Spiritual Meaning of the Economic Crisis

Over the past several months we have been listening to and reading many explanations about the technical, political, juridical, ethical, cultural, and even psychological causes of the financial and economic world crisis. However, not very much has been said about its spiritual dimension. The reason for this could be that we seldom use the terms “spirit” or “spiritual” in relation to economic issues. Besides, we also tend to identify or subsume under the terms “ethical” or “psychological” other specifically different human phenomena that cannot really be so simply identified with the former. In this chapter I will argue that the crisis shows us, apart from these other dimensions, a specific spiritual dimension. I will also assume a meaning of spirituality understood as our deepest –or highest – activity as human beings, through which we can communicate at some point with the ultimate roots of ourselves that constitute us as beings and with our ultimate ends that orientate and give a final meaning and purpose to our lives.