I’m not a capitalist for two reasons:

1. It results in those with capital leveraging the law to favor themselves to the detriment of other businesses and institutions.
2. It does not adequately care for the weakest and poorest in society, and therefore falls far short of the ideal.

Regarding the first statement, we must differentiate between free enterprise and capitalism (I’m a proponent of free enterprise, not capitalism). Read this and this by Oliver DeMille for further explanation; I want to focus on the second statement.

As a purely economic system, capitalism has no stated, imperative, and consistent mechanisms for caring for and uplifting the weakest in society.

It may create more jobs for them than other economic systems, yet over time it concentrates wealth, power, and opportunity, thereby making it increasingly difficult for the poor, weak, and disadvantaged to climb the ladder of opportunity.

Achieving an ideal, just, compassionate, and sustainable society requires more than an economic system — it requires a moral ethic as an underpinning and animator of all economic activity. This is based on the assumption that this moral ethic be voluntary.

While I believe in freedom of choice and equality before the law, ultimately I believe in Christianity, not capitalism or even free enterprise as the path to ideal society.

This is not to say that Christianity and free enterprise are incompatible or mutually exclusive. It is simply to say that a purely economic system isn’t holistic and patently moral enough to truly take care of all needs in society.

The freedom to choose, create, produce and benefit from the fruits of our labors is vital. But it is just one piece of the ideal puzzle.

My word for this combination of a Christian moral ethic and free enterprise is “Stewardship” — the understanding that everything we have is a gift from God to be used in His service and to benefit ourselves and our fellow man.

Stewardship reconciles liberalism and conservativism.

Conservatives want economic freedom, liberals want to take care of the weak and poor. In the absence of an animating, underlying moral ethic of service, economic freedom alone leads to inequities, pride, and ultimately the downfall of society.

In the absence of freedom, charity is rendered obsolete, bureaucratic, and ineffective; it’s not true charity at all when it’s forced.

So let us build a society where voluntary charity is stressed above the economic freedom to choose, yet freedom is protected. In fact, this is precisely how to protect our freedoms; by taking care of the weak and poor among us through voluntary service, forced government redistribution is a moot point.

You’ve seen the “Sound of Music.” You’re familiar with the story of the von Trapp family’s heroic escape from the clutches of Nazism in Austria.

But do you know what happened to them after they left Austria?*

They arrived in the United States in 1938 with no possessions and no money. Singing tours took them back and forth across the U.S. for several years and they gradually saved enough money to settle down.

Of everywhere they had visited, Vermont was their first choice. It reminded them of the land around their native Salzburg.

In the summer of 1943, they scrambled to find a home around Stowe, Vermont, but they couldn’t find anything affordable.

Their train was scheduled to leave the next day. But they were determined to stay until they had found a home.

Maria recalled:

“We set up a small chapel in the broom closet of the inn where we were staying. We prayed around the clock for three days. Each of us — there were eight children, from ages three to twenty-five — prayed for one hour, in rotation. Can you believe it?

“When the morning to leave came, father had gone to get ready for our departure. When he returned, he told us that a local farmer had decided to sell his land and that we were going right up there to look at it. When we got out of the car, we all knew that this was our future home. We bought the property that day.”

That’s a powerful story in itself, but the von Trapp’s then took it a step further.

“When we bought this land,” said Maria, “we blessed it. We dedicated it to serve God.”

That’s the spirit that founded America. It’s a spirit that’s largely been lost in an age of politically-correct multiculturalism. Not only do few people recognize and live it, but those who do are marginalized for speaking of it.

But the connection between freedom and faith in God is historically empirical. Free men and women believe in God. They believe in a Higher Power whom is intimately familiar with their lives, who cares about them and who governs in the affairs of mankind.

Furthermore, they believe in stewardship, not ownership. They understand that all they have is a gift from God to be used in His service.

Find a free society in history and you’ll find people who strive to serve God. They may have differing conceptions of God and different worship practices. But a firm belief in and submission to God is a universal trait of free people.

*Source: Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society by Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, and Flowers

It’s easy to identify enemies of liberty when they come in the form of murder, torture, imprisonment without trial, slavery, etc.

But what if our enemy is much more subtle? What if our current enemy is actually the promise of a “pleasant” life? How can we identify, much less defeat, such an enemy?

