POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ECONOMIC LIFE IN THE MATURE THEOLOGY OF KARL BARTH (TRINITY, SOCIALISM, LIBERATION, CREATION, CHILE)

The purpose of this dissertation is to discover how the state is called to act responsibly in economic affairs. The basis of the study is Barth's mature theology, and this in relation to specific economic circumstances. Our thesis is that economic life has its basis in social history. Consequently, responsible political action in economic affairs entails changes in political power between nations and classes.;The primary achievements of the study are as follows: A trinitarian understanding of economic life is developed; norms are derived for responsible political action in economic affairs; diverse theological views of such matters as Trinity, history, and sin, are compared as to their differing socioeconomic relevance; the economic aspects of such biblical events as the creation sagas, Exodus, Exile, and Jesus' temptations and renunciation of possessions, are coordinated theologically; a bridge is built between theology and a socioeconomic analysis; and specific suggestions are advanced for alleviating one aspect of contemporary economic deprivation.;Barth's doctrine of the Trinity is presented in the first chapter as the foundation for subsequent results. Economic life is differentiated into two related aspects, and coordinated to God's economic activity in creation, reconciliation, and redemption. The result is a trinitarian understanding of economic life. The eternal generation of the Son leads to the thesis that economic life has its basis in the social history of the covenant. The covenant of Jesus Christ is the norm for responsible action in economic affairs. The relation between the covenant and the state is described, and given that relation, norms for political responsibility for economic life are derived. Barthian economic and social categories are then related to modified Marxist categories, and in that context, the internal and external causes of economic deprivation in Latin America, especially Chile, are analyzed. Given the priority of social historical life, the alleviation of Latin American poverty must entail political actions that strengthen its weaker classes, and increase its political power in relation to the developed countries. Throughout this study, the thought of Juan Luis Segundo and Jose Miguez Bonino are discussed in relation to Barth and the socioeconomic analysis.