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This chapter examines how foreign, Protestant nondenominational evangelical organizations in Japan around the turn of the 20^th century utilized the moral enterprise for their own ends. By appearing to balance the good of their organization with the good of the Japanese state in their dealings, such evangelical groups were able to seek converts and patronage in a nation not necessarily amenable to Christian doctrine. These organizations had to, in turn, calculate the profits of human versus monetary economy in their soteriological work. In this dual balancing act, many turned to medical missionary labors as a way to perfect the moral enterprise. Yet, rarely were conversions or improved relations with the government forthcoming. However, the Russo-Japanese War proved a watershed in evangelical work supporting the Japanese state and, thus, appearing to “win” the moral enterprise.

The introductory chapter discusses the nature of the tuberculosis epidemic in Japan during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. During this period, there was a tensive relationship between foreign evangelical groups and the Japanese government, two institutions that claimed for themselves moral superiority in a series of moral enterprises. Common to both was the tendency to either downplay or hide the epidemic from public attention. While the government abstracted the epidemic from the national narrative because it was seen as a point of vulnerability, many of the evangelical groups ignored the epidemic because it presented no particular advantage to their work as missionaries. Because the epidemic failed to be actively addressed by those with resources and political power, it continued to worsen, deeply affecting the economic and social structure of Japan.

The focus of this chapter is the transformation of the threat of paedophilia into a permanent focus of moral outrage. It explores the moral landscape that has turned the child predator into the principal target of moral enterprise. Through a discussion of the concept of a moral crusade it evaluates the impact of society’s obsessive preoccupation with the child predator.

This chapter reflects the consequences of an established system of poverty relief: German foodbanks (Tafeln), which meanwhile have become part of the basic food supply of many citizens. Even if Tafeln consider themselves as a social movement they more and more appear as moral enterprises. This requires the analysis of the fundamental mechanisms within the economy of poverty, such as the commercialization of morals and the corresponding corruption of values. German foodbanks predominantly find their resonance in the system of economy. On the basis of reliable relationships to their moral clients, foodbanks are supplied with goods, equipment and services. The product they offer in return is a moral profit in the form of a positive image, which is useful in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility activities. As a social enterprise foodbanks imitate and emulate the prevailing economic rationality on every level from local practices to long-term strategies. This encompasses aspects such as differentiation of their range of products, securing the availability of their supply, quality management, professionalization as well as the efficiency enhancement. With their trademark protection and branding as Tafel, German foodbanks have emerged as monopolists on the market of pity, driving off other projects according to the logic of competition. The chapter comes to the conclusion that we have arrived in a society of spectacles in which it is becoming easier to receive public approval for symbolic poverty relief than it is to establish political legitimacy through sustainable fight for poverty reduction.