Oak Leaf 41-2014
By Karla Perry
Contrary to popular belief, the
“Dark Ages” were no such thing. The Medieval era has long held a hidden
picture of what Christian creativity and innovation look like. The
Christian society that flourished after the collapse of Rome invented
and produced in a way the world had never seen before. They harnessed
the power of the horse, invented the printing press, the wheelbarrow,
eyeglasses, wagons, astronomy, science, weapons of war, and fish
farming. What is more, they invented the clock so that people could tell
time and organize their day for more efficient use of their time. Prior
to the clock they only had the church bell to signal the approximate
time at certain intervals in a day.[1]
These inventions reduced manual
labor and increased productivity and profits. This generated wealth that
was then used as capital to produce more. Thus, capitalism was birthed.
Only some areas of Europe flourished into a capitalistic economy, and
then declined. The Protestant Reformation brought a rebirth to
innovation and creativity that spread over into the New World.
A capitalistic society is a
byproduct of certain conditions only present in a free society born out
of the Christian worldview. It is not merely the freedom to make money
and keep it or use it for whatever one likes. It is the flourishing of
people who are innovatively producing goods and services, and using the
values produced to generate more. Capitalism is practiced when people
are free to use their God-given ingenuity to produce a harvest from
which a portion is sown again into continued reproduction.
Several key elements must be in
place in order to sustain such an economy. Security of personal property
is a necessary first development of a capitalistic society. If people
are fighting to protect what they have from thieves or high taxes, they
lack the stability to produce and steward their production. Instead they
will hide, hoard, or under produce to limit the property they have to
protect. Only in a society where personal property is protected by law
will people feel safe enough to move from surviving to flourishing.
Innovation is the next
indispensable ingredient to a capitalistic economy. Once property is
secure, people will use ingenuity and creativity to find easier ways to
produce, which in turn creates inventions to ease production and
increase the ability for others to produce. For instance, only in
Christianized Medieval Europe did the ability to produce paper create
the desire for a greater method of manufacturing books. The invention of
the printing press increased the ability of writers to produce
literature, which increased the desire for learning, thereby benefiting
education.[2] All of this generated the production of book binders, ink, and newspapers. It’s kingdom of God increase.
When we see capitalism as an
“ism”—a philosophy to be imposed on a society—we fail to create the
bedrock necessary to sustain it. It is not an “ism” like socialism,
Marxism, and communism. It requires these elements of society that are
only found in a Christian society. As the Christian worldview slips, it
is only natural that capitalism is less sustainable.
A consumer economy will not serve
this end. The idea of “disposable” income is antithetical to the
thinking that produces capitalistic increase. One does not need to be a
business owner to be a capitalist, nor are all business owners
capitalists. If the person does not sow their produced wealth into the
ground to make more, they are not practicing capitalism. The people who
produce and use their production as capital to increase their gains are
capitalists. A worker who works for wages and uses those wages to
reinvest for gains is practicing capitalism. The worker or employer who
consumes his or her earnings is not practicing capitalism or helping to
sustain the economy.
If society wants goods and services
that are produced at low quality and great quantity for fast
consumption, they fail to create an economy of innovation. Why create
something excellent if people are happy with mediocrity? People are
consuming their capital when they expend their resources on goods and
services that do not hold up with time and usage.
American Christians are looking for
what they can do to stabilize an economy, but often we are not looking
in the right places. We look for how we can change a system, but not how
we can change our own living. Some will influence a system, but many
will be most effective starting with their own finances.
Capitalism like anything else has
its extremes to avoid. Big businesses that make massive amounts of
wealth and then pay their employees only enough to eke out a living, are
not aiding a healthy economy. Stifling health care laws and tax burdens
cause business owners to take self-preservation measures that hinder
the ability of their workers to flourish. Such conditions are not
tantamount to production and innovation. Colonial American
manufactureres had to pay their employees high wages to compete with
their ample ability to start their own business and enjoy their own
profits. This created incentive for greater innovation as people raced
to find solutions to reduce the need for labor workers so that they
could reinvest resources for greater profits.[3]
Most importantly, the last
essential element to creating and sustaining a capitalistic economy is a
Christian worldview. Only in a world where man can have dominion over
the earth rather than be a victim of the earth can the conditions be
right for innovation and production. In many worldviews, time dominates
man, and man is at its mercy. In Christianized Europe, man developed a
way to use time for his purposes, just as he invented a way to use the
horse for his purposes. Only in a Christian worldview is the idea of
private property sustainable. If what I produce belongs equally to you,
why would I produce it to be consumed by you? Or if what I earn is taken
by high taxes, why would I work harder to make more? Only in
Judeo-Christian ethics is personal property not to be stolen or coveted.
It is in this worldview that a person has responsibility to grow what
they have into more.
In light of these ideas, consider the verse Matthew 25:29: "For
to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an
abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have
shall be taken away." We can apply this to economics. To those
who have, more shall be given. If they cannot keep what they have, they
cannot do with more. If they do not have the ability to keep anything,
even what they produce will be taken.
In America, the economic problems
not only include government encroachment on personal property and the
ability to produce more, but a worldview of economic equality where
people want what belongs to another. Moreover, this worldview includes
those who want people to have access to what belongs to them. Socialism
is not only being imposed by government, it is also being homegrown
amongst the citizenry. The lines of personal property are being blurred
to where justice is served when all who have need partake from all who
have resources. To protect one’s property is seen as unjust, and maybe
even un-Christian. The problem is that when people take from the
production of others, their resources are consumed and are not
reinvested. The economy cannot maintain that kind of stress. The givers
and the takers will pay that price if this mentality is not corrected.
Lastly, for those who still have a
healthy view of personal property, there is danger in maintaining a
prolonged defense to protect that property. The methods of defense often
are contrary to the environment necessary for innovation and
production. Setting one’s mind on self-preservation often creates a lack
of generosity, as well as hoarding, hiding, and under producing as
discussed above. Christians and concerned citizens who wish to aid
economic progress will need to balance their decisions with love for
their neighbor, and thus their nation. This will require creative,
God-inspired thinking to avoid the pitfalls of protecting one’s own
property and continuing to practice free enterprise.
It can be done. It has been done.
Christians have stabilized economies before, and we can do it again. The
Bible says that the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous
(see Proverbs 13:22). If we live from another kingdom, the kingdom of
righteousness, peace, and joy, thereby practicing kingdom economics, we
will produce results in our nation. The kingdom of God will be
demonstrated, and the world will ask where our hope is coming from as
our finances and businesses flourish despite the natural conditions.
Then we will be able to give an answer that our hope comes from Christ
Jesus.
