Christianity and Capitalism as Allies Rather than Enemies

Commentary by James D. Gwartney from FEE.org:

Many Christian leaders—evangelical, mainline Protestant, and Roman Catholic—appear to have a feeling that capitalism is unfair and needs more government intervention to keep it humane. While many of us who are both Christians and economists consider this view misguided, we sometimes lack arguments to help change this view.

I’d like to offer a few.

What I am defending when I speak of capitalism is a social order that provides for the protection of one’s possessions as long as they are acquired without the use of violence, theft, or fraud; and that relies primarily on free-market prices to allocate goods and services—the fundamental social system of the United States.

Here are some reasons why Christians might think more charitably about it:

Capitalism rewards and reinforces service to others. Under capitalism, a person’s income is directly related to his or her ability to provide goods and services that enhance the welfare of others.

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Capitalism provides for the masses, not just the elite. To succeed in a big way under capitalism, you have to produce something that appeals to many people.

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Capitalism provides opportunity for achievers of all socioeconomic backgrounds to move up the economic ladder.

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Capitalism provides for minority views. When decisions are made politically, minority views are often suppressed.

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Of course, capitalism does not impose the moral demands that Christianity does. But economic systems seeking to perfect human nature have more often led to tyranny than to bettering the human race. Christians would do well to settle for an economic system that reinforces Christian virtues, improves living standards, and provides for minority views. Capitalism is such a system. [read more]

So, true. An interesting article.