Recently, Jay Richards, author of the newly reissued Money, Greed and God: The Christian Case for Free Enterprise, appeared on two segments of the Bill Walton Show where “Leaders, creatives, thinkers and activists discuss money, culture, politics and human flourishing.” Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 (podcast) and Part 1 and Part 2 (videocast).

From Part 1:

We know from history and evidence all around us, which economic system works, and which one makes people the happiest. It’s the economic system of free enterprise. But is it the most moral?

Bill Walton explores the question with Jay Richards, author of the newly reissued book “Money, Greed and God.”

He explains, “you need to ask: compared to what?” The question isn’t, well, is it moral and as good as say nirvana or the kingdom of God or whatever the kind of utopian idea that we can imagine? The relevant question is, how good is this system compared to the other ones that we have some capacity to realize in this world.

From Part 2:

Economics as a discipline suffers from “physics envy” when it tries and fails to build mathematical models of the economy and society. Instead, it should be studying human behavior and focus on the intersection of health, morality, philosophy, wealth creation and how to bring people out of poverty, Jay Richards says on The Bill Walton Show.

In particular, economics and culture can’t be viewed separately. While some people care most about economic agendas, and others focus on social issues, you can’t really separate them. A vibrant market economy, vibrant economic growth requires a solid foundation in family, civil society, rule of law and religion.

Richards, a research professor at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America, is also the author of The Human Advantage: The Future of American Work in an Age of Smart Machines,

More from Jay Richards on AI and business:

Creative freedom, not robots, is the future of work: In an information economy, there will be a place where the human person is at the very center. (At the Dallas launch of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence)

Could huge chunks of asteroid gold wreck our economy? 16 Psyche’s gold illustrates how AI affects jobs. Not the way many think…

Does workplace automation improve service or merely cut costs? Chances are, the CEO won’t know there’s a problem until complaints come in. Elon Musk didn’t

and

Amazon pulls out of the New York City deal. Is this a message about the new economy in America?