The Tensions Between Christianity, Capitalism, and Liberal Democracy
Part 3, A Critical and Prophetic Relationship
Today we wrap up this series by looking at the tensions that exist between Christianity and capitalism:
Again, I claim no originality in the points I'm about to make. These are observations that have been made by many people over many generations. The contribution of this series is introducing the "axes of tension" triangle to highlight and disentangle issues in political theology, especially in America. The big obvious point the triangle makes is that Christianity, capitalism and liberal democracy don't easily co-exist. There are tensions along all three sides of the triangle that have to be attended to and redressed.Â
That there are tensions between capitalism and Christianity is an easy point to make.
To start, there are the cogent and persuasive arguments that varieties of socialism, in providing a greater social safety net for the most vulnerable within a nation, better embody the Christian values of care and love than does capitalism and free market neoliberalism. (That socialism can embody Christian values is going to be an absolute shocker to many evangelical readers. But this is a banal observation. Just have a chat with Christians from the UK and Europe. Regardless, that we can weigh both socialism and capitalism on the balance of Christian values to discuss their relative merits illustrates the point I'm making.) Further, even within capitalistic economies, there are perennial calls in the name of Christ to redress, with policies and programs, the failures of capitalism to provide economic security for vulnerable populations.Â
Further, Christianity has stood in a critical and prophetic posture in relation capitalism for generations. Some representative examples:
First, from Catholicism there are the social teachings of the Catholic church. Also coming from Catholicism is liberation theology and its "preferential option for the poor." There are Catholic witnesses and movements like Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement. There are the encyclicals of Pope Francis.
Within evangelicalism, there is the "road not taken" generation seen in the work of Jim Wallis, Ron Sider, and Tony Campolo's "Red Letter Christians."
There was, and is a still lingering, New Monastic movement associated with people like Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove.
And finally, there are all the criticisms of capitalism from Christians inspired by the work of a diverse collection thinkers who have been critical of capitalism, from Wendell Berry to Jacques Ellul.
Again, this is just a selective list to make the obvious point: Christianity and capitalism do not comfortably coexist. Christianity has a critical and and prophetic relationship with capitalism.Â
Yes, there is a movement of christians that take the gospel seriously in terms of the way they live. I continue to mention the Bruderhof folks, often left out. It was Ron Syder that changed my life in the 80's with his book Rich Christian in an Age of Hunger...helping me to complete my movement to totally leave the evangelicals...and digging into Liberation Theology, getting involved in a more radical movement in Los Angeles to help those coming up from Central America.. providing sanctuary. Since then, I do follow all those you mention and we must add the Poor People's Campaign with William Barber. But the movement that embraces our sick capitalism is strong, and I don't call myself a christian for this reason..saying i am a person of faith, never wanting to be confused with our nationalistic and destructive "christian" movement, including those in the Catholic Church that embrace or ignore the ills of that church. Why won't Christians do the right thing? It isn't easy.. .like going through the eye of the needle. I realize that it is a hard life to live, and now I see why atrocities happen when "good people" are all around watching. For me, the bottom line is that capitalism is not compatible with Christianity unless it is seriously regulated which is not the free-market version of today...and the way of Jesus is so difficult that it is a small minority that will walk the walk.. making the kingdom of heaven hard to find in this country, certainly. If one does not find a community that will walk alongside, it might be impossible. If we look at those you and I have mentioned, we find that a serious community is critical. In this component, I am lost.
your reading of catholic social teaching is rather near sighted.
far sighted is that the ancient church up until the 20th century repeatedly condemned usury.
the catholic church had a way of approaching capitalism through the encyclicals of leo XIII and noward up until populorum progresso with Paul VI that was about free markets, justwages, just distribution of property. But distributivism is a whole economic philosophy based on this background. its only with this encyclical from paul 6 that the church starts going full scale socialism and liberation theology which was then condemned by Benedict the 16th.