If you don’t do anything else today, I urge you to take time to read Charles Murray’s phenomenal speech The Happiness of the People.

Murray draws the battle lines clearly, then calls us all to wake up and rise to our responsibility. He argues that the battle today is between a western European, socialistic life of “pleasantness,” versus American “exceptionalism,” which is “a different way for people to live together, unique among the nations of the earth, and immeasurably precious.”

If you’re not convinced to read the entire article, at least read this portion:

“If we ask what are the institutions through which human beings achieve deep satisfactions in life, the answer is that there are just four: family, community, vocation, and faith…
 
“The stuff of life — the elemental events surrounding birth, death, raising children, fulfilling one’s personal potential, dealing with adversity, intimate relationships — coping with life as it exists around us in all its richness — occurs within those four institutions.
 
“Seen in this light, the goal of social policy is to ensure that those institutions are robust and vital. And that’s what’s wrong with the European model. It doesn’t do that. It enfeebles every single one of them…
 
“Almost anything that government does in social policy can be characterized as taking some of the trouble out of things. Sometimes, taking the trouble out of things is a good idea. Having an effective police force takes some of the trouble out of walking home safely at night, and I’m glad it does.
 
“The problem is this: Every time the government takes some of the trouble out of performing the functions of family, community, vocation, and faith, it also strips those institutions of some of their vitality — it drains some of the life from them. It’s inevitable.
 
“Families are not vital because the day-to-day tasks of raising children and being a good spouse are so much fun, but because the family has responsibility for doing important things that won’t get done unless the family does them.
 
“Communities are not vital because it’s so much fun to respond to our neighbors’ needs, but because the community has the responsibility for doing important things that won’t get done unless the community does them.
 
“Once that imperative has been met — family and community really do have the action — then an elaborate web of social norms, expectations, rewards, and punishments evolves over time that supports families and communities in performing their functions.
 
“When the government says it will take some of the trouble out of doing the things that families and communities evolved to do, it inevitably takes some of the action away from families and communities, and the web frays, and eventually disintegrates.”

The American web of exceptionalism is disintegrating by the minute. It’s time to reverse the trend. It’s time to embrace freedom and reject the tyranny of European pleasantness, which is actually long-term slavery.

Charles Murray argues that America’s elites must lead this charge (compare this to Peggy Noonan’s article A Separate Peace). Unfortunately, we can’t wait for them, nor can we depend on them. If you haven’t noticed, they aren’t doing such a great job. We the People must become the leaders we wish to see in the world.

So how about it? Are you ready to lead? How can we do this? What ideas do you have to turn the tide of dependence?

While you’re thinking, consider this quote from Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America:

“One of the happiest consequences of the absence of government is the development of individual strength that inevitably follows from it. Each man learns to think, to act for himself, without counting on the support of an outside force which, however vigilant one supposes it to be, can never answer all social needs. Man, thus accustomed to seek his well-being only through his own efforts, raises himself in his own opinion as he does in the opinion of others; his soul becomes larger and stronger at the same time.”

Why is it that the more digitally connected we become, the more we feel disconnected from the things that matter most?

Picture the following scene played out in typical American homes:

The father is on his computer in the office, finishing up last minute work details and reading up on the latest election news on the internet, while the mother is watching TV in the living room.

The son is downstairs playing video games while the daughter listens to music on her iPod in her bedroom while instant messaging with friends online.

As you picture this scene (and ponder what’s wrong with it), think of the awesome power of the Information Age — the ability to bring the entire world into our living rooms and bedrooms, the ability to connect in real time with almost anyone across the globe.

Technology has given us a brave new — and small — world, with more information, opportunity, and connectivity than our ancestors could even dream of.

And yet, in an age largely defined by connectivity, we’re losing our lifelines to the most important things.

Specifically, there are three main connections that, ironically enough, are being systematically severed the more digitally connected we become.

These vital connections are with God, family, and nature.

These three life-saving links provide the context in which technology, and every other aspect of the modern world, is given proper meaning and priority.

They make up a foundation that, when lost, will plunge us into the emptiness of entertainment, the sterility of science, the cynicism of forfeited faith, and the hollowness of hedonism.

We can have computers, the Internet, iPods, instant and text messaging, TV, radio, blogs, podcasts, and videos pouring out of our homes, while emptying our lives of true meaning in the process.

