Category Archives: Economics

Economics

The Bible: A Free-Market Capitalist, Anti-Socialist Document

Capitalism, Christian Reconstruction, Economics

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!

https://www.garynorth.com/

What Do Ethics, Eschatology and Economic Progress Have in Common? Gary North Says: Plenty!

Austrian Economics, Christian Reconstruction, Economics, Gary North, Mises Institute

In a room full of scholars and economic specialists last week, Dr. Gary North gave a one-hour lecture at the 2013 Austrian Economics Research Conference, that parted the curtain on a bombshell thesis he offered in order to explain (or try to explain) the modern phenomenon of continous, compound economic growth, which inexplicably began in the Western world around 1800 and has continued unabated since then, and thus answer the unanswerable question (also the title of his speech), “How Come We’re So Rich?

I say bombshell because, in an economic school of thought that is heavily populated by atheists and anarchist-leaning libertarians, that’s exactly what it is.

Not to say that anybody in the room was surprised necessarily by Dr. North’s connecting the causational dots in his admittedly unproven theory regarding the unexpected onset of long-term economic progress and radical social change during the last two centuries.  He is, after all, the author of multitudes of books, articles, essays, tomes and commentaries spanning five decades, dealing with economic, social and historical issues from an explicitly biblical, presuppositional, Reformed/Calvinistic Christian perspective.

This is huge.

Not dry-as-dust intellectually huge.  But paradigm-shifting, preconceived-notion-challenging, random-walk-theory-demolishing, economic-myth-busting huge.

North is unique in his historical analysis because it is, in reality, a theological-historical-biblical analysis.  In Austrian, as well as in non-Austrian (anti-Austrian) circles, nobody does it better.

He alludes to the uniqueness of the uniqueness of his thesis during the final part of his lecture — namely, that a sea change in ethics, beginning in the 17th century, coincided with a sea change in eschatology at the same time to begin creating a slow and steady, compounding increase in economic output and economic growth throughout the developing world, starting with northwest Europe — specifically the British Isles — and spreading almost immediately to the United States.

But why?

That’s the $64 trillion dollar question.  One thing is for sure, according to North.  It took from the time of Moses and the Book of Deuteronomy to the time of the battle-weary, ready-for-a-new-and-profitable-adventure Dutch Calvinists of the early 17th century for, (a), the pursuit of personal wealth and profit and material gain — entrepreneurship — to be considered a legitimate (ethical) one for man, even Christian man, and, (b), the prevailing world-and-life view and outlook with regard to the future — especially with regard to the progress and success of the Kingdom of God on earth prior to the Lord’s return — to become decidedly optimistic: postmillennialism.

He says that modern capitalism, the basic concept behind Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations and Mises’s principle of corporate economic prosperity flowing from individual prosperity through the pursuit of “self-interest” in serving customers in a free marketplace, is a secularized version of the biblical-covenantal principle of corporate prosperity flowing from individual ethical obedience in the pursuit of prosperity and wealth in society for the service of the kingdom of God.

Not your garden-variety evangelical message of pietistic, premillennial poverty for God’s people!

No doubt, some in the audience took exception with his theological explanation (hypothesis) for the reasons behind the unremitting advances and successes and progress of the modern world, both in the economic and social order.  But, all were forced to admit to the fact that, to date, no one — North’s main point — has been able to offer a satisfactory explanation, economic or otherwise, for this radical transformation taking place, when it did, how it did, why it did, where it did and to whom it did.

Those of us who embrace the optimistic eschatology he spoke of, as well as the Scripture’s ethical endorsement of entrepreneurship and individual enterprise in the earthly economy of man for the service of the Kingdom of God, won’t find it hard to appreciate the mystery and majesty of the question, and the richness of the historical insights, riveting vignettes and solid theological perspectives offered by Dr. North, evinced masterfully in his speech at Mises.

A tour de force by the professor of Christian Reconstruction (and conscientious statesman of Austrian economics). Worth watching… twice!…

FREE! 31-Volume Economic Commentary on the Bible by Gary North

Economics, Postmillennialism, Reconstructionism, Theology, Theonomy
Gary North’s magnum opus, a comprehensive economic commentary on the Bible is finished.  It is available online, all 31 volumes, for free, for a time.  FREE!  No cost.  No charge.  Right now, he is putting them out via his website one by one, offering them as a “free weekly book.” You can download them to your hard drive, as much as you want, to your heart’s content.  No cost.  No charge.Gary will keep them online for free until Dec. 31, 2012.  The reason he is doing this?  He wants feedback between now and then.  At this stage in the development of the commentaries, all that remains is final “polishing of the text” which he is doing, and final proofreading, with corrections as needed.  That’s where you and I come in.  He wants feedback from his readers.  Mainly what he wants is for folks to download and read his commentaries and then e-mail their responses to him to let him know if there are any typos, factual errors, faulty biblical citations, etc., that need to be addressed.Then, after the end of this year, on Jan. 1, 2013, he says he will take the entire commentary offline and begin the process of making a “new and improved” version of the 31-volume set available on CD-ROM shortly thereafter, exactly 40 years after he began working on this project.  He will then sell the finished product on CD, for a price (for “a lot more than zero”!).

If you want to take advantage of this FREE offer, you have until New Year’s Eve 2012.  After that, the principles of Austrian economics kick in and the set will no longer be free. So, act now.

You can start here.  With the book of Genesis.