Proverbs and Free Markets

This is part 2 of our series on Biblical Economics.

 

Proverbs and Free Markets

Selected Verse

An observation: According to Ronald Nash: “Almost without exception, the major evangelical books about social justice that have appeared since 1960s have been authored by writers who reject and condemn political conservatism as a cruel, heartless and uncaring movement totally out of step with an informed political view.” [1]

This leads to two questions: Is Capitalism, as one of the things that Conservative Christians cherished, unbiblical?  Does a free market economics enjoy biblical support?

 

Purpose: Today we will explore the teachings in the book of Proverbs and how the blueprint for economics God offered is one we call Capitalism.

 

• Capitalism is Biblical since the Bible prohibit these means of acquiring goods and services:
  • Coercion (violence)
  • Fraud
  • Monopoly and statist interference
• Capitalism is Biblical since the Bible permit these means of acquiring goods and services:
  • Hard work
  • Acquiring wealth over time
  • Sales
  • Saving
• 4 Kinds of People in a biblical economy:
  • Biblically there are unvirtuous rich people
  • Biblically there are virtuous rich people
  • Biblically there are virtuous poor people
  • Biblically there are unvirtuous poor people

I realize the term “Capitalism” can be emotionally loaded; it is important to be specific of my definition of capitalism: “An ideal market economy in which people exchange goods and services in an environment free from coercion, fraud, monopoly, and statist interference with the exchange process.” [2]

 

Some more comments about the definition of capitalism

• I use this term interchangeably with free market economics.
• Capitalism is not to be confused with cronyism. According to Wikipedia this “is an economic system in which businesses thrive not as a result of risk, but rather as a return on money amassed through a nexus between a business class and the political class. This is often achieved by using state power rather than competition”[3]
• Nor should capitalism be confused with fascism. According to Wikipedia this “is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, as well as strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe” [4]

In the end you want an economy that allows the biblical means of acquiring goods and services to be a reality versus an unbiblical means of providing goods and services which fits the definition of “Capitalism” or Free Market economics.

 

Capitalism is Biblical since the Bible prohibit these means of acquiring goods and services:

1. Coercion (violence)
   1. “But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. 19 Such are the ways of everyone who makes unjust gain; It takes away the life of its possessors.” (Proverbs 1:18-19)
      1. Here it describes how some plan violence in verse 18a.
      2. Yet these individuals will have violence returned back to them in verse 18b.
      3. Verse 19 tells us this is not the way to seek gain; in fact it is unjust.
   2. Violent individuals should not be seen with envy nor their examples followed: “Do not envy a violent person, And do not choose any of his ways.” (Proverbs 3:31)
   3. Also threat of violence is also seen as wicked: “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.” (Proverbs 10:6)
   4. Violent desires is seen by God negatively: “From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is violence.” (Proverbs 13:2)
   5. Still another verse that talks about violence negatively but this time involving enticing others: “A person of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not good.” (Proverbs 16:29)
2. Fraud
   1. “Bread obtained by a lie is sweet to a person, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.” (Proverbs 20:17)
      1. Acquisition of good by a lie is seen negatively here.
      2. Notice it is compared to having one’s mouth filled with gravel.
   2. “The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.” (Proverbs 21:6)
      1. Here treasure is in view.
      2. The means of acquiring it is described as through a lying tongue.
      3. Notice here it is described negatively in two ways:
         1. “a fleeting vapor”
         2. “pursuit of death”
3. Monopoly and statist interference
   1. The Bible speaks about bribe negatively
      1. Bribery is seen as wickedness in general: “A wicked person accepts a bribe from an inside pocket To pervert the ways of justice.” (Proverbs 17:23)
         1. Notice a person accepting bribe is wicked.
         2. Thus the act of bribery is seen negatively.
      2. Hating bribe is seen as a virtue: “He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.” (Proverbs 15:27)
      3. More importantly Proverbs explicitly teaches that the government should not take bribe: “The king gives stability to the land by justice, But a person who takes bribes ruins it.” (Proverbs 29:4)
         1. The king of course is a government leader.
         2. Notice in the context of governing it mentioned that bribe taking ruin the land with injustice.
   2. Bribery fuels government interference with the free exchange of good and services whether that bribery received by the politicians is in the form of money, power through votes and popularity, etc.
   3. Sometimes bribery fuels government interference with the free exchange of good and services so bad business competitions are eliminated and therefore a monopoly result.
   4. True monopolies can only last with government interference since usually when there’s a high demand of something a business or businesses high volume of sales and the raising of costs to consumers signal to others to enter into the market to supply the demand while the increase of amount of suppliers increases competition that lower prices.
   5. Scripture’s teaching about the danger of bribery isn’t against “socialism” only but also fascism and crony corporatism with the involvement of the state interfering with the markets.
   6. To reduce the temptation of bribery we have to lower the incentive for government corruption in the first place.  That means less government intrusion and more freedom and liberty.

Capitalism is Biblical since the Bible permit these means of acquiring goods and services:

1. Hard work: Proverbs 10:4, 12:11, 12:14a, 13:4b, 21:5, 28:19.
2. Acquiring wealth over time: Proverbs 13:11, 20:21.
3. Sales (seen positively in Proverbs): Proverbs 31:24, 23:23.
4. Saving (evident as one saves enough even for a future generation): Proverbs 13:21-23, 19:14.

 

4 Kinds of People in a biblical economy:

1. Biblically there are unvirtuous rich people: Proverbs 19:10.
2. Biblically there are virtuous rich people: Proverbs 13:21-22.
3. Biblically there are virtuous poor people: Proverbs 19:22.
4. Biblically there are unvirtuous poor people: Proverbs 10:4-5, 12:2, 13:4a, 19:15, 20:4, 20:13, 21:25-26, 22:13, 24:30-34, 26:13-1.

 

In the end you want an economy that allows the biblical means of acquiring goods and services to be a reality versus an unbiblical means of providing goods and services.  One should also want an economic system that increases the prosperity of the virtuous which among other things allow the virtuous to have the means of directly, voluntarily and generously help the poor.

 

[1] Ronald Nash, Social Justice and the Christian Church (Lima, Ohio, Academic Renewal Press), 4.

[2] Ronald Nash, Social Justice and the Christian Church (Lima, Ohio, Academic Renewal Press), 82.

[3] Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism.

[4] Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism.