God’s Economic System

Capitalism: is it God’s favorite economic system? Is it inherently evil? Or is it neither? What kind of economic plan does God endorse or prefer?

Back when I was a social work major at SIU-Carbondale, I believed that government spending, a higher minimum wage, and higher taxes on the rich were the answer to everything. Even in my years at Gordon-Conwell, I believed that capitalism was basically evil, thanks to Steve Mott, my professor of social ethics. I was never a socialist, but I have never been enamored with the capitalist system, either. I have never believed that the invisible hand of the free market could be trusted to restrain the injustice caused by human greed.

God has not endorsed any economic system. While the Biblical portrait of the early Jerusalem church may appear to be an endorsement of a collectivist economic system (why is this story never alleged to have been a myth?), it can better be explained as a provisional exhibit of the reign of God. The early church required an ironclad commitment to their community on a level with what was practiced at Qumran, where the property of incoming initiates was itemized, and severe oaths were taken to keep members from walking away. And the Jerusalem commune only succeeded for a short time; eventually, it had to be rescued by aid from Gentiles outside of Judea.

God has not endorsed capitalism, either, despite the default assumption of free enterprise that seems to run underneath the whole of Scripture. Israelites are commanded to provide for the poor in their harvest (Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19-21), and to give their farmland a sabbatical rest (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:1-5), and they are forbidden to make profit off the poor in personal loans to them (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36–37; Deuteronomy 23:19–20).

To curb the excesses of capitalism in their day, the rabbis of Jesus’ day declared price-gouging to be a form of stealing. Some rabbis said that to charge 18% higher than the current market price was price-gouging, and the customer had only enough time to get a second opinion on the price before bringing their purchase back for a refund, while Rabbi Tarfon said a merchant could charge up to 33% above the current market price, but the customer had all day to come back and demand a refund (Mishnah, Baba Metzia 4:3).

For me, the real issue on capitalism versus socialism is which way really helps the poor, and which way kills jobs. We speak of the evil of exporting jobs overseas, and yet we implement government policies that accelerate the exporting of jobs. We create government jobs, but in the process we strangle the industries that finance those jobs with higher taxes. Ask Illinois, the state where I live! How ironic that today the Chinese have to lecture us about the evils of socialism.

A little-noticed story that has been developing out there is the trend that the world’s poorest countries are climbing out of poverty. What’s going on? The poor appear to be climbing the ladder of success. And it’s economic freedom that seems to be driving that trend. (See https://www.creators.com/read/walter-williams/07/14/economic-freedom.)

We are told that Wal-Mart is such an evil capitalist company, and yet Wal-Mart’s critics have nothing bad to say about China. Why are China’s low wages and minimal health care so good, but Wal-Mart’s higher wages and better health care are so bad? Would Wal-Mart’s critics (such as unions) prefer to work for the Chinese at Chinese labor rates under totalitarian rule?

Yes, some forms of “capitalism” are not worthy of the name. We don’t need the crony capitalism practiced in Washington for the past decade. Nor do we need “lemon socialism” (privatize the profits, socialize the losses), such as bailouts of Wall Street, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. “Capitalism” isn’t so bad when you realize that most of us own a part of the “evil” oil, insurance, and pharmaceutical companies through our pension and investment plans; maybe we wouldn’t be so quick to vandalize them if we viewed them as belonging partly to us.

Jesus never bashes the boss in the Parable of the Talents who expects a return on his investment.  Granted, I am assuming that Jesus really spoke this parable, and yes, it is not a parable about capitalism or economics. But yes, it is a parable about faithfully managing what God has given us. God expects a return on what God has invested in us.

In Leviticus 25, God gives all Israelites a slice of productive capital (land) to be kept in the family, and provides a system to safeguard that capital against loss due to long-term debt. (Unlike most progressives believe, I believe this legislation came from Moses, and was not invented centuries later.) It was Israel’s failure to keep this legislation that led to a class of landless have-nots in the eighth century BCE, while the rich added field to field (Isaiah 10:1). God’s brand of capitalism sought to preserve everybody’s access to the means of production.

Capitalism need not be synonymous with greed. Yes, it is naïve to believe that the free market will magically produce happy endings through the work of an invisible hand (not even Adam Smith had that much faith in the free market). But it is equally naïve to believe that capitalism’s chief alternative can work successfully without a selfless work ethic inspired by a Christian conscience, an element which is usually nowhere to be found when this alternative is tried. Yes, Marx borrowed his famous work ethic from the early church, but he forgot to borrow the faith on which it completely depended.