David D. Daniels III’s “Economic Democracy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Black Church Tradition” appears in Telos 182 (Spring 2018), a special issue commemorating the life and thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. Read the full article at the Telos Online website, or purchase a print copy of the issue in our online store. Individual subscriptions to Telos are now available in both print and online formats.
Is the concept of a “moral arc” to the economy that bends toward justice implicit in the thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.? Can a source for this concept be found in the economic justice campaigns of the Black Church? A moral arc to the economy that bends toward justice informs King’s concept of economic democracy, which frames his campaigns for economic justice. Throughout King’s writings from 1957 to 1968, he explores the economic plight of African Americans and advocates for economic remedies to the subordination of African Americans within most sectors of the American economy and the exclusion of African Americans from other sectors. He understands that parity between capital and labor is pivotal to achieving economic justice.
