By Rudy
Barnes, Jr.
If politics makes strange
bedfellows, there are no more strange bedfellows than capitalism and
Christianity. Christianity is governed by the altruistic moral teachings
of Jesus that condemn greed and emphasize caring for others and communitarian
needs. Capitalism is governed by the self-centered morality of Ayn Rand’s
objectivism that emphasizes making a profit by competing with and exploiting
others, thus making greed more a virtue than a vice.
Despite this incongruity, Christianity has conformed its doctrines to accept
capitalism as necessary for a free and productive economy. The
church has even sanctified capitalism as a virtue of the Christian religion
with the Puritan work ethic. But Pope Francis has been critical of the
unrestrained greed of capitalism, and he recently invited Bernie Sanders to the
Vatican to discuss socialist alternatives to counter it.
When Soviet Communism collapsed more than 25 years ago, it was hailed as the
victory of capitalism over communism, but that declaration of victory may have
been premature. Today America has
socialist programs that consume most of its budget: Social Security, Medicare,
Medicaid and Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act); and the recession of 2008
confirmed the dangers of unrestrained capitalism. There is now a receptive audience for the
socialist principles of Bernie Sanders, as evidenced by his impressive support
from millennials. It indicates that
future U.S. political leaders will have to consider socialist approaches to
limit the excesses of capitalism that have exploited and diminished America’s
middle class.
Bernie Sanders stands in stark contrast to
Donald Trump and the lords of Wall Street, who should not to be confused with
the more modest capitalists of Main Street. But despite his bluster and rude
and crude insults to all who question him, Trump has generated an impressive
following. It indicates that the election
could be close; and even if Trump loses, the remnants of the Republican Party
will likely seek to vindicate his grandiose and dangerous claims.
Most evangelical Christians support
GOP politicians, and are reluctant to admit that many of the proposals of
Bernie Sanders, a secular Jew, are closer to the teachings of Jesus than GOP
proposals. The old labels of liberal and conservative are not suitable for
today's economy. Take on Wall Street is a liberal movement advocating
economic reforms that are as conservative as they are liberal. It would
restore traditional economic policies by breaking up big banks and limiting them
to consumer banking as did the old Glass-Steagall law, and limit the
merger-mania that has reduced competition and exploited the middle class.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack represent
the kind of irresponsible banking that led to the 2008 recession. They bought, packaged and sold substandard
mortgages to Wall Street, and when the mortgages defaulted they were bailed out
as too big to fail. A bill has been
introduced in Congress by Mick Mulvaney (R., S.C.) that "...would set
Fannie and Freddie, unreformed, loose on the marketplace again and do so under
terms wildly favorable to the hedge funds." It is an egregious
example of how Congress continues to feed the beast of Wall Street.
Donald Trump claims his business success
qualifies him to be president, but the purpose of government is not to make a
profit but to serve the public interest. And unlike businesses and state
and local governments, the federal government is not required to balance its
budget. Even so, federal budget deficits
are a major political issue. Some economists advocate government
borrowing to create new jobs and discount the danger of budget deficits, while
others warn of the danger of increasing deficits. Donald Trump has said
the U.S. doesn’t have to worry about paying its debts since it can create the
money to pay them—but that’s not good economics.
The federal government can create new money to stimulate the economy, but that is
inflationary since new money reduces the value of each dollar in
circulation. The “easy money” policies of the Federal Reserve after 2008
(quantitative easing) had little inflationary effect in the U.S. since the
dollar is the world’s currency. But even with the stimulation of “easy
money” the economy has remained sluggish. And while a few
mega-corporations are awash in enough cash to stimulate the economy, they are not
investing it in new jobs. The “new normal” since 2008 seems to favor
larger corporations and fewer jobs; but it is an unacceptable normal for Americans who
are not employed by the mega-corporations of Wall Street or Silicon Valley.
