The Forced Charity of Socialism VS the Voluntary Giving of Free Markets
"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”- Acts 20:35
I see Christians on the liberal side of the political spectrum pointing to verses like Acts 20:25, Luke 3:11, Galatians 6:2, 1 John 3:17, and Leviticus 25:35-38 as evidence that Christians should be voting for socialist politicians and policies.
When I ask why they think socialism is the answer I’m told they believe we should be generous and that society is better when we take care of the needs of our neighbors. This results in less crime, homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health problems.
Those are perfectly fair and reasonable things to want. In fact they are so reasonable that I, a firm believer in the superiority of free markets, agree across the board. So what’s the problem?
The problem is these are merely goals. Goals with no clarification on the means of achieving them.
So, now we are back to the original question: how would socialism work?
Textbook socialism is when the government owns the means of production. Using Cow Theory(1) as an example, imagine you have two cows. In a socialist society, the government will take one and give it to your neighbor.
While this might sound nice, caring, and charitable at first glance there are a couple unsaid-but-implied conditions.
You don’t get to choose the number of cows to give away.
You don’t get to choose which cow to give away.
You don’t get to choose which neighbor receives the cow.
The only choice you get is whether to comply or not comply. But it is worth noting that if you choose the latter you will likely be arrested and put in a labor camp.(2)
Giving does take place within socialism, but it is far from charitable. Many conservatives would say this kind of enforced, required giving meets the definition of stealing (something Exodus 20:15 frowns upon). But regardless of the label, the giving that takes place is not out of care for one’s neighbor, it’s out of self-interest. Interestingly many liberals would say self-interest meets the definition of greed (something Colossians 3:5 frowns upon).
But having come to the issue of self-interest and greed, it is worth looking at free market capitalism, a system that is built around such personal focuses and desires.
Now I do want to make a quick side note before I lose some of you. Yes, there is a lot of corruption and cronyism present in the US government. “It’s not real capitalism” as socialists like to say. As Christians, this should not be surprising as we already know all people are sinners. But these very real problems do not prove that it would be any better (or worse) with a socialist government. The susceptibility to corruption is not the point I’m addressing in this essay so for now, let us suspend each of our disbeliefs and assume that corruption and cronyism is equally bad in both systems of government.
So back to the question at hand, how is our system of capitalism more generous and even charitable?
Do you give to charity or a church? Obviously you are giving.
Do you buy things? You are giving.
Do you have money in a bank, in the stock market, or a 401K? You are giving.
And lastly, did you buy a $150 million yachts?(3) You are giving (a lot).
The beauty of free markets is that everything I just listed is done voluntarily. If you decide to not tithe (which statistically speaking you probably don’t(4)), no secret police are going to drag you away and force you to teach VBS for the rest of your life.
In truth, the only way you cannot give, is by stashing cash under your mattress (and that’s just a bad idea because your stash will lose value from inflation).
But that’s not all. In a free market the generosity of voluntary exchange goes both ways.
Do you run a church or charity? You are giving to those in need.
Do you run a store or build $150 million yachts? You are giving to your customers and your employees.
Are you a bank? You are giving to entrepreneurs starting new businesses and to people buying their first home.
In a free market both the buyer and the seller get to be both givers and receivers. This means when you buy something there is no “winner” or “loser” (the technical term for this is zero-sum gain(5)). In actuality, both parties have “won” because they are both better off. If you don’t believe me, we need to look again at some cows, specifically the Chick-Fil-A cows and the use of two special words. “My pleasure.”
Think about what this means. “You do not need to thank me. I got something out of it too. Because I know that happy customers are repeat customers. And repeat customers keep the restaurant in business, and while the restaurant remains in business, I can continue earning a paycheck to support myself and my family.”
Obviously that’s too many syllables to become a nationally recognized slogan, but it reveals the principle working below the surface. That’s why it’s special.
While part of my intent was to remove the esteem given to the so-called “generosity” of socialism, I also intended this essay to be an encouragement. I think we as Christians tend to beat ourselves up when it comes to giving. We tend to be taught that giving is about sacrifice, and that if the act of giving doesn’t hurt (whether it’s tithing or serving in the children’s ministry), then we must be doing it wrong.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can give, and simultaneously be given to. This is the fundamental basis of free market capitalism.
So go out and be generous.
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