Money, Love and Virtue

Maria José Pereira

really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 7 ratings · 4 reviews

This sustained reflection on money, love and virtue is remarkable on several counts. These three themes are seldom mentioned in the same breath, least of all by bankers. And, because they seem to come from different worlds, we might imagine they would make uncomfortable bookfellows.

Nevertheless, the author weaves humanity back into the mesh of society, money and economics. ...more

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Paperback, 228 pages

Published April 15th 2015 by Triarchy Press Ltd

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Apr 12, 2015 Carol Switzer rated it really liked it

Alfred Marshall supposedly said: “Every university must consider from time to time whether its scheme of study and teaching is adequate to current needs” (Pereira 2015, p. 167). I work in a graduate program in just such a university where our innovative curriculum was developed to respond to a gap in management education. We develop responsible and ethical global leaders and Pereira’s book, Money, Love and Virtue, is required reading for our master’s students.

Pereira’s perspective as a banker pu Alfred Marshall supposedly said: “Every university must consider from time to time whether its scheme of study and teaching is adequate to current needs” (Pereira 2015, p. 167). I work in a graduate program in just such a university where our innovative curriculum was developed to respond to a gap in management education. We develop responsible and ethical global leaders and Pereira’s book, Money, Love and Virtue, is required reading for our master’s students.

Pereira’s perspective as a banker puts her in a unique position to look critically at what has happened to our way of thinking about finance. Unsatisfied by the response of governments and institutions to the recent financial crisis, she has undertaken an exploration into the underlying factors that allowed it to occur. She invites us to reflect with her about how our thinking has changed over the last millennium and why it needs to change again. With a bibliography of no less than 243 original sources, Pereira has written a thought-provoking study of how three simple words, Money, Love and Virtue have become isolated from each other when, in fact, they are inter-dependent.

As a starting point, Pereira goes back to the ancient Greeks and the origin of the word “economics,” pointing out that its meaning originally included ethical elements, not just mathematical models. Equally important to the ancients was the concept of filial love or friendship, which they considered the basis for human happiness. She examines how different philosophies and religious ideals have influenced our perceptions and what happened to make us separate economics from ethics (money from love and virtue).

Among the many themes that are addressed, Pereira questions whether philanthropists are best serving society by giving their money instead of their talent for making it. If a skilled investor works to find opportunity in socially responsible enterprises perhaps society is better served in the long term.

Perhaps the most important message Pereira makes is that social responsibility is spurred on by individual responsibility. For social contracts and ethical guidelines to work well, individuals must behave responsibly. Thus said, Pereira gives us a place to start in addition to much to think about.

A must read for young professionals as they enter the work force. A refreshingly balanced discussion for anyone interested in seeing social justice return to prominence in the business model… or, as MJ Pereira would say, to see Money reunited with Love and Virtue. ...more

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Jun 02, 2015 Hungralian rated it it was amazing

Having approached reading this book with a certain degree of trepidation, wondering how these three apparently unrelated concepts can be woven together and reconciled, I must admit that the further I read the more I became captivated and delighted. A number of factors led to my delight: these include the depth and breadth of the research on a variety of topics, such as finance, economics, morals and ethics;the provocative and yet perfectly logical assertion that the mathematical abstraction of m Having approached reading this book with a certain degree of trepidation, wondering how these three apparently unrelated concepts can be woven together and reconciled, I must admit that the further I read the more I became captivated and delighted. A number of factors led to my delight: these include the depth and breadth of the research on a variety of topics, such as finance, economics, morals and ethics;the provocative and yet perfectly logical assertion that the mathematical abstraction of modern finance and economics has lost sight of reality; the lucid and easy-to-read writing style and finally and most importantly, the proposition that these three concepts--Money, Love and Virtue--can and should be reconciled in a harmonious and humanistic society. The relevance of the book for our era is clear: with its historical and theoretical background, it illuminates many the issues that dominate the political debate today, such as the growing gap between the rich and the poor (for which the euphemism of "income distribution" is conveniently and generally used).
The hallmark of a good book is that it pushes, prods and provokes one's thinking. Money, Love and Virtue does this and does subtly and indirectly, without being aggressive or didactic about it. It provides the background,it outlines the author's views as a set of personal "reflections" but it then leaves the rest up to the reader who cannot but help ask some obvious questions, such as: why has finance and economics become so mathematical as to become abstract? Why has finance become unhinged from the everyday world and from business? Why have morals and ethics taken a back seat? What could be done to accelerate the process of moving towards a more humanistic society?
This is not a book to pick up for some light reading! It requires and deserves to be read and digested slowly so as to allow time for reflection. And for those who are willing to be challenged and to dedicate the time and attention, the investment will be rewarding!
...more

