COLLIS Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture presents, "Why Luxury is a Vice (and Not Necessarily Good for the Economy Either):" A talk and Q&A with David Cloutier (University of Notre Dame)

For most of Western history, luxury was seen as a vice. Socrates and Seneca condemned it; the Hebrew prophets and the early Christian Fathers thundered against it. How did it transform into an advertising attribute? Can there be any definition of "luxury" in a modern society with so many conveniences? And isn't the pursuit of luxury ultimately beneficial for the economy? Learn why we need to rediscover the problems with luxury.

​All are invited to dinner with Prof. Cloutier following the talk--401 Physical Sciences Building.

David Cloutier (B.A., Carleton; Ph.D. Duke) is Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Notre Dame and academic director of the Business Ethics and Society Program at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. He is the author of a number of books, including the award-winning The Vice of Luxury: Economic Excess in a Consumer Age (Georgetown UP) and Walking God’s Earth: The Environment and Catholic Theology (Liturgical Press). He has written for Commonweal, America, and writes a quarterly column on Catholic social ethics and everyday life for US Catholic. His current writing project aims at articulating more fully a Catholic social imaginary for contemporary society, beyond partisan divisions. He is married to Melissa Moschella, a philosopher in the McGrath Institute. He runs, sings in church choirs, follows baseball, and served for 8 years as Board President of the Common Market, a large consumer food co-operative in Frederick, MD.