Follow the Money
In a typical hour-long crime drama, one of the catchphrases that the witty detective has in his arsenal of axioms is “follow the money.” That phrase took new meaning for me as I read “The Great Transformation” by Karl Polanyi.
Austrian economist Karl Polanyi wrote his landmark work on world economic markets during the 1940’s while living in Great Britain. In the book, Polanyi goes to great lengths to explain while the gold based economy was bound to fail, and that free markets were the enemy of humanity, leading to wars and economic collapse.
Having lived through the first World War, and the worldwide economic collapse of the 1930s, Polanyi was looking for a culprit. He found that in free market economies. Following a more socialist path, he was a proponent of government-regulated markets.
Of course, this book was written when socialism was on the move across Europe, and beginning to take root in Asia and Latin America. He died long before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolvent of the USSR.
I must admit. This was a difficult book to process. Polanyi’s arguments were complex and thorough. As someone with a fair grasp of twentieth-century world history, I found his characterization of the Free Market Economy as the cause of World War One to be a stretch. While he might convince us to “follow the money,” most historians would agree that there were many other political factors that led to WW I beyond global economic markets.
What I found most intriguing was the discussion of world markets built around the international gold standard.
“The breakdown of the international gold standard was the invisible link between the disintegration of the world economy which started at the turn of the century and the transformation of a whole civilization in the thirties.” (Polanyi, Kindle Loc. 1215)
I have read recently that some political leaders (but few economists) would like the United States to move back to an economy backed by gold. This book certainly shed the light on this modern discussion.
As a Christian leader, I know that the Bible says a lot about money and power. Even more, scripture gives me insight into the hearts of men and women. While economics is truly important, “following the money” is not the only factor in history. Honor, Greed, Shame, Compassion, Religion, Pride, Worldview, Ethics… these all factor into the ups and downs of world history.
The U.S.A. faces some strong international issues regarding trade and global economies. Having said that, our country also faces problems in the areas of immigration, race relations, and the monumental divide between conservative and progressives. These problems cannot be solved simply by better economics. Many of these issues are matters of the heart, not the pocketbook. You can only follow the money trail so far.
Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (Boston: Beacon, 1944, [2001]).
About the Author
Stu Cocanougher
8 responses to “Follow the Money”
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Stu, I agree -This was a difficult book to process. I found his writing to be challenging to comprehend and to find the point of his sentences. Felt like I was listening to someone externally processing his thoughts without landing a clear point. I certainly heard his socialist perspective as well. As an American, it brought up some uncomfortableness since we are so geared for capitalism. Socialism is a great concept…as long as greed didn’t get in the way.
This links in with the previous book on contextual theology. The context in the States, and also in Britain, is that the economy is king, money talks, and success is measured in dollars and pounds. The gospel obviously states that we are human beings made in the image of God, and that we are not merely commodities. We must speak to this, and other aspects of mammon, in our congregations.
Stu,
I’ve actually read other books by economists in the “Austrian School of Economics” – founded by that guy that Polanyi mentions several times – Ludwig von Mises. I was introduced to this though by a man who was an economist in the Carter administration. (Victor was retired and living nearby.) Victor said that the inflation we were experiencing (you’re probably too young to remember the long gas lines) was the government’s fault because they were printing too much money.
When you started your post out with “follow the money” I thought maybe that’s where you were going.
Anyway Vic said that the Bible speaks to economics. I had never heard the before. I said a few things in my post, but I will probably have more next week thanks to your encouragement.
“As a Christian leader, I know that the Bible says a lot about money and power. Even more, scripture gives me insight into the hearts of men and women. ” Neither socialism nor secular capitalism will work in the long run.
Stu, I enjoyed your post and also the cartoon about the markets. The two words you used in your post—money, and power—are at the heart of the issue. In fact, I would say that power is at the core of it all. I agree that neither secular capitalism nor socialism nor any “ism” will give us the answers, they are based on a power structure that is not biblical. One book that addresses this is the Upside Down Kingdom, by Donald Kraybill. After the three years are over, the hundreds of books read, and the dissertation is written and defended, it’s a good read! Thanks for the great post Stu.
Jim–
I’m hoping you and Mary can clarify for me, as you both use the term– what is “secular capitalism”? Is that the opposite of “Christian capitalism” (if so, what is that??) Is there any economic system that is truly Christian?
“The U.S.A. faces some strong international issues regarding trade and global economies. Having said that, our country also faces problems in the areas of immigration, race relations, and the monumental divide between conservative and progressives. These problems cannot be solved simply by better economics. Many of these issues are matters of the heart, not the pocketbook. You can only follow the money trail so far.”
I would argue that issues of the heart ARE issues of the pocketbook. These social divisions are problems of the heart– of fear, and power grabbing, and greed, etc. But these are lived out in how we spend and invest and save. If we agree on “equal pay for equal work” but continue to pay women .70 for every $1 a man makes and don’t look at the relational aspects that often discourage women from moving into leadership position, then that’s a heart and pocketbook issue. If we feel justified in paying migrant workers low wages without benefits in order for us to buy cheap tomatoes, that’s a heart and pocketbook issue. These are issues that can be addressed through legislation, and only when enough people care about it.
“These are issues that can be addressed through legislation, and only when enough people care about it.”
I would argue that the “caring about it” is our primary role as Christian leaders. Laws and regulations are vital to shaping our nation to be more moral in the issues you stated, but education and grass roots leadership is needed to change hearts (i.e. “why should I care about those migrant workers, they aren’t even U.S. citizens”).
Yes– absolutely!