Socialism anyone?

Not necessarily wrong..........

I beg to differ. You are basing your argument on two choices--captialism or socialism. Also, you are not addressing the basic premises of capitalism--competition and survival of the fittest. Now, can you justify these two Social Darwinian ideas by Scripture? Where does the Bible teach competition or survival by the fittest? This is where we are hung up.

Your arguments are irrelevant because I am offering a third choice based on moral/ethical responsibility, private ownership, and a free market. This has the benefits of capitalism without the ungodly appeal to greed. The key is a responsible citizenry, which is essential for a free society as well as a free market. When it is every man for himself, human nature caters to its worst side.

Please look at your arguments regarding taxation and spending to see that these have nothing to do with my criticism of capitalism. It is the faulty philosophical underpinnings that I am attacking. We must think outside of what we have been taught.

Furthermore, tyrants also like capitalism. Look at the role of the capitalists in Hilter's rise to power.

I fail to understand this slavish mindset that is loyal to the concept of capitalism and cannot see its evils. It appears that we are loyal to word much like the fan who is loyal to a ball team.

 

A free market requires that we leave room for greed just as free will requires that room is left for rejecting Christ. It is the responsibility of individuals to reign in the worst of human nature.

 

:laugh:

And Che Guevera was agrarian.

 

Paid, you keep deriding capitalism as this evil monster, but your alternative system is simply capitalism with the hopes that everyone uses it in a Christian way. So instead of alienating everyone by saying we have sold our souls to the devil capitalism, I think you would gain much more ground if you simply exhorted other believers to work within the capitalist system with a Christian ethic. And as for unbelievers, share the Gospel with them and if they believe, then do the same with them. Until then, there is always going to be sin abusing the system, just as there was sin in the southern agrarian system with slavery.

 

Doesn't make sense............................

I'm sorry but this doesn't fly--it's specious reasoning. Your analogy would be that we tempt men to sin in order that they would come to Christ.

Why would you object to a system that promotes responsible moral/ethical behavior over a system (i.e. capitalism) that promotes self-interest and greed?

 

That is a twisting of my words. Not sure if you did that to hold on to you faulty position or if it is sincere. But either way it is quite a jump.

I have not objected to anything. Capitalism promotes nothing. It is a system. Only people can promote anything. This should be obvious.

 

Why are you afraid to go behind the back of the standard wisdom?

No, that's not true. Modern capitalism is a specific economic philosophy from the 19th century. You have latched onto a term and will not give it up. Either you don't understand my arguments or you don't understand what captalism is. I am certain that you only have a smattering of my economic views because they are much more complex and involved than I have expressed here.

Do you deny that capitalism is founded on the Social Darwinism of competition and survival of the fittest? Can you accept these tenets?

 

Correction

Che Guevera was a Marxist revolutionary who masqueraded as an agrarian. In other words, it was a front to give him respectibility. You can't believe everything that you hear in the media. We must be wiser and more astute.

 

Competition is not Social Darwinism. Such extreme ideologies ignore the benefits of Capitalism in order to promote something else. A rather dishonest tactic.

 

Misunderstanding?

I'm sure that you did not mean this--no, I simply constructed a parallel analogy to show the faulty reasoning behind your comparison. I do not think and did not imply that you would accept the second analogy.

Yes, you objected to my philosophy replacing capitalism. Capitalism does promote greed by providing justification of all kinds of unacceptable behavior. The economic mess that we face is largely due to the greedy excesses of the rich. Perhaps you don't know about the abuses of the system. Or do you?

 

How to judge right and wrong...........

One does not judge right and wrong by the benefits. Prostitution sure pays well.

Furthermore, can you deny that competition, as defined in capitalist philosophy, did not come from the Social Darwinism of the 19th century?

Can you give me a single Scriptural teaching endorsing competition?

 

Can you give me a single Scriptural teaching endorsing the use of toilets?

 

And neither do we judge right and wrong by abuses like you have attempted to use to make your case.

 

Yes, I do. Capitalism pre-dates Social Darwinism by at least a century or more. Adam Smith wrote "The Wealth of Nations" in the 18th century, for example.

 

I missed this. What an excellent comparison.

 

Yes. Capitalism is expressed in the parable of the talents.

 

So your economic system does not allow for any competition? Really? So if we live in a community that has a crappy blacksmith who cannot shoe a horse worth his salt, we in the community are simply stuck using this crappy blacksmith for the rest of our lives? No one is allowed to start their own blacksmithing business that serves the community better?

You say you advocate a free market economy. Well, you can't have a free market economy without competition.

 

A rather basic fact.

 

........signifying nothing.

Cute, but an inanity.

 

Oh!

Where is the competition? Each was judged on his own performance. It's not capitalism--you can't stretch it that far.