{"id":16198,"date":"2018-01-31T20:28:37","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T04:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=16198"},"modified":"2018-01-31T20:28:37","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T04:28:37","slug":"the-christian-economic-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-christian-economic-model\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Christian’ Economic Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

A complicated, yet powerful text that provides historical antecedents for the free market driven economy that has captivated the developed world, Karl Polanyi\u2019s \u2018The Great Transformation\u2019 is an important read for anyone desiring to understand the causes and effects of this economic ideology. From the perspective of the 21st<\/sup> Century it is almost impossible to wrap one\u2019s head around life without this market driven ideology, particularly from the vantage point of the \u2018developed\u2019 world. \u201cA major obstacle to understanding Polanyi is the fact that living in a market society shapes our mindsets and behaviors, making it difficult to imagine radical alternatives. Understanding Polanyi requires standing outside the streams of history which have shaped modern societies, to see how our economic, political and social theories about the world have been shaped by external forces, and have evolved in time<\/em>.\u201d[1]<\/a> It seems that swimming in the sea of the market economy makes it nearly impossible to comprehend its effects on one\u2019s own life.<\/p>\n

This book, even more than 60 years since its original publication, remains both insightful and controversial. Those who believe that the market economy has been beneficial continue to rail against Polanyi\u2019s claims. \u201cThe Industrial Revolution in England did not represent a trade-off between gains for plutocrats and the horrors of poverty and unemployment for the poor. Instead, the greatest beneficiaries of the Industrial Revolution were the unskilled; this truly great transformation reduced the terrible inequalities that existed since at least the Middle Ages.<\/em>\u201d [2]<\/a> While others are quick to accept Polanyi\u2019s assertions regarding the inconsistencies of the Market Economy. \u201cAs Polanyi demonstrates, the market economy isn\u2019t a beautiful self-correcting machine, as neoclassical economists would have you believe. It instead voraciously consumes the society and natural environment in which it sits unless it is curbed. But this process isn\u2019t orderly; the trajectory is more like a barely controlled fall in which the market system grinds onward until it becomes so destructive in terms of stability as to rally opposition<\/em>.\u201d[3]<\/a> Most, however, appear to agree with the premise that the Market Economy has never been truly free and cannot remain unregulated. \u201cAmong his central theses are the ideas that self-regulating markets never work; their deficiencies not only in their internal workings but also in their consequences (e.g., for the poor), are so great that government intervention becomes necessary<\/em>\u2026\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

So, then how might Polanyi\u2019s book influence those of us who desire to allow the life of Jesus to alter the way we live. Is the correct Christian world-view meant to allow the free market to have its way in\"\" a manner most notably supported by the Christian-Right in the U.S.? Or is that position incongruent with that which is found in the Gospels thus, supporting the idea that strict control is necessary to ensure that people and resources are not exploited. Though I am uncertain about Polanyi\u2019s personal identification with Christianity, it seems that at the very least he captured some of the principles of the faith as they relate to the use of resources and the inherent selfishness of humanity. He states toward the end of his text; \u201cThe true criticism of market society is not that it was based on economics \u2013 in a sense, every and any society must be based on it \u2013 but that its economy was based on self-interest<\/em>.\u201d[5]<\/a> If he is correct in this assessment then it is difficult to understand how anyone could claim both a genuine Christian faith and unwavering support for this particular economic ideology. It seems that this economic structure flies in the face of all that Christianity claims. Paul writes in Philippians 2:3-4 \u201cDo nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.\u00a0Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,\u00a0<\/em>4\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

It is absolutely true that this particular economic ideology is so deeply entrenched and supported that nothing short of complete world-wide collapse is likely to unhinge it. So, how then are we to live? It is unconscionable to me that we should have any part in supporting either the destruction of creation as found in nature, or the exploitation of those created in the image of God. And, when it becomes\"\" necessary to utilize the threat of starvation to ensure sufficient labor at an exploitative wage, certainly that should raise the ire of all those who claim to be followers of Jesus. The market economy is based on the belief that \u201c\u2026only the penalty of starvation, not also the allurement of high wages, was deemed capable of creating a functioning labor market<\/em>.\u201d[6]<\/a> In fact, the market economy is predicated on the idea of poverty and the need to have a certain percentage of society almost permanently trapped there. \u00a0As Asad Zaman states in his blog \u201c\u2026both poverty, and a certain amount of callousness and indifference to poverty are required for efficient functioning of markets<\/em>.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it seems that a significant majority of Christians in the U.S. support the idea of a free market regardless of the consequences. And though, they would be unlikely to overtly endorse any form of exploitation of either labor or resources, they live as though God has given them a pass on this issue. They seemingly universally fail to recognize that; \u201cWe have sold planet Earth and the future of our children, and are celebrating the proceeds without taking into reckoning the costs. Accounting for the costs of destruction of environment, animal species, and human society, shows that that costs of growth have been far higher than the benefits.\u201d[8]<\/strong><\/a><\/em> It is little wonder then that younger generations eschew the Church and the faith on which it is built, having recognized the hypocrisy of our consumeristic lifestyle. The Church should be the one leading the way in support of programs that alter the systems that injure and damage others.\u00a0 And while there are certainly pockets of Christian communities that are doing their best in this regard, it seems that the cultural juggernaut that is consumerism has enveloped U.S. Christianity, sacrificing the Gospel in worship of self.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Zaman, Asad. “Summary of the Great Transformation by Polanyi.” WEA Pedagogy Blog. December 28, 2017. Accessed January 29, 2018. https:\/\/weapedagogy.wordpress.com\/2013\/08\/28\/summary-of-the-great-transformation-by-polanyi\/.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Clark, Gregory. “Reconsiderations: ‘The Great Transformation’ by Karl Polanyi.” Reconsiderations: ‘The Great Transformation’ by Karl Polanyi – The New York Sun. June 4, 2008. Accessed January 29, 2018. http:\/\/www.nysun.com\/arts\/reconsiderations-the-great-transformation-by-karl\/79250\/.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Smith, Yves. “Something That Changed My Perspective: Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation.” Naked Capitalism. January 02, 2015. Accessed January 29, 2018. https:\/\/www.nakedcapitalism.com\/2015\/01\/something-changed-perspective-karl-poliyani.html.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Polanyi, Karl.\u00a0The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time<\/em>. Boston: Beacon Press, 2014. P. vii<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>\u00a0Ibid. p. 257<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>\u00a0Ibid. p. 172<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Zaman, Asad. “Summary of the Great Transformation by Polanyi.” WEA Pedagogy Blog. December 28, 2017. Accessed January 29, 2018. https:\/\/weapedagogy.wordpress.com\/2013\/08\/28\/summary-of-the-great-transformation-by-polanyi\/.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid<\/p>\n

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A complicated, yet powerful text that provides historical antecedents for the free market driven economy that has captivated the developed world, Karl Polanyi\u2019s \u2018The Great Transformation\u2019 is an important read for anyone desiring to understand the causes and effects of this economic ideology. From the perspective of the 21st Century it is almost impossible to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16203,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16198\/revisions\/16203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}