Faith & Capitalism

2.  There are two theoretical well-known forms of organizing
public interactions. All real socio-economic systems that
have evolved through the centuries are a mix of the two
opposite ideological concepts.
 One of the systems uses political coercion while the other
is based on voluntary cooperation. While one depends on
a central plan the other relies on individual initiative.
While one treats citizens as children who need motherly
care from the cradle to the grave, the other recognizes
people as autonomous creatures with inalienable rights
and responsibilities.

3.  Moreover, one is led by charismatic leaders and wise
councilors. The other is impossible without free
thinkers. One comes from the barrel of a gun. The
other appears peacefully and organically from the
market process. The first one has many names; the
most widely used today is “socialism.” The
alternative is known as “capitalism.”

4.  “What is capitalism?” you ask. Capitalism is freedom
under the Law. It makes us amazingly productive
and interdependent. To make a living, one has to
serve his fellow men even when he fails to love them
as he love himself. At the same time, they are
persuaded to work for one even if they don’t care
much for one’s own wellbeing. As in the Qur’anic
story of Jacob’s sons selling their brother Joseph
into slavery, there is a good social outcome of some
not-so-praiseworthy personal motives.

5.  Capitalism does not exist in a vacuum. In a fallen world, we
need institutions protecting life, liberty, and private property.
The rest is up to the “invisible hand.” It guides even the most
selfish individuals to promote each other’s interests through
the market.
 Is free market capitalism a perfect system? Of course not. But
none of the collectivist Utopian alternatives gets even close to
its ability to satisfy our needs and protect our rights. Why?
Because capitalism, is not about the “common good.”
“Individualism,” explained Hayek, “in contrast to socialism and
all other forms of totalitarianism, is based on the respect for
the individual man.”

6.  God could have placed the forbidden fruit beyond
the reach of Adam and Eve. He chose to put it right
in their path because He wanted them to have a
choice, even though He knew they would make a
wrong one. Because He is not a benevolent dictator.
Likewise God wants us to share our blessings with
those in need, but he doesn’t want us to give to the
needy because we have to; He wants us to give with
a joyful heart.

7.  Misunderstanding God’s will and human nature, we embrace
the Utopian notion of “social justice.” Equality before the law
(the virtue of justice) is dumped as dead weight in an effort to
equalize the outcomes of market interactions. But, as we know
too well from history, a house not built on justice is a house
divided against itself. Such a house cannot stand.
 Half a century ago, Friedman raised the question: “How can we
keep the government we create from becoming a Frankenstein
that will destroy the very freedom we establish it to protect?”
Today we are surrounded by economists who are asking: “How
do we use the government to take what belongs to others to
provide for a carefree life for ourselves?”

8.  The gravest danger for both taxpayers and welfare
recipients comes from replacing the religious
obligation to help the needy with a coercive secular
mechanism of “spreading the wealth around.”
Nothing can be more ungodly than delegating to the
state our Muslim duties to love our neighbor. This
jeopardizes much more than the political survival of
a country.

9.  As we live in a world of trade-offs, there ain’t no
such thing as a free lunch! Adulthood is a package
deal. We embrace the freedom to succeed. Then we
must have the guts to bear the consequences of our
poor choices. Paying the cost of freedom is painful.
It is the pain that makes us stronger and wiser.
Without that strength and wisdom we shall go down
the road of previous empires.

10.  We must also be careful in our opposition to statism.
We should not turn freedom into an idol. After the
fall of the Berlin Wall, Pope John Paul II warned that
detaching freedom “from obedience to the truth”
will turn it into “self-love carried to the point of
contempt for God and neighbor.” Life is full of
challenges. Character is built through perseverance.
It is built in tribulation and suffering. Without
character—there is no hope.