Dr. Goudzwaard's keynote address to the conference titled "Are We There Yet? Economic Justice and the Common Good" on May 12, 2014 at the King's University College in Edmonton Alberta.
Bob Goudzwaard is an internationally recognized economist whose influence extends well beyond the circle of his disciplinary expertise. Throughout his career, he has purposefully designed his lectures and publications to reach all people who seek wisdom in finding their way in our culture. His texts stand out as widely accessible, creative approaches to the deep economic fault lines that divide and alienate us. He not only makes our problems understandable, but his alternative suggestions open paths that inspire hope for a better future.
Dr. Goudzwaard is Professor Emeritus of Economics and Social Philosophy at the VU University, Amsterdam, and a former member of the Dutch Parliament. From 1959-1965, Dr. Goudzwaard served as a Policy Researcher for the Doctor Abraham Kuyper Foundation, the intellectual arm of the Dutch Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), for which he also served as a member of Parliament from 1967-71. In 1971, Dr. Goudzwaard was appointed Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (now called VU University), a position he held until his retirement in 1999. Dr. Goudzwaard also played a formative role with several Christian social institutions in Canada, including the Christian Labour Association of Canada, Citizens for Public Justice, and the Institute for Christian Studies. A passionate advocate for "an economy of care" that looks beyond traditional market growth indicators, Dr. Goudzwaard is the author of many books and articles, including (in English) Capitalism and Progress: A Diagnosis of Western Society (1979), Beyond Poverty and Affluence (1995, with Harry de Lange), and Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises (2007, with Mark Vander Vennen and David Van Heemst).