With
the political environment as it is today, and the financial state of America being what it is,
political dialogue on both sides is shaped by saying that the other side is
wrong, possibly even immoral, and certainly “un-Christian,” especially as it relates to the topic of capitalism vs. socialism.
No
Objective View
Yet
in all the political debates, (and being the political wonk that I am, I listen
to most of it), I rarely hear an honest debate on the merits of each side’s view.
I’ve never heard an objective person, with no bias or motivation to sway the
discussion, debate the pros and cons of each position. However, what is a
greater tragedy, is that I rarely hear someone debate the issue from an unbiased Biblical
stance; well, here is my effort to do so.
Capitalism:
Good or Bad?
The
first question that comes to mind when I hear of the debate over capitalism and
socialism, and whether one concept is more “Christian,” “moral,” or simply
better than the other, is, “Are all types of capitalism bad?” We know that
capitalism can exploit the
marginalized of society; we may even have a personal story or first-hand
experience of someone’s greed crushing a part of our lives. Yet, is capitalism
itself bad? Moreover, saying that capitalism is always wrong or immoral
indicates that when any person makes money or becomes rich, he or she does so
at someone's expense; is this always true? Is it possible to make money in an
honest and ethical way, so that no person is exploited?
Socialism:
Good or Bad?
The
second question that comes to my mind is, “Are all forms of socialism bad”? We
know in Acts 2:42-47 that the first century church participated in socialism.
Yet, it was not an imposed socialism, but rather a voluntary act of sharing and
giving to all in need. An imposed socialism can
take away a person’s incentive or ambition to work hard if they are never able
to earn more than they do, and it can
reinforce laziness in others, as Paul says, “Anyone unwilling to work should
not eat.”[1] Yet, overall, it seems that socialism
at its core does not want anyone to be left out of society, and desires to see
even the poor and marginalized have something.
Biblical Thoughts on
Money
Yet
if we look at this discussion from a broader framework, without getting into
the nitty gritty of politics, like whether a person’s taxes should be raised,
whether we should have welfare programs, and how much involvement the
government should have in our lives, how does the Bible in general talk about the concept of money?
Jesus
tells his disciples to “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth
destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.”[2]
However,
though Jesus encouraged his disciples to give up money, some of his women
disciples were the ones funding his ministry, with money.[3] And we know that Paul praised those
churches who voluntarily and generously gave to his ministry (which also takes
money to run).[4]
Lastly,
it was also Paul who said that it was not money itself that was evil, but
rather the love of money that is the root of all evil.[5]
The
Bible itself, though explicitly warning against exploitation of others, focuses
more on how we react to money than whether or not we have it.
Jesus: Capitalist or
Socialist?
It
has been noted that Jesus spent more time talking about money than he did
talking about prayer.[6] Unfortunately, this leads some on both
sides of the argument to try and draw a guideline regarding money based upon
Jesus’ words: Jesus was a capitalist because he acknowledges that the poor will
always be with us;[7] Jesus was a socialist because he told
various people to sell all that they had and give to the poor.[8]
[1]
Yet
I contend that painting Jesus as either a capitalist or socialist with such
broad strokes misses the point, and that is that money itself is amoral, and therefore it is simply what we do with it
and how we get it that creates its value, whether good or bad.
Dallas
Willard in his classic Spirit of the
Disciplines book makes this statement, “But it must be noted that such
failures [to give when we should] concern the use of goods, not their possession;”[9] i.e. it is not merely the possession
of money that makes one’s actions regarding money either moral or immoral, but
rather the use of the money.
Jesus’ Kingdom: a New
Supra-Political Reality
Additionally,
asking if Jesus was or would be a capitalist or a socialist presupposes that
Jesus would have aligned himself with any governmental structure that elevated
the “kingdoms of this world.” Jesus was
never interested in building upon an established earthly kingdom; he came to
establish a completely new kingdom,
his own. Jesus’ kingdom calls people to a political position that is above
the concerns that plague the current political system, a supra-political
party. This does not mean that we
alienate ourselves from political parties or society, but it does mean our
perspective must come from a different place.
Again
Dallas Willard, says it best, “The state is emblematic of all those worldly
power structures [both Republican and Democratic and any other human political
party] based on oppression and the power of pain and death. The real presence
of Christ as a world-governing force will come solely as his called out people
occupy their stations in the holiness and power characteristic of him, as they
demonstrate to the world the way to live that is best in every respect.”[10]
Therefore,
I wonder if we are missing the point, focusing on whether capitalism or
socialism are right or wrong, good or bad, and therefore how we can further
these two concepts in our society. I wonder if the broader question is how can
we as a society further Christ’s kingdom and his social, moral, and monetary
values?
Can
we re-frame our paradigm in this political climate by primarily seeing ourselves as not either Republican or Democrat,
capitalist or socialist, but rather disciples of Jesus’ kingdom? I wonder what
that would look like….
[1] 2 Thessalonians 3:10, NRSV.
[4] Philippians 4:15-16, NIV.
[6] Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle
Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels, (Intervarsity Press, 2008).
[8] Matthew 19:21, Luke 12: 33-34, Mark 10:21
[9] Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines:
Understanding how God Changes Lives, (San Francisco: Harper One, 2008), p.
194.
