the free market…

Thought I’d weigh into this one over here Joshua Claybourn’s argues “The beauty of the free market, as most of my readers know, is that in order to maximize your own self-interest, you must first aim to maximize another’s. In order to make money for myself, I must provide a valuable good or service to the rest of society (or some portion of it). So in effect the whole edifice isn’t really built on selfishness, it’s built upon service to others. And besides, if we’re not allocating resources ourselves, then who should be? A bloated, inefficient, and often corrupt state? I think not.”

One of his readers commented Every country has regulations on the market for such things as insider trading, selling drugs.. the list is endless. By your line of thinking, Josh, drug pushers are perfectly legitimate is a capitalist society as they are providing a service that is valuable to part of society.

It would seem to me that there is some truth on both sides of the argument here. It cannot be right for us as Christians to operate in a system in a purely self-interested way. I recently preached on meekness and there is no doubt in my mind that such an approach to finances cannot be consistant with this vital attitude of the kingdom.

But surely the essense of a free market is that one is forced not to be totally self seeking. It seems to me that there is a clear transaction going on whereby you have something I want, and I give you money for it. No one forces the transaction on me. If you don’t like Microsoft why not buy a Mac.

Clearly though no one wants a completely free market and yet surely the principles to regulate the market are the age old ones of Jesus- do to others what you would have them do to you.

The weak must be protected from the abuses of the strong. It is the responsibility of the rich to treat the poor with dignity and care. Socially responsible capitalism is probably the best way.

Perhaps like what Churchill said of Democracy, Capitalism is the worst of all systems except the others which have been tried!

Churchill also said ”The inherant vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries’