It seems that
today in America socialism and socialist ideas are extremely popular. The
popularity seems to be increasingly popular among millenials. The idea of
everyone being economically equal sounds great and wonderful, but only in
theory. It is my belief that the majority of those who support socialist ideas
and socialist politicians are either naïve or just haven’t researched the
implications of their views and ideas. Dr. David Noebel, founder of Summit
Ministries says that “Ideas have consequences”. He is correct. Every idea has
consequences, either bad or good consequences. Sometimes its pretty simple
where good ideas have good consequences and bad ideas have bad consequences.
Although, it can also be the reverse of that where bad ideas have good
consequences and good ideas have bad consequences. I believe that the latter is
true of those in today’s society that support socialism. They have good
intentions and want the world to be better, but they just haven’t followed out
their ideas to their logical conclusions.
In this paper I set out to show how socialism is incompatible with a
biblical worldview. I will quote
extensively from David Noebel’s Understanding
The Times and Dennis James Kennedy
and Jerry Newcombe’s How Would Jesus
Vote?: A Christian Perspective on the Issues.
Capitalism: An economic system in which all or most of the means of
production and distribution (land, factories, railroads, etc.) are privately
owned and operated for profit.
Socialism: An economic system in which the ownership and operation
of the means of production and distribution are controlled by the government.
In Marxist thinking, socialism (i.e., abolition of private property) is the
transitional phase between capitalism and communism.1
Winston Churchill once said,
“Capitalism is the unequal distribution of wealth. Socialism is the equal
distribution of poverty.”
Theologian and
economist Ronald Nash outlines the distinctions between free market capitalism
and socialism: “One dominant feature of capitalism is economic freedom, the
right of people to exchange things voluntarily, free from force, fraud, and
theft. Capitalism is more than this, of course, but its concern with with free
exchange is obvious. Socialism, on the other hand, seeks to replace the freedom
of the market with a group of central planners who exercise control over
essential market functions.” .2
Christians who
believe socialism (or communism) is a more desirable system than capitalism do
so trusting that centralized control or command economy will create a more just
means of sharing scares resources. Those who call for a socialist economic
system do so on the basis of Acts 2:44-45 that describes Christians in the
early church sharing all things in common. They fail to consider, however, the
implications of Acts 2:46-47 that describes Christians eating with others in
their homes and Acts 5:1-4 that tells of their freedom to own and sell private
property. .1
The Bible as a
whole supports an economic system that respects private property and the whole
work ethic. (See especially Proverbs 31, Isaiah 65:21-22, Jeremiah 32:43-44,
Acts 5:1-4 and Ephesians 4:28). Both the Old and New Testament teach
about private property and good stewardship of property (Genesis 23:13-20;
Deuteronomy 8; Ruth 2; Isaiah 65:21-22;
Jeremiah 32:42-44; Psalms 112; Proverbs 31; Micah 4:1-4; Luke 12:13-15; Acts
5:1-4; Ephesians 4:28). Ownership of property is a God-given right, ad
stewardship is a God-given responsibility. Our right to own property
stems from our duty to work. The very existence of private property encourages
our diligence and fruitfulness; “Lazy
hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4).
.1
The bible teaches
that workers deserve their pay, and those that work hard are rewarded, while
those who are lazy remain poor (Proverbs 10:4, 14:23; Luke 10:7). These
teachings imply that competition in the workplace leads to fruitfulness. However,
Christians who believe a socialist economic system is more biblical than a
capitalist systems contend that competition is evil in that it leads to greed,
envy, and competition for for limited resources is counterproductive.
Competition encourages cooperation in a capitalist society when we act in
accordance with the principle of comparative advantage. This principle states
that individuals in a free market economy can produce valuable goods or
services by specializing in an area where there is the least absolute
disadvantage. In other words, focusing on producing goods or services through
cooperation benefits society as a whole. This in turn creates more goods and
services that can benefit the poor. Competition through comparative advantage
also reinforces our worth and dignity in the sense that our work and diligence
contribute to the welfare of society as a whole. Comparative advantage allows us the
opportunity to become the best producer of a service or product. Thus,
competition that leads to cooperation and the recognition of individual worth
harmonizes with the Christian worldview, which sees human beings as
image-bearers of God. .1
Christian
socialists believe that social justice to the poor demands that everyone share
limited resources equally and that this principle takes precedence over all
other considerations. Reconciling this principle with biblical teachings,
however, is problematic. Paul teaches the relationship between work and
property when he says, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule;
‘if a man will not work, he shall not eat’” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
God teaches us that fairness
consists of not showing special favor to the rich or to the poor (Leviticus
19:15). Theologian Calvin Beisner counters the socialist interpretation of
social justice when he says, “God is not ‘on the side of the poor,’ despite
protests to the contrary. Any law, therefore, that gives an advantage in the
economic sphere to anyone, rich or poor, violates Biblical justice.” Justice
requires equality before the law rather than equality of income or ability.
