Government Socialism... I'm shocked, shocked I tell ya...

When is Socialism bad? Apparently when it’s the other guys Socialism. Here’s what I mean. Since the day he was elected, President Obama has been pilloried by center right partisans as hell-bent on making America a socialistic third world country, as opposed to the free market capitalistic juggernaut our founding fathers supposedly envisioned. Obama the logic goes, wants to see everyone dependent on government so that the government can control them and save them from their inability to make good and right decisions.  It is his desire, unsaid, but certainly evident as some claim, to crush the rugged individualistic spirit that has defined America for many years and replace it with a governmental “nanny state.” We have been told that if government gets too involved in the lives of the people, freedom will evaporate, we will cease to work hard and then we’ll just take up a chair on the front porch waiting for the next subsidy check to come via the US Mail. When government intervenes fiscally on behalf of the people, instead of the people accepting responsibility for their own lives, this is socialism.  Or so we have been told by many on the conservative right.  We should, at every turn, reject this socialism, because it is bad. But let me ask this… if government aid for the individual, who can just get a job and work hard is socialism, what is government aid to corporations that are reaping record profits at a time when America’s deficit is bursting? If a government handout to an individual causes him or her to not accept the reality of bad decisions in life, don’t corporate subsidies shield businesses across America from the same responsibilities of bad decisions? Why is it that when it comes to defining who is the evil socialist in the room, seemingly only President Barack Obama is guilty? Is it because he, along with President George Bush ordered the US government to intervene on behalf of two corporations, Chrysler and GM, saving them from near certain bankruptcy? Because if subsidizing poorly run corporations is evidence of evil socialism, then surely all of the politicians and Americans decrying the potential end of US Government subsidies for the dairy, farm and petroleum industries would qualify too, wouldn’t they? You see, Americans love socialism, when it benefits them, or more accurately, us. In the recently past Presidential elections, candidate Romney was partially derailed by his famous 47% comments that implied a high percentage of Americans had become takers. My fear is that the percentage is closer to 100% than we care to admit.  To demonize one politician or another, or one class of people over another with the charge of socialism, is just our discomfort with admitting that reality and blatant partisanship, devoid of an attitude that is truly seeking solutions.

Capitalism and Christianity

There are not many things clearer in Christian theology than the idea that God is creator of all. Perhaps right along side this is our understanding that in order for God to be fully Lord, and not just Savior in our lives, we must turn everything we have, wish, desire, or hope for over to Him. This is beautifully portrayed in a little homily by the now deceased Presbyterian Pastor Bob Munger, “My Heart, Christ’s Home.” Munger takes us on a journey of our heart, envisioning it as a home, walking us through the many rooms until he comes to the hall closet. It is there that he posits Jesus beckoning us to give Him even that still dark grimy area many of us fiercely protect at all costs. Jacques Ellul, noted French theologian, in his book “Prayer and Modern Man” attacks the classic empty praying hands image of someone waiting for God’s filling. He asks if it isn’t more biblical for someone to come to God with his hands full, and give everything to God, thus emptying himself. Clearly, the teachings of Christianity lead us to understand that what belongs to God is His, and what belongs to us, is His also. We are taught, and readily accept that for a strong relationship with Jesus, we must give all that we are, and all that we have over to Him, and live in trust, that he will love, provide for, and take care of us. I bring all of this up to shed some light on an issue, and because of the encouragement of a blogging friend o' mine, Tao. There has been a lot of talk lately about the United States becoming a socialist nation under Barack Obama. We have also heard that we are a capitalist nation founded on Christian principles. But let’s look at the main pillars of capitalism. Capitalism, according to Wikipedia is “an economic system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned.” In short, what’s mine is mine, and what is yours is yours. Plain and simple. Except you cannot square this in general, and private ownership in particular with biblical faith as it was understood and practiced by the early Christian church. Clearly the theological teachings of serious scholars, and the practices of the early Christian community, as evidenced in the Book of Acts, stand against these main tenets of capitalism. Now I am not necessarily advocating socialism as a reasonable alternative, nor denigrating capitalism as a workable system. I am merely pointing out that it is hard to make the case for capitalism as Christian based, as some are trying to do. It may indeed be a great system for acquiring wealth and prosperity, but let’s not claim it is somehow rooted in Christianity.