I believe in Democracy, Christianity and Capitalism.
This irks me. I understand where this view comes from historically, but I believe it needs to be challenged.
Democracy allows choice, Christianity defines the right choice and Capitalism produces the prosperity that allows Democracy and Christianity to work.
I could not disagree more. On the capitalism part. Historically and biblically there is very little - if any - connection between Christianity or Judaism and Democracy as a political system. I find this is a dominant view in the USA, and knowing your history it is understandable, but not any less disagreeable.
That said, of course I love democracy. But I loathe Capitalism, and I will get back to why.
Christianity is essential to prevent the excesses of Democracy and Capitalism from destroying society. Christianity deals with individual ethics, that collectively produce a ethical society. Laws are needed to punish people, but it is better to prevent than to punish.
I agree that it is much better to prevent than to punish/treat. That goes for every aspect of society.
I do agree that democracy is ideal - provided the culture is ready for it. If not, there will be turmoil before the society - hopefully - settles down into a stable democracy. But, I said I would challenge capitalism. Capitalism which so many Americans honestly believe is an integral part of Christianity. And many can provide verses to prove their stance. (I might add that KKK also do this, and that using verses aloe do not necessarily confirm a theological stance). Funny thing is, once you start reading up on modern occultism and satanism you will find certain similarities too.
I would use a simple statement to sum up my thoughts, and that is: "The love for money is the root of all evil". Pure capitalism thrives on the love for money more so than less liberal economical systems.
What you will not find, is of course the compassion for one another. For the weak in society which Christianity has in abundance. And Capitalism as a system lacks, I might add.
Capitalism is about the generation of capital, and views capital as a goal. I do not share this view, but believe that life quality, equality, health and stability are better goals worth striving for. When one seeks capital as one's prime goal - which is the case for corporations and businesses - other things will suffer.
Capitalism thrives on liberal trade laws reducing or altogether removing restrictions on corporations and the trade these depend on. This, in turn, facilitates the abuse by said corporations. The lower the restrictions, the less the corporations have to worry about. They can spend less money on cleaning the waste a corporations sends out. Less money securing it's employees (f there's a surplus of potential employees) and less on creating a safe work environment.
Examples of this include the slave labour used by Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, and many many other corporations. Then there's how Texaco and Coca Cola have been responsible for abuse of natural resources in ways which have cost human lives, and devastated local economies. If one wants to look at the ultimate consequence of a liberal (capitalistic) economy - one needs only look to the corporate wars the East Indian Trading companies had. A "war" which resulted in mass murder on a very large scale. To secure profit.
The problem lies in that corporations will always abuse loopholes and lacking restrictions if these can secure them more profit. When corporations are competing, they will always seek to produce their goods at a lower price than their competitors to ensure maximum earning. This is naturally done because profit is their top priority.
Capitalism, consumerism and materialism go hand in hand. The more we consume, the more profit is generated. The more materialistic we are, the more we consume. As covered above, the less money a corporation spends on production of a said amount of goods, the more profits are generated. This is slightly simplified, but the basics are there. As also covered - this is done quite often with slave labour, or with vastly inadequate environmental protection. Which in some cases may have dire results.
I believe we can both agree that consumerism is not a Christian trait. And that materialism is not a Christian value. I believe we can agree that while slavery per se is not directly condemned in the bible, it is still something we should have put behind us a long time ago. Not to mention dumping our waste where we know it will cost human lives and harm our fellow man.
Yet these and worse are things corporations have used to maximize their competitiveness and profits. All facilitated by a capitalistic approach.
This is one reason why I do not believe Capitalism is unifiable with Christianity.
So what economic system is the ideal one? Communism? We know Marxistic communism failed miserably. And in all likelihood any form of communism attempted on a large scale will fail. Maybe it is a system we will see in heaven where our flawed human traits are long gone. And we will be able to share everything we have equally without any problem. On earth however, communism is sadly quite impossible. (And no, communism is not anti-religious in itself. Though Marxism may be. Please remember all Communism is not Marxism)
I am not a communist. And obviously, I am no Capitalist either. I believe in getting the best from both camps, or designing something new. My thoughts concerning an economic system which would be rooted in Christianity and Christian ethics would be as follows.
We need a system where abuse of people and nature is not encouraged, preferably not possible. So we need laws and restrictions in place to ensure they don't happen. Or if they do - that it is punished and stopped.
We need a system where corporations and individuals are encouraged to compete, in a responsible and ethical manner.
And finally, we need a system which helps us take care of the poor, the unfortunate. The sick and the broken. To care for the least among us as Jesus commanded.
So what am I advocating? A system where we keep the competition capitalism brings. Which is good and necessary. A system which incorporates social services such as education and healthcare as in socialism. All the while keeping a focus on a maintainable use of natural resources so as to not damage and harm the nation and the world for coming generations - except through by accident.
So, I believe we need restrictions and laws put in place by a democratic government of our peers. Thus, not a liberalistic economical system like the US system. Not a totalitarian economy either. Not an economy where everything is state owned, but where the state and the people in the state benefit from the wealth of their nation in the form of free education to the best of the individual's capabilities, and healthcare to meet their needs. Caring for the least among us, letting co-operation be more dominant in society as a whole rather than competition.
