Business And Christian Values

There are some people in business who think that business is the sole root of prosperity. It is time that this arrogance be challenged.

That business has a large part in prosperity, is most certainly correct. However in no way is it the only part.

We also need the scientists, whose work is at the root of most of what business sells.

We also need the teachers, who educate both the businessman and the worker.

We also need the military and the police, who protect the country and enforce property rights.

And of course, we also need the worker.

Most of these people do not make very much money, and many in business would see them for that reason as being losers or irresponsible. However without them the businessman would have nothing. And I consider it wrong to treat like cattle the people whose work you need to prosper.

Many of the same people claim to have Christian values. A true Christian would treat other people well. That is even the case with people whom he would regard to be losers; and it especially true with people whose work he needs for his prosperity.

I do not militate against business. In no way do I militate against business. Some of my best friends are businessmen. However they are businessmen with a conscience. They practice the conservative virtues of responsibility and hard work. They also are willing to go out of their way – in some cases far out of their way – to do things that benefit democracy or to do things that help people to help themselves.

When faced with wrongs done by business, any number of people flocked to Marxism. Marxism however is a completely wrong ideology. There is no such thing as historical inevitability; people's choices have taken people into different directions through history, and I expect that to remain the case. The history is not driven by the dialectic, and even in the situations of the dialectic there is nothing at all inevitable about it working out for any kind of good. It can work out in any number of possible ways. History is not driven by class struggles; there have been classless societies throughout history, and that remains the case. Religion is not the opium for the masses; it started among “the masses” and converted both the public and the rulers. And people, when freed from their chains, will not start a Communist revolution; and in America in particular it is the people that lead the charge against Communism even when many in the “elites” were warming to the concept.

I do not advocate Marxism or anything of the sort. I advocate the Christian values that many in business claim to have. I advocate treating people better. Yes, for a long time I did not do that myself. I have learned better. I am not saying that I am better than these people. I am saying that I have been shown a better way, and I would like to show it to others.

Once again, business needs many other things besides business. It needs science, teachers, military, police and the worker. Even for its own sake it needs to treat these people well. And it is completely rightful for everyone else to demand that it treats them – and others – well.

Marxism should be dispensed with entirely. However we should never dispense with the Golden Rule or any number of other rightful teachings. Loving others as yourself does not mean mollicoddling them; I for one think that me loving myself would demand me challenging myself. It would not however demand that I spend my life doing back-breaking labor in order that someone else make tons of money from the work that I am doing while treating me like dirt, or send me to die in a war driven by corporate interest. And this is what we see on the part of any number of people in business.

So if the business world is true to its stated Christian values, it will need to understand their implication. They need to treat people well. This, once again, is likewise the case with people whom they regard to be losers. According to some such people, scientists, teachers and suchlike are losers. However, once again, they need them. And if you need something, you better appreciate it. If you do not, it should be taken away from you. Then you should decide whether to go without or to keep it and appreciate it.

Of course there are some who have no appreciation for business, in some cases for the civilization. These people should be asked to go without such things until they are ready to value them correctly. However the people who benefit from science, education, military, police and any number of other pursuits must likewise appreciate them and reward them accordingly. Failing to do so makes one an unappreciative pig.

Business is a rightful pursuit, and one that has my support. Ignorance and unappreciativeness however are not right at all. When Margaret Thatcher said that the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money, she failed to ask what was the source of other people's money. Its true source is not only entrepreneurship. It also is the work of the people involved in the process, from scientists and teachers to military, workers and the police.

Once again, business has a large part in prosperity. But so do any number of other pursuits. And it is time that people in business – and people claiming affiliation with business – have rightful appreciation for these pursuits and treat, and reward, people involved in them rightfully.