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by Rod D. Martin
November 1, 2015
Modern society constantly demeans capitalism, and this is no different within the church. Indeed, Pope Francis’ continued attacks on Capitalism raise important questions all Christians should consider.
But while unbridled human activity of any sort is fraught with sin — it is our nature — the Pope’s critique misses the mark. Biblically, historically and practically, Capitalism is rooted in Scripture, no matter how some may pervert it, or in many cases, misrepresent or just misunderstand it.
Here are just a few of many reasons:
1. Nothing in human history has done so much to alleviate human poverty and suffering as free market capitalism. Nothing. This shouldn’t even be a controversial statement. Before capitalism took root 250 years ago, the entire world lived in vastly greater poverty than the Pope’s slum-dwelling parishioners in (socialist) Argentina. And they had lived in exactly that level of poverty since at least Noah’s flood.
Were there redistribution schemes in Rome? Pharaoh’s Egypt? Ancient China? Yes there were. Did they lift anyone out of primitivism? No, they did not.
Just as God created the world in several steps, capitalism’s greatest achievements haven’t come all at once. Someone invented a steam engine. Someone figured out to attach it to boats and trains. Some other people put up their hard-earned capital to invest in building boats and trains. Someone else thought of using the new technology to can food and to store it in warehouses.
Thus ended famine. Two thousand years after Roman welfare programs couldn’t.
No one did this on purpose. Nor was it charity, or even ministry. It took the genius of the market to conquer want: millions of people acting freely in their own interest collectively wiped out the greatest material scourge then plaguing the Earth.
The same is true for everything from the conquest of diseases to the availability of toilet paper. The poorest in capitalist countries live better than kings (or popes) just a century or two ago. Though rare mere decades ago, indoor plumbing is now almost universal; there are even more cell phones than toilets, bringing people together in ways never before imagined. African children living in huts take courses and read Bibles on iPhones, receiving educations and absorbing ideas denied to them and their ancestors for all of time, even while their governments cannot provide decent schools. The Economist reports that a billion people were lifted out of poverty in just the last 20 years, with a billion more rising in the next 20.
Socialism produced none of this. Indeed across most of the world, socialism kept it from happening a great deal sooner.
2. The Bible precludes every other system. Socialism requires that I covet and demands my government steal. This seems virtuous, in the same way that it seemed virtuous to Eve to take God down a peg or two. It results in a culture that creates little and oppresses all. As one famed Muslim scholar taught, “it is more virtuous to be a looter than a merchant, because at least the looter must fight the man from whom he takes.”
Two out of Ten Commandments address this directly: not only shall you not steal, you shall not even think about it. When King Ahab nationalized Naboth’s vineyard, the Lord roundly condemned him. And when Jesus taught economics, in two separate parables He commended the entrepreneur who multiplied his money while condemning the employee who buried his stake.
At this point someone will always protest on behalf of giving. But that misses the point. You can’t give what you don’t have. And government gives nothing it does not first take.
3. Capitalism is the economic fulfillment of the Golden Rule. In capitalism, for me to make a single penny, I must first stand in the shoes of my potential customer. What does she need? What does she want? How could I make her life better?
I can’t create a solution for her until I do. And even then, she does not have to buy it! I can invest my entire life savings in solving her problem and still be paid absolutely nothing. But if I do my job well, I can make a tiny fraction of the far greater benefit I’ve provided to her and to hundreds, thousands, or even millions of others.
This is the Golden Rule: I put others before myself, they are free to reject it, and I cannot gain by any other means. It is a system that requires even those who reject the Golden Rule (and its Giver) to act upon it.
Pope Francis is absolutely right to call on the wealthy to be more compassionate with what they have; but he is dangerously wrong to ignore the benefits of the system he critiques. His argument is no different from condemning the church because it contains hypocrites.
His teaching would hobble Christianity. It demonizes the sort of wealth creation Jesus demanded, and thus all the good works that are to be done with it. And those works are not limited to charity: as Ronald Reagan used to say, “the best jobs program is a job.”
Our sinful envy toward those who abuse their blessings is no argument against blessing. The Church – and the world – would do well to learn this.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
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