title: The spirits of capitalism and christianity and their impact on the formation of healthcare leaders.
abstract: In this article, I portray how the ethos of Christianity, broadly speaking, and the mores of capitalism intersect in the formation of healthcare leaders and the difficult decisions they make in insuring the viability of healthcare institutions. More particularly, I argue that healthcare leaders in Christian healthcare institutions are largely formed by and dependent on a capitalistic ethos in making decisions and less so by a Christian ethos. There are key differences in these two meaning systems, and these differences, in part, reveal an incompatibility between them. This incompatibility does not imply a rejection of capitalism, if that is even possible, but rather a recognition of its effects and limits vis-à-vis the formation of healthcare leaders and their decision-making process. Finally, I offer an approach that deals with the spirits of capitalism and Christianity in forming healthcare leaders and their decision-making.
authors: Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, St. Meinrad, IN 47577, USA. rlamothe@saintmeinrad.edu
authors: Ryan
authors: R
authors: LaMothe
mesh_terms: D030861:Capitalism; D002835:Christianity; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019981:Health Care Sector / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007857:Leadership; D033302:Postmodernism; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011332:Privatization; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012941:Social Responsibility; D012945:Social Values; D014481:United States