You’ve Probably NEVER Heard This Before!
This conversation between Jack Hibbs and Dr. Erwin Lutzer, author of We Will Not Be Silenced, tackles the crucial intersection of politics, economics, theology, and Christian living in a rapidly changing American culture. Both pastors share a passion for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and express concern about recent “shocking” decisions being made in America.
Understanding the Economics: Why Socialism Fails
Dr. Lutzer addresses why socialism, which aims to achieve equality by having the government control the means of production, is ultimately unsustainable.
The Illusion of Free Stuff
Socialists often promote slogans regarding free benefits (free health care, free buses). However, they focus exclusively on dividing money rather than the ability to earn or multiply it. Lutzer notes the irony that candidates running on democratic socialism platforms often receive their funding from people who generated wealth through capitalism.
Pure socialism can never make money; it can only spend it. It functions only temporarily by exhausting the existing capital created through capitalism. The famous critique by Margaret Thatcher highlights this failure: “The problem with socialism is pretty soon you run out of other people’s money”.
The Destruction of Incentive
When the state controls the economy, it removes initiative. For example, putting a cap on rent eliminates the incentive for anyone to invest in or build new housing.
Furthermore, Lutzer argues that slogans suggesting capitalism is based on greed and socialism on need are false. While the seeds of greed exist universally, socialism is actually based on greed because it institutes corruption. Since hard work does not yield increased wages, individuals are incentivized to “game the system”.
Lutzer, recalling a trip to the Soviet Union, described a factory that manufactured shoes with backwards contours that no one could wear, yet production continued because workers were paid regardless of need or demand. Capitalism, conversely, ceases production if people do not buy the product. Due to unlivable government wages, residents of the Soviet Union relied on a shadow economy of bartering (such as trading goods for apartment repairs) simply to survive.
The Marxist Roots of Anti-Capitalism
Lutzer discusses the foundations of communism laid out in the Communist Manifesto.
Property, Crime, and False Democracy
Marxist revolution requires a radical break with traditional property relations. The first step involves raising the working class (proletariat) to a ruling position to establish “democracy”. To achieve the central goal—eliminating private property—the owners (the bourgeoisie) must be put to death.
Lutzer stresses that criminals are required to implement communism. Once property is taken and owners are eliminated, “democracy” is established. This is often a facade, similar to systems like Putin’s, where citizens may only have one person to vote for.
The American Difference
The American founding fathers studied previous empires and monarchies and intentionally established a constitutional republic, not a democracy. Ben Franklin warned that they provided a republic “if you can keep it”. The modern mindset demanding wealth without working for it reflects the “criminality of the human heart” longing for what belongs to others.
The American tradition states that rights are endowed by the Creator, making them “inalienable”. This is radical because if the state grants rights, the state can also rescind those rights. In the communist system, the state does not grant the right to criticize the state.