Visiting professor discusses capitalism, Christianity

Connolly says pluralism is needed to combat growing world divisions.

By John Henry

Published Oct. 20, 2008

William Connolly, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University, came to MU to discuss ideas from his book "Capitalism and Christianity, American Style."

Connolly, who is an immanent naturalist, believes people should examine the intertwining relationships between philosophy, creed and doctrine in order to further spread and understand new ideas.

Throughout the lecture, Connolly applied his immanent naturalist view to his observance of how aggressive forms of capitalism and evangelism have combined to create a powerful political machine. He said as the media began to disapprove of the two groups, capitalism and evangelism, started to feed off of each other for support.

Connolly said he believes the group's combination in American society has prohibited pluralism and promoted climate change. He said pluralism, a political theory that endorses productive political engagement among a large number of diverse demographic groups, is needed to connect a world that is becoming more divided.

"The world is not simply becoming more homogenized, each territory is rapidly becoming a world of minorities of all kinds," Connolly said.

Although Connolly wants society to operate pluralistically, he said there are groups of people who do not. Connolly, who described himself as coming from a white blue-collar background, said some people from that demographic feel pluralists have ignored them.

"What happened to the white blue-collar class in the United States was that the pluralist and pluralized movements that I support, they were kind of pushing for a variety of constituencies, let's say affirmative action, but saying to the white blue collar worker, 'You deserve to be stuck where you are,'" Connolly said. "There should have been a class dimension built into affirmative action."

Connolly also talked about the presidential race during his visit. He said he finds Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama interesting because the candidate is a religious person and a pluralist who understands that old-fashioned secularism is not working anymore.

However, Connolly said Obama's national prominence is an example of pluralism that not all people are ready for. He said Republican presidential nominee John McCain's political ads are designed to define Obama racially at a visual level while denying they are doing so at a verbal level.

"(White blue-collar workers) want to allow themselves to grow into this over a period of time," Connolly said. "And Obama, in running a campaign above race, shows a respect for this need to have time to adjust."

Sophomore Nicole Malinowski attended Connolly's lecture. She said she expected a little more discussion on religion but thought Connolly did a good job of applying his thoughts to politics.

"I thought it was interesting, I did not expect him to bring in politics either or the whole Obama situation," Malinowski said.

Carsten Strathausen, the German and Russian studies department chairman, said Connolly's ideas were important because they introduce a new way of thinking about how things interconnect.

He said Connolly's ideas concern not just the ideas that humans have, but also the way in which humans want to set up universities so there are more opportunities to discuss different ideas.

"Sometimes in the College of Arts and Science the humanities speak a kind of language that does not easily connect with that of the sciences and vice versa," Strathausen said.