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Lifestyle DAVID PANNELL: Without Christian roots, capitalism and socialism would fail

DAVID PANNELL

Heres a question: Which is better socialism or free enterprise? Which seems more sensible? That the means of production, distribution and exchange should be owned and regulated by the community as a whole, or that a society of free agents should compete for them?

Before I go any further, and before you report me to the authorities as a socialist sympathizer, let me say for the record I am not a socialist, nor am I trying to persuade you to become one.

Like most Americans, I would naturally say free enterprise is better. I personally prefer, on grounds both practical and ideological, the idea of free individuals having control over their own lives.

Yet I think its a question that deserves a fresh and fair hearing in the times we live in, from a Christian perspective.

A strong case could be made for free enterprise by pointing out that socialism tends to take away personal initiative and responsibility. Or one could simply point out the obvious historical failures of socialism. Some who have lived long enough to remember the deprivations of socialists regimes of the last century would answer, without hesitation, that for all its problems, free enterprise is better, both ideologically and practically.

Others, looking at the more recent prosperity and well-being of people living in Northern Europe, especially Scandinavia, would say with equal fervor that socialism is better.

They would correctly point out that in a competitive system like free enterprise, there will be winners and losers. Some will have more than they need and others will not have enough.

To be fair, it could be said by many measures, the quality of life for the average person in those countries is better than in a society built on a model of competition.

We Americans rightly argue the free enterprise system is rooted in a Judeo/Christian work ethic based on personal responsibility.

People living in Scandinavian countries with socialist governments would rightly argue their form of government is rooted in the Christian ideals of compassion, sharing, and mutual care.

If both free enterprise and socialism have roots that can be traced, at least in part, to Christianity, then whos right?

You could only say it would depend on your definition of a good society, and good and reasonable people would disagree on that definition.

Ive made my peace with the question, and my imperfect answer is Im a Christian who believes in free enterprise.

But as a Christian, I am troubled by the ever-widening chasm between modern free enterprise and its Judeo/Christian underpinnings. Without its Christian tradition to guide it and place compassionate limits on it, free enterprise will descend into savagery.

As a person of faith, steeped in the tradition of both personal responsibility and care for the weak, I see merits for both systems.

As an observer of modern culture, I shudder to think of the world we will bequeath to the future. Both socialism and capitalism, severed from their ethical taproots in Christianity, will be disastrous.

Neither, I fear, will bear much similarity to the ideal of the good society formed in the wake of Jesus exemplary life and described in the book of Acts: local, joyful, organic sharing; intentional simplicity of heart and life; and at its core, a nobler vision of communal life, driven not by fear of scarcity or desire for control, but by love itself, which, in the midst of our frantic striving, I fear we have forgotten to even want.

David Pannell describes himself as a recovering farmer and a retired preacher.

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DAVID PANNELL: Without Christian roots, capitalism and socialism would fail - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

Over at The Corner, Ericka Andersen writes: "More and more liberal Americans are embracing socialism. Unfortunately, it seems many of them arent aware of the realities that citizens in countries like Venezuela face."

That got me curious. Is it true that more and more liberal Americans are embracing socialism? I couldn't find a whole lot on the subject, but Gallup has asked a few times recently whether people have a positive image of socialism. And in 2015 they asked whether people would vote for a socialist. Here are the results:

This isn't much. Maybe ANES has some longer-term trends on this? Still, the Gallup polls don't suggest any overall recent warming toward socialism. If liberals really are getting seduced by the red menace, some other group must be making up for it.

So what's going on? A few recent polls have gotten a lot of attention for reporting that millennials prefer socialism to capitalism, but I doubt they really mean much. For one thing, we have no idea if this is anything new. For another, millennials polled in 2016 probably figured that socialist meant "Bernie Sanders." But Bernie's no socialist, no matter what he calls himself.1 He's a European-style social democrat, just like me.

If I hear millennials starting to talk about nationalizing the banks and having the feds take over the steel mills, then it might be time to wonder what's going on. Until then, I think the answer is: nothing.

1I don't know what he believes in his heart of hearts, of course. In practice, however, he's a pretty standard issue social democrat. So are lots of American liberals. Bernie is just more vocal about getting there right now than most of them. That's one of the benefits of having a safe seat in Vermont.

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Is Socialism On the Rise? | Mother Jones - Mother Jones

Forbes

Congratulations To Bolivarian Socialism - Brownies Are Now Illegal In Venezuela Forbes This might cause a little confusion for in some parts of the world "Brownies" means a certain junior age group of Girl Guides or as we might these days call them Scouts of the female persuasion. Sure, we could imagine Maduro and the Chavistas trying to ... Venezuela has a bread shortage. The government has decided bakers are the problem.Miami Herald Short of options, Venezuela opposition stages flash protestsStabroek News all 71 news articles »

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Congratulations To Bolivarian Socialism - Brownies Are Now Illegal In Venezuela - Forbes

While the Democratic party continues to fail to meet even the lowest bar set by Progressives, it appears that the runoff from one of the two main parties in the U.S. may be headed straight for the Democratic Socialists of America.

Democratic Socialism, the technical political belief that Senator Bernie Sanders subscribes to, has seen their membership triple in the last yearto close to 20,000 card-carrying, dues-paying members.

And though many on the right may be terrified, DSAunderstands completely why they are growing: young people & Bernie.

Increasingly, much to the terror of the far right, socialism, is no longer considered the horrific word it once was to millinnials, expecially those who heard the term used to describe Bernie Sanders during the 2016 primary.

Young Americas tame view of socialism is due, in part, to a more true understanding of the meaning of the word, as well as the more moderate stance of Democratic Socialists. This is especially true in regards to Democratic Socialism because it is much different and far less radical than outright socialism.

On the basic level, as the DSA explains on their website, Democratic Socialists do not want the government to own the means of production. Instead, the DSA actively fights against capitalistic overreach, pushing back against mammoth corporations and their deep involvement with government. The DSA asks that government step in when corporations have gone too far, in order to protect consumers and keep things fair.

Democratic Socialists favor a sharing of ownership over consumer-good industries. Your local coop is a good example of Democratic Socialism in practice.

But to Republicans like Stuart Varney, Democratic Socialists are just good, old-fashioned commies.The worst nightmare for the right would be for young Bernie-backing Democrats to continue calling themselves Democratic Socialists.

Fortunately for the Democratic party, Democratic Socialists do not consider themselves wholly apart from the Democratic party. Much like how Senator Sanders ran as a Democrat in the primary, members of the DSA continue to work for and contribute toward the Democratic party, working to spread their goals from within.

If the Democratic party is willing to make room, the addition of Democratic Socialists appear to be only a net good for the floundering political party.

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As Dem Enthusiasm Lags, Democratic Socialists Of America See Memberships Triple - The Ring of Fire Network

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Socialism's outcome: Venezuela on default's brink - Tribune-Review