experiences into the classroom, makes my life feel coherent -- all the pieces inform and help the others. I walk about a mile to get to school, and on the way, I walk by many of our properties, and I know the people -- our tenants -- who live there. I know my community more intimately because of that. And the experiences I have daily managing our properties do enrich my spiritual life, and also inform my teaching and research interests. It is all of one cloth, so to speak.

--Camosy: I know you have a particular focus on Focolare's Economy of Communion. Can you tell us more about this concept?

--Gustafson: The Economy of Communion movement was initiated by some Focolare members to help bring about communion and well being for the poor through business. Focolare, of course, has a core value of unity, and the Economy of Communion then seeks to bring people together and into relation and even communion through the practice of business. It is a radically spiritual way of conceiving of your business activities, and it helps bring one's personal values and one's business activities together with a unified vision.

We put together our book, Finding Faith In Business to help people see both how business can be used for beautiful humane purposes, and also to see that it is quite possible to live out one's faith through one's business practices. It is more than social entrepreneurship, like B-corps (as one of the articles by Celeste Harvey points out) because it is so spiritually oriented.

--Camosy: Every so often one hears about a "middle way" between capitalism and socialism. If that's a fair or somewhat fair way to describe it, how realistic is it that this vision could make headway in the real world? Are there places where the Economy of Communion is actually practiced?

--Gustafson: I would say that in fact almost all available options are varieties of middle ways. I don't know where one could find a completely unregulated and unfettered capitalism in the world, or a socialism which doesn't depend on some private entrepreneurial enterprisers to help the economy work.

The U.S. market, with all the subsidies and government interventions at international, national and local levels, is hardly a pure free market. China has adopted many aspects of capitalism for decades, and also has a state capitalism hybrid. Russia might be described as a mafia-capitalism, run primarily by oligarchs.

Economy of Communion is a third way, in that it envisions private entrepreneurs freely choosing to leverage their business activities to serve the common good. So it relies on private individuals working within a free market, not centralized government, to serve the interests of society -- especially the poor.

In this sense, it very much rejects the radical individualism of capitalism, which thinks that if you pursue your own interests, the common good will inevitably be served. Some intentionality is necessary. Also, the Economy of Communion is not just for entrepreneurs or owner-operators. It is a way of thinking about business that anyone can adopt in their business activities.

There are hundreds of Economy of Communion companies worldwide, so of course it is in practice, especially in Italy and Brazil, the birthplaces of the movement, and many of those have been documented in (Lorna) Gold's book New Horizons. And there are many companies in North America, many of which were highlighted in (Jeanne) Buckeye and (John) Gallagher's book Structures of Grace.

But the Economy of Communion isn't about gaining new members, it is about helping people think about business in a different way and using business and the engagements and encounters we have through business to transform society for the better by bringing people into communion with each other. There is a mission-oriented selflessness in this, which is somewhat unusual compared to typical business-thinking.

--Camosy: Obviously this has deep relevance for those who own a business or formally work in business. Does the Economy of Communion have any relevance for those who are not so involved in business?

--Gustafson: Everyone is involved in business -- as employees, as customers, and some as employers or managers, and some even as owners. Who do you hire to mow your lawn? How do you spend your money? What sort of businesses do you support with your purchases? In our book, there is a chapter by David Cloutier relating Economy of Communion values to the values that direct our buying and consumer habits. There is also a chapter about how owners should pass on the values of their company as they approach retirement.

In my case, I am a university professor who also runs a "side business" fixing up old houses and renting them out. I didn't have to spend my time and money in that way, but I have, and it has been rewarding. But it takes intentional initiative to make these choices -- it's a whole lot easier to stick your money in a 401k or Roth IRA and forget about it. And while these choices I made come with amazing blessings, they often are more complicated and involve wounds and other complexities. It is easier for us to mind our own business, and not get involved in the lives of others, and go about things the standard way. But how can we creatively seek to build communion and community with others through whatever business activities we engage in (deciding what to buy and where to shop, hiring people or companies to help us, etc)? Do we, like most, just think about what gets us the best deal, or do we consider the impact of our choices?

Strangely, people often tend to think of their economic decisions purely in terms of bottom line -- like many businesses. But our economic decisions are such a central part of our lives, and so if we can help to baptize them into a more meaningful Economy of Communion vision, we will find that we can practice our spirituality and live out our most meaningful values in even the day to day mundane decisions, and in that way, we can help integrate our spirituality more fully and beautifully into our entire life. This helps overcome the divided lives which we often find ourselves living.