How much money is enough? At Holy Cross College’s fall Mind & Heart Lecture on Nov. 9, Notre Dame economist and theologian Mary Hirschfeld asked her audience to start with a different question. What do we want money for in the first place?
In introducing Hirschfeld, Provost Michael Griffin explained why Holy Cross brings questions like this into its public lectures. “Holy Cross really finds its niche in the intersection of the Catholic intellectual tradition, the Catholic social tradition, and our CSC charism.” Hirschfeld brought those traditions into conversation with economics, drawing on St. Thomas Aquinas to examine how everyday financial choices shape the lives we lead.
Hirschfeld distinguished between material goods, such as food and shelter, and the money we use to acquire them. Both are valuable because of what they make possible. “It is always and only valuable for what you’re going to do with it.”
To illustrate, Hirschfeld told a parable about two families of potters who save for a piano. Once it arrives, one family cuts back on work to play music together. The other goes back to the pottery shop to earn enough for more instruments and eventually needs a bigger house to hold them. Both families love music. Only one makes more time for it.
Hirschfeld credited rising prosperity with longer lives and wider access to education. She also described how reasonable goals can turn into open-ended pursuits. Saving for an emergency can give a family peace of mind. Trying to cover every possible setback can keep someone working long after they could have retired.
In a question-and-answer session following her lecture, Hirschfeld was asked how much wealth people should give to those in need. She pointed to tithing as a practice that can help people discover they have more to share than they thought.
Her closing example was Thanksgiving dinner with family. Knowing what it takes to gather around the table can help us recognize when we have enough and free up time to be there. “Practice looking at the actual real goods and seeing them first, and then think about how to get it.”