The book I read in 2021 that is sticking with me the most is Rodney Clapp's Naming Neoliberalism: Exposing the Spirit of Our Age. Clapp reviews neoliberalism as it exists today before applying scripture and theological scholarship to explain a better way.
A couple key highlights I noted:
"By contrast," writes Paul, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Gal 5:22-23)--qualities that build and mend the communal body. The apocalyptic gospel frees us from the works that estrange and leave us isolated and threatened.
The market as a gigantic information processor cannot and does not contain or process care for the weak and the "loser"--in a word, mercy--or care for creation or nature as a good in itself. It does not embrace community, covenant love, grace, or miracle. In the economy of God, all of these realities live. And they can thrive.
The text is a good argument for what a society based on the scripture would look like. Clapp explains what it would value and where it would focus when compared to the market-driven society we occupy. He argues true freedom can be found in a communal society, not a neoliberal one. It is an argument you should be ready for if you have studied the New Testament even a little.
Beyond the text itself, Clapp's book is a treasure trove of citations and other recommended readings. I hope to spend part of 2022 digging through those sources.