ABSTRACT
In discussing capitalism it is important to distinguish a competitive market economy from systems that merely involve some private property ownership. Kleptocracies and crony capitalist regimes exist around the globe; particularly obscene are many Latin American governments, where an elite has long used political power to exploit the rest of the population. Such systems are far closer to socialism than capitalism, however, since they involve pervasive government economic control. Despite John Cort's emotional appeal to the "spirit of Christian love", the Bible does not specifically speak to the proper degree of government intervention in the economy. There is no explicit endorsement of any type of economic system, no equation of capitalism or socialism with the Kingdom of God. A Christian must still work hard to shed even a little of God's light in a capitalist society. But his task is likely to be much harder in a collectivist system.