Justice will in fact lead to economic inequality. Beisner continues, “The Bible
demands impartiality, which because people differ in interests, gifts, capacities,
and stations in life, must invariability result in conditional inequality.”
.3 .1
Biblical justice
is based on equal opportunity rather than on equal distribution of wealth.
Michael Novak explains, “Given the diversity and liberty of human life, no fair
and free system can possibly guarantee equal outcomes. A democratic system
depends for its legitimacy, therefore, not upon equal results but upon a sense
of equal opportunity.” Equal opportunity does not mean that everyone possesses
the same skills, interests, or social contacts, but the law should prohibit no
one from competing equally in the marketplace (Proverbs 31). .4 .1
Though we have
seen the Soviet Union come to a disastrous end, socialism is still alive and
well in America. We use other names for it like the Welfare State and “a
benevolent government” but it’s the same thing. The names sound so
compassionate, even Christian. We are trying to help people. It is always good
intentions that bureaucrats play to that lead us into such disasters. But what
we need to understand is that the federal government is inefficient and creates
far more problems than it solves. One of America’s leading economists,
Professor Thomas Sowell of Stanford University, observed, “The amount of money
necessary to lift every man, woman, and child in America above the poverty line
is one third of what, in fact, is being spent on poverty programs. Clearly much
pf the transfer ends up in the pockets of highly paid administrators,
consultants, and staff.” .7 That is why two “bedroom counties” of
Washington D.C. (one in Virginia and one in Maryland) have the highest per
capita income in America today. .5
According to one
estimate, the federal government spends twice as much money to create a job as
does the private sector. Sometimes it spends far more. For example, the government gave Stanford
University $15 million to use to create jobs. With that $15 million, the
university created a total of thirty-nine jobs. That averages out to $384,615
per job. The private sector, meanwhile, produces jobs at a cost of $20,000 per
job. Thus, the more money we pour into such government jobs projects, that much
less money is available to the private sector, and the fewer jobs are created.
The more taxes the government takes from the private sector, the fewer jobs are
created. .5
The government is
extraordinarily wasteful. I, for one, saw the results of this wastefulness when
I went to our local middle school to help my friends who are teachers there
clean up the school before school started. We must have thrown several hundreds
of perfectly usable textbooks into a shed underneath the football stadium. Many
of the people helping also had done work with a school system lest than 30
miles away that had no textbooks, no art supplies, moldy walls, and the roof
collapsing. Another school district’s superintendent stated in a local
newspaper that their school had no text books. In order to buy the students
textbooks, they would have to fire teachers. There was no money given to them
from the state or federal government for that. Whereas the school I volunteered
at was throwing these textbooks out to rot. When asked about giving the
textbooks to the other schools, the administration said that it was government
mandated that whenever they got newer text books, the previous ones had to be
put in storage for five years before they were given to anyone else or any
other school system. So, here we have the government taking tax money from its
citizens and distributing it, causing some schools to be very well off, while
other schools are suffering. K-12 education is essential for everyone,
especially states like mine, where the poverty levels are extremely high and
35% of the state’s children are in poverty. My state spent less money per
student than all other states in 2012.
In response to all
this waste, people say, “Well, yes, but that’s what the bible says we ought to
be doing: helping others.” Absolutely. But we are not helping them in the right
way that we should. Instead, we are hurting people: putting them out of work,
destroying their families, destroying their children. The Soviet Union found
this out to its great regret. And today we are moving happily down that same
road. .5
The government
does not have any money that it does not take from us, and that’s a subject
many people seem not to understand. .5 Journalist Rus Walton
commented, “Government is not a producer; it is a taker, a taxer, and a
spender. Every dollar spent by the public sector is a dollar the government
must take from the private sector, from the workers and earners and investors.
The dollar taken by government cannot be spent or invested by that productive
private sector.” .6
When you listen to
politicians’ campaign rhetoric, it becomes clear they are offering the American
people specific promises. “Vote for me, and I’ll make sure the government gives
you XYZ.” Of course, XYZ is not free, money does not grow on trees. Sure it is
free to some of the people getting it, but someone had to pay pay for it. So
essentially the politicians are promising
some sort of redistribution of wealth.
When politicians say that we need
to tax the very rich, that the rich are not paying their fair share, that tax
cuts only help the rich, many Americans buy it. They cannot see the unbiblical
assumptions being promoted. It behooves the discerning Christian voter to think
in these terms. Do not take political promises at face value. Evaluate them.
