A Christian Economy

[MagusYanam]

Here's a question I've been wondering about recently.

I've been debating with my father over what form an economy would take that was shaped by a Christian set of ethics. I was arguing that it would look fairly socialistic, given the way Jesus and his disciples lived and ministered to people, and the forms the early Church took. The poor and the elderly would have to be provided for from public and church funds.

My father (who is not as socialistic in terms of economic policy as I am) came to agree with me, but with a certain set of provisos. He said it would take a form in which people would be expected to contribute and work for a living, in line with the Christian sense of personal dignity. And if you don't work, you don't eat.

So I was wondering what visions other people held for an economy informed by a truly Christian ethic.

[micatala]

I will suggest that it is not the system that is the most important, but the attitude of the people within the system. I think there are several types of systems that could operate in a Christian way.

1John mentioned communism. Yes, I think there is a good case to be made that such a system, operated by people unselfishly and in love, could be an ideal.

Do we need to dispense entirely with personal property? Not necessarily, but we would need to consider property as much less valuable and inviolate than in the typical capitalistic milieu. People could certainly own things, as long as they were willing to give those things up for the greater good. I think we could let people use their own consciences to decide if and when they should do this.

[Bugmaster]

I will suggest that it is not the system that is the most important, but the attitude of the people within the system. I think there are several types of systems that could operate in a Christian way.

Indeed. If you want to build a stable society with the humans we have on the planet now, communism is not the way to go. You would need to engage in some serious genetic and "memetic" engineering, and to wipe out our most basic human qualities, in order to make communism viable.

The main problem is our strong sense of individual identity. Each human being believes in his own set of goals and ideals, and they each feel entitled to pursue those goals. This individualism gets in the way of forming a society where everyone believes the same thing and works for the same common goal, like good little drones.

Personally, I'd take our current chaotic humanity over the hive-mind any day... but that's me.

[MagusYanam]

The main problem is our strong sense of individual identity. Each human being believes in his own set of goals and ideals, and they each feel entitled to pursue those goals. This individualism gets in the way of forming a society where everyone believes the same thing and works for the same common goal, like good little drones.

Be careful here. It sounds as though you're making a kind of false dichotomy, between a completely individualistic mindset and a 'hive mind'. I would call attention to the communitarian movement here, where a person's goals concern benefiting their community (improving schooling, caring for the elderly, supporting local businesses, et cetera) while still maintaining an individual voice within that community. Or Asian and Eastern European societies where group distinctions are more important than individual ones (as evidenced by certain customs such as listing one's family name first, like the Chinese, the Hungarians and the Japanese do). Indeed, in Japanese business ethics, people are expected once they finish their own work for the day to stay behind and help their colleagues finish theirs before they leave (don't quote me on this; a Japanese language student told me this). At the same time, is there room for voicing individual opinions in Asian or Eastern European societies? Of course there is. Take a look at a few Chinese blogs.

I don't think communism is the proper word for what a truly Christian economy would look like. I think it would look more communitarian. Certainly we have strong individual voices speaking in the early Church, like St. Peter. At the same time, there is a strong sense of duty to one's neighbours in the Christian ethic that I think cannot be ignored.

[McCulloch]

Here are some principles which I think might apply to a truly Christian economy:

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.
For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.

No free-market capitalism, no "prosperity Gospel" and nothing as lax as a mere ten percent tithe!

If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.

Interest free loans to the poor.

At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD'S remission has been proclaimed. From a foreigner you may exact it, but your hand shall release whatever of yours is with your brother.

Now, it would be legalistic to apply these exact requirements to a Christian economy. However, a principle is being taught. NO LONG TERM DEBT.

Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.

Provisions will be made routinely and consistently to provide for the poor.

Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. "

Followers of Jesus today are just not what they used to be. Who do you know who has given half of their possessions to the poor?

[MagusYanam]

Now, it would be legalistic to apply these exact requirements to a Christian economy. However, a principle is being taught. NO LONG TERM DEBT.

Ooh, now there's an interesting concept. Jubilee - I think the Hebrews of old may have been on to something.

Economies tend to behave like critical structures - entities that change and grow by dispersing energy and resources as efficiently as possible given certain boundary conditions. What the Hebrews were doing here was changing the boundary conditions every seven years to level the playing field between the rich and the poor.

If we could do the same thing globally, it might help out a whole lot of people in developing countries. I actually think I've heard somewhere about an international project to do just that, but I could be wrong.