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Apr 20, 2015 Helene rated it it was amazing

In the last chapter of “Money, Love and Virtue “ Maria Pereira points out that her book is not an academic study but a reflection. In fact it is much more than that. It continues in the tradition of the great European thinkers of the Enlightenment. The author offers the philosophical foundations for a new paradigm of our relationship with money. She offers food for thought when she points out that today’s financial environments are driven by the illusion of scarcity rather than understanding tha ...more

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May 16, 2016 Jennifer Sertl rated it really liked it

The hardest part about being me is that everything is so integral it is difficult to take a section and make meaning out of it without including the whole. The whole, however, is too complex and needs to be simplified. I have been sitting on a post for three weeks waiting for brilliance to land. It hasn’t landed. I feel compelled however to let out what clarity is here at this moment.

Recently I was lucky enough to meet and learn from Maria Jose Pereira. Maria wrote the book Money, Love and Virtu The hardest part about being me is that everything is so integral it is difficult to take a section and make meaning out of it without including the whole. The whole, however, is too complex and needs to be simplified. I have been sitting on a post for three weeks waiting for brilliance to land. It hasn’t landed. I feel compelled however to let out what clarity is here at this moment.

Recently I was lucky enough to meet and learn from Maria Jose Pereira. Maria wrote the book Money, Love and Virtue http://www.triarchypress.net/moneylov... by my publisher Triarchy Press http://www.triarchypress.net. Maria was a guest speaker in Rochester for Simon School http://www.simon.rochester.edu/index..... Part history, part philosophy, part economics I can see the value of this book being woven into curriculums across the globe that foster comparative and integral programs. As Maria writes in her forward:
I have come to believe that money, love, and virtue are not alien, nor even opposed to one another, but intertwined. The thrive together. Money permits our material welfare and wellbeing. Love fulfills our motional and spiritual needs. And love inspires virtue, which allows the person to live in harmony with the world.

Trade and reciprocity have always been a part of the economy. We are moving much more into a formal collaborative economy http://p2pfoundation.net/Synthetic_Ov... as we learn from Michel Bauwens @MBauwens, a platform economy http://haydnshaughnessy.com/shift/as as we learn from Haydn Shaughnessy @haydn1701 and an attention economy as we learn from http://firstmonday.org/article/view/5... Michael H. Goldhaber. All social networks accelerate and amplify the need for transparency. Transparency either strengthens or weakens our confidence - which ultimately impact who /what we trust. More than anything else in the many facets of this dynamic economy is our need to trust ourselves. Money, Love and Virtue asks the hard questions that cause a mirror. Are our choices in what we value and who we trust representative of our highest selves? Might we need to look more reflectively into our own spending? Do we know about the ecosystems of the brands we admire and support? Each person has the right to answer these questions very personally; however, consumption becomes autobiographical in big data narratives due to the internet of things https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/201408... . We need more self respect. We need more contextual intelligence. We need more self confidence. We need to be more proud of who we are and what we stand for.

Thank you, Maria for your generous time and thoughtful insight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP3Wn... . We will be chewing on these very important concepts for a very, very long time.

In earnest,
Jennifer Sertl
Co-author Triarchy’s Strategy Leadership & the Soul http://www.triarchypress.net/strategy...
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