Pastors and theologians should care about economics

 The recent death of Alasdair MacIntyre reminded me of the extreme contempt philosophers and theologians have for the science of economics. MacIntyre was a philosopher and convert to Catholicism who wrote several books that have influenced theologians and pastors to embrace socialism. Yet, MacIntyre, like Karl Barth and most theologians and pastors, never read a book on economics. He accepted the lies of the drunken atheist Marx as economic gospel. 

There are several reasons Christians should be familiar with the science of economics. Christian theologians gave birth to the science. I wrote about that here, so I won't go into the details in this post. 

A second reason theologians should be interested in economics is that all truth is God's truth according to the great Reformers. Scientific truth is God's truth. Economics is the best developed of all the social sciences. Theologians and pastors swoon over sociology, psychiatry, literature and philosophy, but ignore economics. They should be ashamed.

Another reason for theologians and pastors to care about the science of economics is the  Biblical concern for the poor. The Bible offers only one way to help the poor, through charity. And charity has been greatest under capitalism because people have more to give. Modern socialists are lying when they claim all concern for the poor is socialism. Even non-Christians under capitalism have given large amounts to the poor. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, at times the richest men in the world, gave most most of their wealth to charities. Marvin Olasky's book, The Tragedy of American Compassion, gives a history of how well Christians in the U.S. have taken care of the poor for most of our history. 

The main reason for theologians to learn economics is that only capitalism has ever lifted any group of people out of poverty. Charity maintains people in their misery. Capitalism has lifted hundreds of millions from starvation. Google for the Hockey Stick Graph of per Capita GDP, the best measure of living standards. Most graphs begin at the year 1000 AD, but the best economic historians show that living standards in 1800 in Europe were the same as 2000 BC. Few graphs will include the Dutch Republic, but that nation gave birth to capitalism according to Adam Smith in the early 17th century. 

Charity will always be needed, but the Dutch taught us a way to lift people out of poverty, not just keep them alive in it. Just as Christians today don't confine themselves to Biblical medicine for illnesses, but take advantage of progress in medical science. So should Christians take advantage of advances in economic sciences to relieve poverty. In the past generation, slightly freer markets have lifted over 500 million people in India and China from starvation poverty. 

A good place to start is Francis Wayland's economics textbook, the Elements of Political Economy. Amazon has a copy here. Wayland was a Baptist theologian, pastor, president of Brown University and an economist. His textbook was one of the top selling economics texts in the 19th century.

And try the French Christian economist Frederick Bastiat. He taught economics from a Christian perspective in mid-19th century France. Few people today know that laissez-faire capitalism was Christian economics from 1600 to 1900. 

If you care about the poor, you will be a champion of capitalism, the Biblical system of government, and the science of economics from which it is built.