According to the Archbishop of York John Sentamu, rising inequality in a world marked by individualism and consumerism and wracked by an economic crisis has left us a society increasingly ill at ease with itself.

This, he believes, is due to losing the sense of a common vision and we need to rebuild community in recognition of our common humanity.

Five years ago Sentamu invited a leading group of economists, thinkers, contemporary historians and theologians to a symposium in York to take stock not only of the policies that should govern our society and economy but also the underlying values and principles necessary for the common good.

The essays in this contribution to the debate — timely in the run-up to the general election — are the result. They pose the question of whether we wish to build a society on the sands of selfishness and greed or the rock of a new world order of love, compassion and mutual care.

While dedicated to “hard-pressed families on poverty wages” this book is a far cry from the rigours of liberation theology with its Marxist analysis of social and economic conditions. It prefers to stress moral choices rather than what it considers outdated social class interests.

Its central argument suggests that in order to regain faith in politics and politicians, sustain hope for justice and to fashion policies which deliver the common good, we need to develop a new values-based politics recognising the equal worth of all in society, offering everyone the opportunity to flourish and acknowledging the importance of social solidarity and the acceptance of individual responsibility.

Delivering such policies requires action by national and local governments, markets, organisations, the church and other community groups together with individuals — we would truly all be “in it together” as we take responsibility for one another. As the late Bishop Hugh Montefiore once remarked, loving one’s neighbour means “from each according to their resources to each according to their need.” Now where have we heard that before?

The church has a responsibility to speak out against injustice and to give voice to the poor, the powerless and the marginalised. Thus while remaining above party politics, the authors call for a more accountable and inclusive political system, the adoption of the living wage, action on poverty, provision of affordable housing, more apprenticeships, early work experience, sustainable growth, shared prosperity and “responsible” business.

In articulating a vision of the common good, the book is a useful contribution to understanding the issues at stake in a depoliticised society characterised by corporate influence, dirty tricks, leadership beauty contests and banal media soundbites. Couched in religious terms on occasion, it may not have universal appeal yet there is much here with which those of us on the left can identify.