Ken S. Ewert's "Moral Criticisms of the Market", analysis’ how leftist Christians are not supporters of the economic system of a “free market economy.” A free market economy is where citizens, partnerships or enterprises have the ability to freely trade with others based on supply and demand of products. This allows for free competition and choice within an economic system. One of the main themes that Ewert tries to state is that Christians should not oppose the free market system in its entirety. Ewert has many valid points that I would agree with. He believes that although the free market economy does oppose some Christian’s beliefs, it should not deter Christians from participating within this system.
One of the major points that I agree with is the statement made by Ewert stating “It is clear that not all self-directed action is necessarily selfish action” This is a strong statement that has great validity. An action that is self-directed does not mean that it is a selfish act. One example could be a person buying products for themselves within the free market economy. The person has to buy essential materials to survive such as food, clothing, and shelter. The supplier on the opposite end has to have this person to make a profit. In actuality the system is more co-dependent then selfish. To not cause confusion, there are those who abuse their power within the economic system where they either establish monopolies or allow for certain groups to be discriminated against in order to make a profit. Those are instances that do occur. One company that is known for this Wal-Mart, a multi-billion dollar enterprise that is known for causing small business’ to suffer because their prices are much lowers, having substandard health insur...
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...eceive products there has to be some type of personal interaction. One example would be charity. This is tied into the market economy it just does not involve monetary funds. Thus it does not mean that impersonal relationships will establish.
In conclusion, Ewert shows rationale to why leftist Christians should not be concerned with the free market economy being detrimental to a person’s morals and ethics and possibly their religion. The free market economy allows for choice within it. The environment is not an excuse that leftist Christians to use to state the free market economy is corrupting human’s morals. Scripturally it is up to the person to allow themselves to not be morally and spiritually corrupted, not an environment or in this case an economy. Leftist Christians have the right motives, however to omit an entire system just because it has some negatives.
In the essay “Judaism and Economic Reform”, Norman Solomon, a Jewish-American journalist, presents a compelling argument on the basis of the need for economic reform while providing simple religious base solutions. While discussing two major economic problems that plague the world’s current economy, Solomon introduces the Jewish view of the global economy and their general view on economics as a whole. With this introduction to the Jewish worldview of economics we as readers are able to transition into understanding Solomon’s solutions of education & using Jewish law to improve the current state of the global economy. Although Solomon’s ideas of education and relying on Jewish law to improve the global economy seem logical, Sallie McFague, a Christian theologian, provides a different yet similar viewpoint of improving the global economy in her essay “New House Rules: Christianity, Economics, and Planetary Living”. Her discussion of ecological and neo-classical economics forces the reader to revert back to Solomon’s essay to analyze his methods of fixing the current global economy.
Thenature of this paper, which deals with the presence of a subconscious set ofparticularly American beliefs, inherently involves more reflection than thegathering of data. Whatsimportant is the way we live, not the historical manufacturing of facts whichis more evidence, not description, of the current Religion of the AmericanEconomy. And while most ofthese truths should be self evident (like any good preamble), some statisticswill be cited to illustrate their culmination in everyday life. To set this new dogma in context, Iwill also describe the founding principles of Christian living, with particularattention paid to the economic reality of what such living entails.
...ne; it is welded into my personality that I need to have some power and authority in order to be content. I would, therefore, resent being regarded as economically equal to others in all situations, because that would mean that regardless of how hard I worked and how successful I became at my job, I would be, in the eyes of the government, equal to all others, even those who worked at the least of their capacities and showed no resolve whatsoever to make something greater of themselves. Therefore, after studying what it means to live in a command economy, I have decided that life spent as a citizen in a centrally planned economy would be predominantly disadvantageous, with the sparse sprinkling of advantages few and distant and clouded from being fully beneficial by the supremacy of a government that exercises control even into the personal lives of each individual.
Bastiat writes, “Each of us has a natural right - from God – to defend his person, his liberty, and his property.” He makes the point that that this individual right can be used collectively; a common force as a substitution of individual forces, to protect persons, liberties, and properties, and therefore cannot conversely be used for the purpose of destroying persons, liberties, and properties. Bastiat, when describing his ideal “simple, easy to accept, economical, limited, non-oppressive, just and enduring government” summarizes his economic principles simply as “the non-intervention of the state in private affairs”. For he believes that “a science of economics must be developed before a science of a science of politics can be logically formulated.” He summarizes that science simply; “if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime…then abolish this law without delay.” The [Catholic] Church, and its followers, share the same ideals. For the Church teaches us that, “the free market is the most efficient instrument for utilizing resources and effectively responding to needs” and that “to safeguard…a free economy…the State must adopt suitable legislation…in such a way that it does not become abusively involved in the various market activities, the carrying out of which is and must
The Bible does not say that money is bad. However, what it does say is
...s not been addressed. Another useful standpoint to have would be that of someone neither Muslim or Christian. Both religions may have a warped view of the state of affairs due to their conservative and biased views. Someone non-religious could objectively evaluate the points of views that Muslims and Christians each have regarding merchants and commerce.