Remember, when a politician promises you a benefit, by definition it is at
someone else’s expense. .5
Capitalism
encourages people to work hard for their pay. It encourages people to start
companies and grow out of poverty. The classic “rags to riches” stories would
not be possible if it weren’t for capitalism. Also, Capitalism fits right in
line with what the Apostle Paul teaches the early church, “If anyone will not
work, neither shall he eat,” (2 Thess. 3:10). The apostle knew that we were
inclined toward evil, and so we will avoid all opportunities to work if we can.
Of course, this does not refer to a person who is unable to work. Scripture has
a great deal to say about caring for the lame, the blind, the sick, infirmed,
the aged, the young, but if anyone refuses to work, then neither let him eat.
.5
The Christian
worldview embraces a form of democratic capitalism that allows for the peaceful
and free exchange of goods and services without fraud, theft, or breech of
contract as the biblical view. First, the Bible grants us the right to private
property and calls us to be good stewards of our resources. Second, a free
enterprise system affords the greatest opportunity to steward our resources
responsibility by creating wealth and opportunity. Third, the competition in a
free market system works according to the principle of comparative advantage,
which affirms our inherit worth as individuals. .1
The thousands of
years of experiments with socialist economic systems have resulted in nothing
but failure and tragedy – Fascism, Nazism, and Communism relied on the faulty
ideas of socialism and Darwinian Evolution. Their catastrophic failings are
documented in Igor Shafarecich’s The
Socialist Phenomenon, Ludwig von Mises’ Socialism,
and Joshua Muravchik’s Heaven On
Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism. .1
Socialism’s call
for economic equality is countered by capitalism’s call for biblical
requirement of equality before the law. The biblical view does not cause the
rich to get richer and the poor poorer as socialists contend. Rather, the
biblical view encourages the rich to create more wealth, thereby aiding all of
society. Policies of redistribution of wealth, including welfare systems, only
multiply problems for the poor by creating needless bureaucracies and concentrating
too much power in the hands of the government. Capitalism, on the other hand,
encourages freedom in the political sphere, minimizing the danger of granting
sovereignty to the state instead of to God. .1
The biblical
Christian worldview supports private property and free enterprise. Christians
see work as a virtue, not a vice. The Greeks and Romans, in contrast, grounded
their case for slavery in the idea that work is a vice, a view endorsed by both
Aristotle and Plato. The Bible does not teach socialism or communism, a truth
evident even to Frederick Engels, who writes, “If some few passages of the
Bible may be favorable to communism, the general spirit of its doctrines is,
nevertheless, totally opposed to it.” .8 .1
A socialist system
of economics is consistent with the Secular Humanist worldview. Secular
Humanism is based on atheism and naturalism in which ‘man is the measure’ of
all things; man, not God, is the ultimate norm by which truth and morals are to
be determined. Although some support a free market economy, many who shaped
Secular Humanist thought in the last century were socialists. .1
If we deny our
fallen nature, some form of socialism becomes the most attractive economic
system for creating a heaven on earth.
If original sin does not exist, then a community of mutual cooperation
and sharing of work and wealth becomes a possibility. Socialism or some degree
of interventionism becomes the economic system best suited to promote the
ethics of Secular Humanism and rectify the evils of capitalism. .1
Over the past
century, socialism has been instituted in the former Soviet Union, China, Cuba,
North Korea, and a host of other Latin American, South American, and African
countries. Socialism has failed in every case to change human nature for the
better. Yet because of a commitment to evolution, Secular Humanists believe
that socialism is part of the next step in humanity’s advancement. Many believe
the move to socialism in the United States is inevitable. John Dewey predicts, “We
are in for some kind of socialism, call it by whatever name we please, and no
matter what it will be called when it is realized.” .9 .1
As
it can be seen from the observations, socialism is not compatible with the
Cristian worldview. Although it looks appealing and helpful on the outside,
further research shows that it is extremely harmful to society. It is very dangerous to give all or most of
the power to the government. Relying on the government for everything is, in
essence, raising the government up as God. God tells us that He will provide
for all of our needs. He also tells us that we should work hard and be
responsible for what we own. Scripture tells believers to help the poor, the
orphans, the widows, etc. Humanity sees these problems and instead of believing
in God and following His commands, they turn to a government to take care of
everyone and raise the government up as a God. This, of course, makes those in
power big-headed. As the old saying goes, “Power corrupts and absolute power
corrupts absolutely”. America was founded on the idea that the citizens held
the power. The founding fathers knew what it was like to be ruled over by an
all powerful government. They knew that a country couldn’t truly be free while
under that sort of reign. They knew that a country could only be free if the
people had freedom. Freedom to vote on politicians, freedom to worship, freedom
to own property, freedom to work, freedom to start businesses, and freedom to
buy and sell goods. If, mankind was not
inherently sinful, then perhaps, socialism might work. It doesn’t take a genius
to realize that mankind is, by nature, sinful. All one needs to do is look back
at history, or turn on the news.
