Monday, June 21, 2010

The Fallacy of Christian Socialism

The idea that production can be solely owned and run by the public apparatus, i.e Socialism, has been refuted time and time again both by its numerous historical failures and its inherent logical contradictions. There is, however, another fall-back position that many desperate Socialists have retreated to, the idea that Socialism is a moral imperative under the precepts of Christianity. It is claimed that because Jesus commanded us to care for the poor, programs such as welfare are mandated under the Judeo-Christian ethic.

There are several problems with this. First, legality is not morality; issuing a moral command is not tantamount to advocating a legal demand for it. For example, saying that it is wrong to smoke is not synonymous with urging a legal ban on ciggaretes. In a similar manner, exhorting one to help like the good Samaritan is not the same thing as demanding that everyone do so lest they be arrested by the police.

But even if we grant this intellectual cri de coeur the benefit of veracity, the problem still remains because Socialism demonstrably does not help the poor better than its antithesis: Capitalism. The poor enjoy a tremendously higher standard in Capitalist societies than those in Centrally planned ones. Moreover, because under the Judeo-Christian ethic Man is also obliged to work hard to give glory to God. And there is no other system that fosters such a work ethic than Capitalism.

Christian Socialism is an absurdity, its emphasis over moral imperatives instead of reason and logic is the only way that it stands, however infirmly, on its feet. But even from a moral standpoint it is a monstrosity. If a Christian truly desires to fulfill his ethical duties to his Lord and Savior, then I suggest he use his God-given intelligence by rejecting that one train-wreck of an idea that is Socialism.

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