The ability of Social Security, Medicare,
Medicaid and Obamacare to serve an increasing number of beneficiaries will
depend on a healthy economy, new taxes and/or borrowing, as well as limiting
benefits. In November voters will choose the members of Congress who
make their economic policy. Democrats
and Republicans must follow their leaders, unless they disavow them: For
Democrats it will be Hillary Clinton, and for Republicans, Donald Trump. If
voters are unhappy with economic policy, it’s their own fault since they elect those
who make it.
Christianity and capitalism will continue to be strange bedfellows in politics
since they represent conflicting communitarian and individualistic
ideals. The greatest
commandment to love God and
your neighbor as yourself is the moral imperative of Christianity, and it is
closer to socialism than to capitalism; but America’s obsession with individual
freedom favors capitalism over socialism. American voters will have a
daunting challenge in November to reconcile those conflicting ideals as they
shape the future of their democracy.
Notes
and References to Related Blogs:
Kathleen Parker has compared Pope
Francis’ criticism of capitalism with Bernie Sanders’ socialism at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/and-then-the-vatican-called-bernie-sanders/2016/04/08/787d3e94-fdcf-11e5-9140-e61d062438bb_story.html.
On the shrinking middle class,
see https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/11/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-just-about-everywhere-in-america/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines.
On the problem with Trump as CEO of America: Government is not a
business, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-problem-with-trump-as-ceo-of-america-government-is-not-a-business/2016/05/05/146cc1a0-12f5-11e6-8967-7ac733c56f12_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines; and on Krugman’s
commentary, see http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/opinion/trumps-delusions-of-competence.html?emc=eta1&_r=0.
On Trump saying the U.S. will
never default on its debt ”because you print the money,” see http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/09/politics/donald-trump-national-debt-strategy/.
On the emergence of a new campaign to hold Wall Street accountable
that would restore the traditional regulations of big businesses and banks that
protect the middle class from the excesses of Wall Street, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-new-campaign-to-hold-wall-street-accountable-emerges/2016/05/30/24fe5d92-2693-11e6-ae4a-3cdd5fe74204_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_opinions.
On the “recap and release”
proposal of Congressman Mick Mulvaney to revive Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack and
“recreate the private-gain, public-risk conflict that helped sink them” and
initiate the 2008 recession, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-fannie-freddie-resurrection-needs-to-die/2016/06/03/c8ad5162-282f-11e6-b989-4e5479715b54_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_opinions.
On A third of cash owned by Five U.S. Companies (Apple, Microsoft,
Cisco, Alphabet (Google), and Oracle), see http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2016/05/20/third-cash-owned-5-us-companies/84640704/.
On Donald Trump’s indifference to
and even contempt for the rule of law, see
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/04/us/politics/donald-trump-constitution-power.html?_r=0.
On Kathleen Parker’s commentary
on the GOP surrendering to the dark side
(Donald Trump), see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gop-surrenders-to-the-dark-side/2016/06/03/e109b0a6-29c0-11e6-b989-4e5479715b54_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_opinions.
See the following related blogs
in the Archives of http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/: The Greatest Commandment, January 11,
2015; Love over Law: A Principle at the
Heart of Legitimacy, January 18, 2015; Wealth,
Politics, Religion and Economic Justice, March 8, 2015; Liberation from Economic Oppression, May
31, 2015; Balancing Individual Rights
with Collective Responsibilities, August 9, 2015; God, Money and Politics, October 18, 2015; Who Is My Neighbor?, January 23, 2016; The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves, January 30,
2016; Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy
in Faith, Freedom and Politics, February 27, 2016; The
American Religion and Politics in 2016, March 5, 2016; Religion, Democracy and Human Depravity, March 19, 2016; Religion, Democracy, Diversity and
Demagoguery, March 26, 2016; The
Relevance of Religion to Politics, April 30, 2016; Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation, May 7, 2016; and Religious Fundamentalism and a Politics of
Reconciliation, May 21, 2016.
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