Moral Criticisms of a Free Market
As history often repeats itself throughout time, so do the poor legislative decisions of the federal government. To assist this transfer of fiscal power, the public is inundated with deceptive political propaganda to gain the consent of the people through a false representation, in order to facilitate domestic economic destruction. This happens through the mainstream narrative, expanding in influence for engagement through social media channels before elections. The primary goal is to default the spending of government programs to third-party purchases[1], controlled by the government. This allows them to spend money without conscience, as they remain shielded by the faults of bad economic policy.
Beyond our economy, our tendencies to relish in sin continue to impact all aspects of life. One cannot blame the influence of their environment for their participation in committing evil acts while upon this Earth. This includes reaping self-profit from forcing the financial compliance of others and includes deceptive propaganda designed to realign our understanding of the nature of reality.
“[W]hile the free market does allow ‘self-directed’ economic actions, it does not require ‘selfish’ economic actions[2].” - Ken S. Ewert, 1989
“[T]he Bible consistently rejects any attempt by man to ascribe his sinful tendencies to his environment” - Ken S. Ewert, 1989
Ken S. Ewert's article, although written in 1989, provides a truthful position on economics that resonates today. Ewert’s argument aligns with Biblical truth, as God gave us the freedom to each individually hold our own responsibility for succumbing to external influence upon our thoughts and actions. In the same aspect, we are dually responsible for the results of our actions and their contributions to society which will ultimately be perceived by others. For one to take advantage of other people through a capitalist system reveals not the shortcomings of a free market, but a lack of one’s own integrity and moral values. Many people today lay blame on others or their surroundings for their actions in order to produce a more robust appeal. We must not rely on our environment, or culture, to manifest false justification for profit at the expense of others, nor should it allow self-compromise or personal beliefs and values.
“Each individual, though he may be a tyrant at heart, can succeed only by first benefiting others—by providing them with an economic service. Regardless of the amount of wealth he possesses, he is never freed from this requirement.” - Ken S. Ewert, 1989
To suggest that an economic system is responsible for the malevolence that exists in the world is to assume that we are born inherently good-natured. As God clearly defined, we are His depraved and fallen children, and without His direction, we would certainly destroy ourselves. Evil exists in all economic systems, especially those that limit freedoms and enable dictatorships to absolve themselves from wrongful conduct. Although we are fallen and depraved, we still have an inherent duty and obligation to God and the life which He gave us. Our obligation to uphold His word through our contributions to society, despite our tendencies to work with expectations of self-profit.
Modern Economics. While it is important for both small businesses and the working class to be able to prosper against the post-pandemic government intervention. During the height of the pandemic, we witnessed the forced closure of many private businesses in major cities like New York City. This aspect of economic devastation piled pressure on business owners and their deemed “non-essential” workers, both were forced to survive after having their livelihoods shut down, whilst globalist corporations and other nefarious entities with financial backing remained on standby until their purge was completed. It was only after lawsuits began to emerge from the people directed against the government[3], that God’s image of our economic state of prosperity, was restored. In its modern condition, New York is no longer a vibrant city of freedom, but still remains recovering from the synthetic economic sabotage induced by thoughtless leaders such as Eric Adams, and the bureaucratic tyrant Kathy Hochul. It seems New York City has become a platform for bad leaders passing even more egregious economic legislation against the people.
Modern Moral Economic Criticisms. On September 27th, 2022, Eric Adams held a briefing alongside Pastor Gilford T. Monrose, Faith Advisor to the Office of the Mayor[4],[5]. The premise of this press briefing was that Adams would donate New Yorker’s tax dollars, working with FEMA to assist Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic through the hurricanes due to ambiguous Climate Change.
“We are wounded healers. It's easy to look at your wounds and state, why am I going to help my brother?... But there's something unique about New York City…as wounded healers, we must deal with our wounds, but also help those across the globe. We have so much abundance here.” – Eric Adams
The truth is that Eric Adams gains a political benefit through complying with the federal government. Adams has sold out the people’s faith in God, to win support from Puerto Rican, Latin American, Dominican, and South American voters and gain appeal to the radical Climate Change movement. By Eric Adams exploiting minorities he can likely save a great deal of funding on political propaganda during his next campaign. The truth is Eric Adams doesn’t care about the people, nor does he trust them with their own financial independence. If people had control of New York City’s economy, we might actually realize we don’t need radicals in power reshaping our means of life and the structure of society like the atrocious Adams. Eric Adams seeks only to convince New Yorkers that his inability to create a prosperous means by which New Yorkers could reclaim their own fiscal sovereignty, is an act of altruism. Ensuring a robust economic state would allow far greater donations to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and even more countries throughout the world, directly from the people. These donations would be more meaningful and uphold the image of God’s kingdom and intent for man. But Eric Adams and his bureaucratic caucus do not trust the people with their own money. Instead, revenue is stolen from the people and repurposed for other entities. The routine flooding endured by New York City residents is alone enough proof that New York City’s infrastructure needs rebuilding. The people need a means of prosperity and survival, yet we receive consistent evidence that those in power want nothing more than total control of our economic decisions through third-party purchases.
Ewert’s point agrees with Jesus’ that “[w]e sometimes need to be reminded that wealth is not the natural state of affairs,” However, Ewert also states that “[i]n a free market, we are not only able to choose unselfish values and priorities, but we are also able to create the wealth necessary to fulfill them practically.” These messages together in context suggest that by embracing a free market economic system, the people do not have to sacrifice their own financial independence in hopes that more intelligent artificial entities will find a better purpose for it. Oftentimes, political schemes act as disguises for wasteful spending which provides less significant impact on communities than the individual citizen’s tithe. Rather than teaching a community to fish, many politicians tithe on behalf of the citizen, often keeping portions of the earnings for themselves shifting society to comply with their own interests and institutional agenda.
As Ewert displays, the narrative of the Establishment suggests that we will become fundamentally selfish and corrupt without government intervention and regulation of our economy and personal spending on essential aspects of society. God states that since we are inherently selfish, we should adhere to His word, avoid alternative narratives, and remain obedient to maintaining order in His kingdom until Jesus’ return. Unlike the government, God’s Biblical narrative does not have to be enforced. Its significance has been proven by its consistent prevalence in Scripture since the moment that the Lord created man from dust, allowing our species to set foot on this Earth. By following the intended natural order of God, we can regain control of our economy and correct the coordinated disbalances in society. Ewert's message holds true to this day, the nature of capitalism isn’t dangerous, losing the connection to our Creator is. Though we are fallen, we cannot succumb to our sinful nature, and must continuously remind ourselves that God invented free market economics. For if this is true, how can such an act be condemned or drawn into a dark light? Ewert reminds us, in a message from thirty-three years old, that even in the modern age of capitalism it remains our duty to uphold our personal faith in Biblical values, without compromise.
References
[1] Biblical Principles of Economics, Bob McEwan
[2] https://fee.org/articles/moral-criticisms-of-the-market/
[3] https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=c0ffYA1x7v3t4aHEpac/gA==&TSPD_101_R0=08533cd43fab20002bf209a0ed19d23941f86dd250513ecf5bca75f94c5a47d7c8112482e168bd0b08e4004c8f143000fc955ebe1197fc95a79e72473adb42990084da2421ce7fdee2c3a53435b320ea81d99a0ed0670fa279ac5f8f92fef5f4
[4] https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/704-22/transcript-mayor-eric-adams-briefs-media-trip-puerto-rico-dominican-republic
[5] https://67clergycouncil.org/team/pastor-gilford-monrose/