“When government spends on the scale Washington’s got used to, that’s not a spending crisis, it’s a moral one. . . It’s not just about balancing the books, but about balancing the most basic impulses of society. These are structural, and ultimately, moral questions. Credit depends on trust, and trust pre-supposes responsibility. So, if you have a credit boom in an age that has all but abolished personal responsibility, it’s not hard to figure how it’s going to end.”
– Mark Steyn
I just listened to Jay W. Richards, author of Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem (HarperOne, 2009) give a talk at the American Enterprise Institute to a predominantly young evangelical Christian audience, addressing this question (Listen Here).
I would have to agree with Jay that the answers is “Yes” when “capitalism” is properly understood and practiced. This view is counter to a growing number of young American evangelicals who are buying into the viewpoints of evangelical activists such as Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo, who criticize the “capitalist” system and argue that in a nation as wealthy as America the government can and should take care of the poor.
It was good to hear Jay make a very good point that in order to be a Christian, there is no imperative that one must be a capitalist. Rather, Christians my hold to many different economic and political viewpoints and remain Christian. However, this does not mean that all the possible viewpoints are equally valid. Jay states that he believes “capitalism” rightly understood actually reflects the Christian worldview and values more closely than any other economic system, and that the Christian worldview actually contributed strongly to the rise of capitalism. I agree.
What do you think?
I wanted to make a few more resources available if you are interested in conservatism, and conservative economics and politics, especially from an American Evangelical perspective. These resources come to me from my son Marshall, who is currently employed in Washington DC, and is definitely in the “minority” when it comes to public policy in our nation’s capital. He has attended AEI events there and I have benefitted from the resources he has shared below.
The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has a long history of promoting the culture of free enterprise. Last year they embarked on The Project on Values and Capitalism, seeking to engage in a conversation with evangelical college students on the topics of economics, values and faith. Here are links to resources that I found very enlightening.
Looking for more? Try: American Enterprise Institute YouTube Channel
Additionally, Arthur Brooks, President of AEI spoke on Thursday, January 7, at Calvin College on: “The New American Culture War.” Read his Wall Street Journal article about The Real Culture War Is Over Capitalism: Tea parties, ‘ethical populism,’ and the moral case against redistribution.
Last night riding home on the EL, I read this in Common Sense Economics, on page 83.
People have a tendency to think of government, particularly a democratically elected government, as a corrective device. They act as if government is something like a pinch hitter who can always be counted on to deliver the game-winning hit. This view is false. A democratic government is merely a method of social organization, a process through which individuals collectively make choices and carry out activities. There is no assurance that a policy favored by a majority will promote economic progress. In fact there is good reason to expect that, unless the impulses of the majority are restained, even popularly elected governments will often adopt policies that undermine economic progress.
They go on to illustrate their point with a hypothetical illustration, and then come to this conclusion:
When voters pay in proportion to the benefits received, all voters will lose if the government action is unproductive, and all will gain if it is productive. Therefore, when the benefits and costs of voters are directly related, large majorities will oppose unproductive projects in favor of productive ones.
Hmmm, this seems to be common sense true to me. So, I wonder how this applies to the “healthcare” debate? Any thoughts?
While reading Common Sense Economics (previous post) this morning on the EL, I ran across this assertion by the authors:
“…it is important to keep in mind that it is production that really matters, not jobs. If jobs were the key to high incomes, we could easily create as many as we wanted. All of us could work one day digging holes and the next day filling them up. We would all be employed but we would also be exceedingly poor because such jobs would not generate goods and services that people value.”
Makes perfect common sense to me. So, why is there such a huge emphasis on reporting the “unemployment rate?”
The authors point out the most likely reason for this as well… political agendas and special interest groups.
What do you think?
One of my sons gave me a stack of books for Christmas:
I am currently reading Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know About Wealth and Prosperity and really learning from and enjoying it! This book is written by three college professors: James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, and Dwight R. Lee in a surprisingly easy to read style intended for the average person.
Common Sense Economics
I found #7 particularly interesting because we often hear in the media and in political discussions that wealthy people exploit others to gain their wealth and that big capitalist corporations are bad, and other broad statements like these. Politicians love to pick on this group and blame all sorts of evil social problems on their greed and selfishness.
However, when you stop and think about it, this view cannot be true. If I want to increase my wealth (as I am trying to do everyday at my business, or you are by working each day at your job) then I have to figure out how to help others in ways that create more value to them. If I am unwilling to do this, my chances of wealth and employment go down dramatically. The only way I can grow my business is to help more people in ways that are more valuable to them.
Even people who are not motivated by a strong personal desire to improve the world around them have to develop skills and perform actions that are valuable to others.
There are big exceptions to this general principle such as we witnessed with the 2009 Bernie Maddof scandal where he actually did become wealthy for a time by exploiting others. However, look at what happened. He was found out and is now paying the consequences. Thankfully, our market economy tends to weed these “bad apples” out and expose them for their unethical and criminal behaviors. Thankfully we have a legal system that generally prosecutes those who break the rules of fairness and who overrun the rights of others.
The bottom line is that I agree with the authors that wealth comes from providing products and/or services that other people value.
Ideas on Liberty, Religion and Society
A friend recently asked me to put together some resources on the conservative economic and political worldview (especially from an evangelical Christian perspective), so that he could become better informed on this viewpoint. I decided to turn my research and information gathering into a blog post so that others might benefit from it as well. These are all resources that I have used, still use and/or tap into to stay informed on this general topic. You will notice that I shy away from the shrill, reactionary and negative approach of some “conservatives” in favor of a more thoughtful, engaging and reasoned approach.
This post will be updated as I gather more information. Please leave your comments below on additional recommendations!