Here is the number one assertion that Dr. Gary North devoted his entire professional life to proving:
“The Bible mandates free market capitalism. It is anti-socialist.”
That was the basis of his lifelong argument, what his calling was based on, spanning six decades of prolific writing, researching, editing and publishing. Namely, that Christian economics is the only type of economics that fully and accurately explains and delineates all of the elements of “human action” involved in a man-made economy. Also, that it is the only type of economics that fully, accurately and faithfully explains and delineates the elements of divine action that are also involved. God as the original owner… of everything. Everything else flows from that.
Gary considered socialism to be the antithesis of this view — a thoroughly atheistic system that inevitably leads to poverty for the masses, not prosperity. He even went so far as to say that democratic socialism is nothing more than a rewritten version of God’s commandment:
“Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.”
If you read many of Gary’s articles (let alone his books and commentaries), you know this was always one of his favorite mantras exposing the true nature of socialism — and for that matter, the true nature of modern-day political and economic systems found in western nations (and eastern nations) around the world.
He spared not Christians who embraced and adopted (and defended) such systems:
“Christian socialists and defenders of economic planning by state bureaucrats deeply resent this interpretation of their ethical position. They resent it because it’s accurate.”
He was crystal clear as to the antidote:
“When Christianity adheres to the judicial specifics of the Bible, it produces free market capitalism.”
No ambiguity there.
None here, either:
“On the other hand, when Christianity rejects the judicial specifics of the Bible, it produces socialism or some politically run hybrid ‘middle way’ between capitalism and socialism, where politicians and bureaucrats make the big decisions about how people’s wealth will be allocated. Economic growth then slows or is reversed. Always.”
The bottom line is, if you want a system that produces long-term economic growth, you don’t promote a system that has been deceptively re-named economic democracy.
There is no better definition of what “economic democracy” really is than this one:
“Economic democracy” is the system whereby two wolves and a sheep vote on what to have for dinner.
In contrast to such a system of predatory economics,…
“Free market capitalism produces long-term economic growth. Socialism and middle-way economic interventionism by the state produce poverty and bureaucracy. If your goal is to keep poor people poor, generation after generation, you should promote socialism. But be sure to call it economic democracy in order to fool the voters.”
He offers this challenge to defenders of “Bible-based” socialism:
“Socialist propagandists for over four centuries have claimed that the Bible teaches socialism, but we have yet to see a single Bible commentary written by a socialist. If the Bible teaches socialism, where is the expository evidence?”
Speaking of “expository evidence,” Gary says he has plenty of that:
“When I say that the Bible mandates a moral and legal social order that inevitably produces free market capitalism, I have the evidence to back up my position. My critics — critics of capitalism — do not.”
And just in case you weren’t clear on his position as to what the Bible does and does not teach,…
“Fact: There has never been an expository Bible commentary that shows that the Bible teaches anything other than free market capitalism.”
Another fact, of which the overwhelming majority of Bible-reading, Bible-believing Christians are unaware with respect to Gary’s embarking on an economic commentary of the Bible:
“An economic commentary on the Bible had never been attempted before. I discuss only those passages that relate to economics.”
And if that were not unique enough, he reminds his readers of this highly relevant, related fact:
“No one before me had ever attempted to write a Bible commentary on a specific academic discipline. I hope mine becomes a model for others.”
Here is how the project began:
“Beginning in April, 1973, I began writing a verse-by-verse commentary on the economics of the Bible. The first essay, on Genesis 1:26-28, appeared in the May, 1973 issue of the Chalcedon Report.”
He labored for the next four decades. He approached it from the standpoint of achieving measured “inputs” as opposed to achieving goals of “outputs”. This made more sense to him. It was a more realistic approach to tackling such a mammoth, long-term project of somewhat uncertain outcome.
“I have continued working on this project ever since. I limited my writing to one essay per month from 1973 to 1976. Beginning in the summer of 1977, I began working 10 hours per week, 50 weeks per year on this project.”
He admits to the necessity as well as the scarcity of the time spent: “I needed every minute.”
And so, by diligently and continuously “sticking to his knitting”, week after week, month after month, year after year, eventually, he got ‘er done:
“I completed the posting of the entire series, 31 volumes, in August 2012. Because I had to cease writing it for six months in 1998, when I did not have access to my library, I added six months to the deadline. I met my August 1977 deadline to the month: February plus six months = August.”
The entire commentary series is, along with his other economics-related books, posted here:
https://www.garynorth.com/public/department158.cfm
Several of his other books that he mentions, he considers to be “in effect extended appendixes to one or more of these commentaries.”
Those titles are:
Dominion and Common Grace (1987)
Is the World Running Down? (1988)
Political Polytheism (1989)
Millennialism and Social Theory (1990)
Victim’s Rights (1990)
The Judeo-Christian Tradition (1990)
The Coase Theorem (1991)
But before you embark on reading any of his massive, 31-volume set, or even any of the “extended appendices” that he wrote and published as separate books, Gary recommends that you first read his “brief, easy-to-read introduction to biblical economics,” Inherit the Earth.
Doctor’s orders.
It’s strong but effective medicine. And you had better plan on taking it for the rest of your life! Especially if you want to “immunize” yourself” against all of the unbiblical ideas both Christians and non-Christians have gotten over the years (centuries, millennia) about what the Bible does and does not teach about economics and particularly about what is now called free market capitalism.
That is my advice to you on this warm Sunday afternoon in late June 2023.
Today, June 25th is my wife’s birthday. So here endeth my writing of this post.
Ta, ta for now.
To read the original page where all of this incomparably useful, practical and incisive biblical and theological thought-treasure is contained, go here:
https://www.garynorth.com/public/department57.cfm
P.S. Consider subscribing to Gary North’s website. All of the invaluable wisdom he sought to impart over the years is still there in its entirety. Much of that invaluable wisdom — as he emphatically stated again and again — is found in the online discussion/Q&A forums, in addition to the more than twenty thousand articles!
Christian Reconstructionist 