Introduction: Political-Economics as God's Steward

God's word applies to all areas of our lives. We must glorify God in all we do. That also applies to Political-Economics. The question is, “how do we do that?” I believe that we can do so by taking as a starting point, the cultural mandate which God gave to mankind at the foundation of the world and the related concept of stewardship. Our task, as God's stewards, is to develop the world to enable man to glorify God. As stewards, we have been entrusted with the temporary use of God’s property which we must use to carry out His mandate. In developing political policies, we must, I think, seek to ensure that government actions also further that goal. In a future blog, I hope to develop that more explicitly.

Economic systems of most countries are “mixed” systems—those in which some (most) economic decisions are made by individuals or businesses participating in a “free market” but where some decision are made by government. They fall somewhere on a line with pure capitalism on one end and pure socialism (communism) on the other end:

Socialism ---------mixed economy-----------Capitalism

In working out the implications of our stewardship, I have, in my book, rejected the whole-hearted acceptance of either of the two ends--capitalism or socialism. Instead I have developed a conditional preference for the free market and free enterprise: a preference since it is the best means to achieve biblical goals; conditional because it is not a perfect means. In future blogs, I hope, the Lord willing, to show that the market is the preferred means to achieve biblical goals because it encourages a stewardly use of the resources God has provided. It allows maximum scope for personal responsibility. It is conducive to a more Christian lifestyle. It provides the maximum incentive for people to obey the biblical command to work. Finally, a system of free enterprise also has the potential to significantly assist the poor and helpless by directly providing jobs and to generate the resources necessary to provide other necessary assistance. It will be seen, however, that the market is not a perfect means but subject to various "failures"–from both the perspective of economic theory and from a Christian view. Christians should, therefore, readily accept the need for government to constrain and supplement the market. Government, for example, must provide a system of justice as a necessary framework for the economy and "restrain the licentiousness of men.

This conditional preference for the market will permeate, explicitly or implicitly, all future blogs.