My second evidence to support this claim is when Elie wiesel said “I had but one thought not to have my number taken down and not to show my left arm” (Collections (310). In this quote he was only thinking about himself in order to survive, so in order to survive he needed to be a little selfish and think about what he needs to do to survive the selection. My last claim to support how survival is selfish when Elie wiesel was running he was using all his strength and power and didn't care about how anybody else was doing in order to survive. He said “I felt as though I had been running for years” (Collections(310). Elie wiesel is using all his strength and power in order for him to survive his not doing it for anybody else.
“...this religion is saying that every person, man, woman, child, slave, barbarian, no matter who, is made in the image of God and is therefore of enormous value in the eyes of God…”(Document C). “Now the Christian community, as we have it particularly in the letters of Paul, … says in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male or female, neither slave nor free… . Here is a community that invites you, which makes you an equal with all other members of that community,” (Document D). This was beneficial to a wide range of people, especially peasants because they could have a part in society and be equal to their Christian peers.
Selfishness is a disease of the soul that every person experiences several times throughout their life. To say that it has never been experienced would be hypocrisy. To say that it is a “good thing”, would be erroneous. Although as humans we like to lie to ourselves, it is no question that selfishness can make any person act like a fool. It consumes us and makes us into someone we are not. Whether it leads to getting people killed, falling in love, or buying alcohol, selfishness always leads to destruction.
Being selfish can get you somewhere in the moment, but in the end, it will hunt you down. People have always been selfish, and that will continue throughout the ages, but Frankenstein shows just how much being selfish can affect your life as a whole. Let us all remember we can work each and everyday to better ourselves and fix what we can in our lives. If each of us changed one selfish thought a day, think about how far we would be in a
Fundamentalist Christians believed that God created man in His own image, and that claiming mankind was simply an evolved animal was a direct assault on the Bible (Numbers, 1992). Furthermore, Fundamentalist Christians opposed Social Darwinism, and they established the Social Gospel movement, which attempted to create societal reform and alleviate some of the problems stemming from the Industrial Revolution (Schultz, 2016). This stood in direct contrast with Social Darwinism, as the Social Gospel movement tried to help those who were in need, as well as reduce poverty and prostitution (Schultz, 2016). Additionally, the Fundamentalist Christians opposed eugenics, as they believed that only God should determine who is and who is not fit to
If one is a Christian looking to establish a business in a third world country, instead of just falling into the secular worldview of thinking that it is okay to dump waste into their water because there is no law against it; one might look at from a Christian worldview.
Psychological egoism, a descriptive claim about human nature, states that humans by nature are motivated only by self-interest. To act in one's self-interest is to act mainly for one's own good and loving what is one's own (i.e. ego, body, family, house, belongings in general). It means to give one's own interests higher priority then others'. "It (psychological egoism) claims that we cannot do other than act from self-interest motivation, so that altruism-the theory that we can and should sometimes act in favor of others' interests-is simply invalid because it's impossible" (Pojman 85). According to psychological egoists, any act no matter how altruistic it might seem, is actually motivated by some selfish desire of the agent (i.e., desire for reward, avoidance of guilt, personal happiness).
The unprecedented terrorist attacks at the key economic, political, and military power centers in the United States on September 11, 2001 led to immediate restrictive measures among states in the global north and the international community as a whole. The perceived unprecedented threat of international terrorism had to be confronted with nothing less than a global “war on terrorism”. As a nation, Americans were born fighting; therefore, Americans will stop at nothing to protect their rights in the nation. Citizens who condone this type of patriotism – those who condone violence inflicted upon other nations other than their own show that they are complicit with a terrorist regime. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, written by Mohsin Hamid, resonates
The first type of interaction occurs in markets for resources. What dictates how much money one can spend depends on the resource price, i.e. wages, interest, rent and profit. The second type of interaction occurs in markets for products. Households give money to businesses in exchange for goods and services. In return the households want the finished goods and services which were produced by the firms through product markets. Therefore, money flows from household to firms. In addition to the demand of the product, households provide labor, capital, and natural resources to the