In this introduction, the central thesis of the book is laid out. This is that the market world has created the modern society in which our lives are lived, whether as citizens of a European democracy or of an Asian, newly emerging nation. The focus in this book is overwhelmingly on Europe, and it explores the relation of a theology of justice to that of human identity in this market world. It is not, therefore, a work of business ethics, nor one simply of Christian social ethics in its ultimate questioning. It is shaped by the tradition of Anglican social ethics in England, within which I write and continue to work: the tradition of Hooker, Coleridge, Lux Mundi, Temple, Preston and Atherton. The concern of the book, however, is with human nature and the question of justice, or, as it is called by theologians, theological anthropology and ethics. The paradox is simple to state, but difficult to resolve. As our society becomes more industrialized, market driven and pluralist, human identity becomes more problematic. The resolution of human identity is made, for those who have the freedom to choose, through their self-expression in employment, consumption and the human relations which sustain them. Less and less is it made through religious faith, or the implications which flow from that faith, such as the Protestant Work Ethic. However, it is not clear that paid employment, or consumption, can provide the satisfactory definition of that identity which is sought.