Christian Economics

In a recent conversation about economics, my brother-in-law observed that it is often difficult to analyze economic claims in relation to the claims of Christianity, and I agree. If there can be something like "Christian economics," the phrase must designate an approach to economic thinking that is rooted in and substantively informed by the doctrines of Christianity. The task of thinking about economics in this way is difficult and infrequently ventured; far more often we simply baptize as Christian whatever approach to economics is demanded by our predetermined political allegiances. We might even be tempted to think that economics is a "neutral" discipline and the teachings of Christianity have nothing in particular to say concerning it. What difference could a religious doctrine have to economic theory?

But Christianity does bring to economic theory a fundamentally important insight, which has in traditional Christian theology gone under the name, "the universal destination of goods." Simply put, economics begins in the recognition that there is a bunch of stuff to be used, and we need to figure out how we are going to use it. It is because we find ourselves in a world of resources -- air, land, muscles, minerals, etc. -- that something like "economics," the science of "managing the household," becomes important. A Christian approach to economics, however, begins with a modification of this initial assessment: we do not simply find ourselves in a world of resources; rather, the earth and its resources are a gift, something entrusted by God to our stewardship.

If material goods are a gift, to whom are they given? Clearly, they are not given to any one person, but rather to all human beings: the goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. This, then, becomes the guiding principle of economic activity. The task of any economic system is to ensure that the goods of creation exist to the benefit of all people, and this is the standard by which any economic system is to be measured. Regardless of how property and other economic rights happen to be distributed under a given mode of production, the use of property must always be destined for the universal good. Economic rights, such as the right to private property, have validity as a way of achieving this end and to the extent that they do so.

With this in mind, the use of material goods in such a way that deprives another is not merely mean or selfish but is in a strong sense thievery: taking for oneself what God has given to another. Those who hold goods -- land, buildings, skills, musculature, etc. -- do so provisionally, in trust of the others to whom these things also belong by divine will and action.

Significantly, the right to the use of goods does not, from this perspective, stem from merit: it is not a function of our hard work, intelligence, skin tone, moral character, national affiliation, etc. The goods of the earth and our use of them do not originate in our own merit, but in a gratuitous act of God whereby they are created and gifted. This undermines the classic objection to an equitable distribution of goods, which argues that the distribution of goods should follow merit, which is not equitably distributed. From a Christian perspective, this way of thinking is predicated at the outset upon a fallacious assumption. (It is in this sense, I think, that St. Paul emphasizes the importance of material equality, stipulating that those with much should not have too much, and those with little should not have too little.)

Of course, the claim is not that a non-Christian (or, more properly, a non-theistic) thinker would never be able to arrive at a similar conclusion. For example, one need not reflect for more than a moment to realize that wealth production is inherently social in character, not individual; this is a considerable step in the right direction. Nevertheless, the universal destination of goods, as a consequence of understanding material goods as gifts of divine benevolence, follows directly and precisely from the doctrines of Christianity and in that sense constitutes a distinctive contribution to economic thought at its most fundamental level.