My first Michael Moore movie was fraught with highs and lows: he does impressive documentary work (when he stops talking), but that covers maybe a third of the movie.\u00a0 He also highlights good examples of unconventional business practices, but they do not really prove his larger points.<\/p>\n
One of the especially useless parts was his apparent effort to convince Christians that capitalism is morally evil.\u00a0 He does this with the following (paraphrased) argument:\u00a0 Two priests I know (from Flint!) and their boss think so.<\/p>\n
It is a poor argument for a variety of reasons, but we thought it might be helpful to humor him and ask the question:\u00a0 Can an economic system be morally evil?\u00a0 What is the right way for Christians to act in relation to their country\u2019s respective economic system?<\/p>\n
Moore\u2019s perspective seems to be that a morally acceptable economic system must provide a certain standard of living for all its citizens.\u00a0 Thus capitalism\u2019s seeming inability to do so (in a small percentage of cases), coupled with its many opportunities for abuse, is proof of its inherent moral failure.<\/p>\n
However, it really is not fair to argue from individual situations that an entire system is flawed (this is known as a fallacy of composition).\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look at what our system is based on.<\/p>\n
The rules of our economy are simply a set of legal structures, based in an ultimate sense (as all American laws are) on the Constitution.\u00a0 This includes things like contract law, monopoly law, tax law, etc.\u00a0 They are designed to enforce a balance that gives competitive opportunity to all while preventing non-competitive practices.\u00a0 To be sure, they often fail, but that is what the system continually strives for.<\/p>\n
This attempt at balance is derived fairly directly from what the Constitution says that the government is obligated to provide as best it can:\u00a0 Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.\u00a0 Our economic structures are designed to facilitate those things on a large scale by providing safety, freedom, and opportunity.\u00a0 In other words, Michael Moore is suggesting that our history has proven this Constitutional goal to be a fundamentally immoral one.<\/p>\n
The problem here is that I do not see God calling on his people to take a certain perspective on government systems.\u00a0 To be sure, the prophets consistently call out leaders and judges for their failure to protect the sick and the weak.\u00a0 And there is no question but that individuals are told to exercise compassion and love for neighbor.\u00a0 And God certainly used political circumstances to communicate with his people about his pleasure or displeasure at their actions.<\/p>\n
But in all these things, the central concern is not the economic system, but the heart of the individual.\u00a0 Yes, a political leader will be held to account for how he exercised the sword of governmental authority.\u00a0 But no, the individual Christian will not be held to account for failing to revolt against a set of economic structures.<\/p>\n
This is not to say that Christians cannot participate in politics or business ethics for the purpose of creating a healthier society.\u00a0 That is perfectly fine, though not a moral necessity.\u00a0 Instead the rubber meets the road for this concept when Christians think that their act of political participation constitutes the full extent of their responsibility to the weak and the poor.\u00a0 It does not.<\/p>\n
Instead, our role is obedience within the boundaries that God has placed us.\u00a0 Though our first responsibility is obedience to God, we live in this world and seek to use that position to point to Christ as the only ultimate hope for peace with God.\u00a0 This means that a Christian can fulfill their highest and most important goals in life no matter what economic system they live under, and thus they have no reason to, \u201crevolt\u201d against societal economic structures.
\nLest we forget, let\u2019s remind ourselves of what a Christian\u2019s goals in this world are.<\/p>\n
1. Worship God Alone:\u00a0 In a culture jam-packed with potential idols.<\/p>\n
2. Be Faithful to Your Given Calling:\u00a0 In a culture with so many self-serving options.<\/p>\n
3. Be an Ambassador of Heaven to the World:\u00a0 In a culture that is lost and confused.<\/p>\n
4. Proclaim the Gospel Well:\u00a0 No matter your situation or circumstance.
\nIf you have opportunity to improve our society while doing (or in a way that supports!) these goals, terrific.\u00a0 But don\u2019t get too caught up in it.\u00a0 Because contrary to the opinions of Michael Moore, capitalism is not the problem.\u00a0 Sin is.\u00a0 Be sure that your life is helping to provide the right solution to the right questions.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ben Bartlett questions Michael Moore’s claim that capitalism is evil by asking the question, “Can an economic system be morally evil?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1224,"featured_media":4863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,10,11,15],"tags":[215,254,397,807,68253],"class_list":["post-4859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-general-culture","category-headline","category-politics","tag-capitalism","tag-christianity","tag-economics","tag-michael-moore","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n