A person with a deep and lasting connection with God, family, and nature understands the purpose of technology and how to interact with and use it properly.

A person who maintains those three connections, despite anything else happening around them, will not be swayed by opinion polls, tainted by compromise, numbed by information overload, or corrupted by greed.

God, family, and nature are rocks that the sand of modern technology rests upon; when those rocks are removed, the sand quickly collapses, losing all sense of structure, balance, and perspective.

How to Stay Connected

Considering their critical nature, how can we build and strengthen these connections? As with any relationship, for these connections to be deep and sustainable requires ongoing communication and quality time.

God

The two best ways to maintain a firm connection with God are to pray and meditate daily.

Prayer is when we speak with God; meditation is allowing God to speak to us.

As our creator, God knows us intimately, far more than we know ourselves. He will guide us, protect us, unlock our potential, teach us lessons uniquely suited for our particular situation and stage of development.

He will do these things and more, that is, if we let Him. Make the commitment now to pray and meditate daily.

Family

All of us know the cliche that when we’re on our deathbeds, we’re not going to wish we spent more time at the office. Sadly, however, few of us live its meaning in our daily lives.

Do you know your children? Is your love for your spouse stronger than it was on your wedding day? Are you creating memories that your family will cherish for years to come? Is your home a sanctuary, a refuge, an escape from and defense against destructive people, thoughts, materials, and substances?

Now, more than ever before, our homes must protect ourselves and our children from the overwhelming forces of destruction.

Make two commitments now that will make all the difference in achieving this goal: religiously have a date night once a week with your spouse, and set aside at least one evening per week for your family to play, study, learn, and grow together.

Nature

This is perhaps the most difficult connection for most people, since much of our modern world is designed to help us escape from nature.

Consistently spending time with nature helps us appreciate comfort, escape Information Age noise and stay balanced.

Intuitively, although perhaps subconsciously, when in nature we seek to emulate its design — the strength of the rocks and mountains, the cleanliness and vibrance of the rivers, the peacefulness of the lakes, the determination of the wind, the perseverance of the trees and plants, the submission of the animals to their divine place in creation.

In 1851 Seattle, Chief of the Suquamish and other Indian tribes around Washington’s Puget Sound, delivered a beautiful and profound environmental speech in response to a proposed treaty under which the Indians were persuaded to sell two million acres of land for $150,000.

His words seem more applicable today than they ever were. Seattle said:

“…Every part of the earth is sacred to my people…We are part of the earth and it is part of us…

“One portion of land is the same to [the white man] as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on…His appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a desert…

“There is no quiet place in the white man’s cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring or the rustle of the insect’s wings. The clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around the pond at night? …The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days he is numb to the stench.”

Have you become numb to the source off all your material blessings? How does this impact your life?

It’s hard and you will find every excuse not to, but it’s critical that you commit to at least one meaningful excursion into nature per month.

Go hiking, camping, backpacking, mountain biking, canyoneering. Get out into nature, breathe her in deeply, honor her, and make yourself whole in her presence.

Conclusion

The rise in digital connectivity has been largely accompanied by a decline in and stagnation of our connections with God, family, and nature.

By maintaining and strengthening these three critical connections, we avoid the dangers of the Information Age and become a rock to rely upon, and a standard to follow.

Commit now to staying connected with God, family, and nature by praying and meditating daily, holding a weekly date night with your spouse, setting aside at least one evening per week for nothing but family activities, and going on at least one nature excursion monthly.

The seven major societal institutions are family, community, religion, academia, business, media, and government.

Family

The role of the family is to ensure responsible citizens, preserve society, and balance the desires of individual liberty with the demands of community responsibility.

As James C. Ure, professor at George Wythe University, has written,

“The family is the bubble in which a child…feels safe enough to explore his individuality. It is also the first place a child learns to make personal sacrifices for the good of the whole.

“In the family, it is natural for a parent to expose a child to various activities or ideas to determine what unique interests the child may have and to give the child an enhanced sense of self. It is also natural for a parent to ask a child to sacrifice personal interests to benefit the family, such as to provide help with cooking or cleaning.

“In the end, this is not very different from what makes free societies tick…It is in the family that children are expected to learn the core values and beliefs that democratic institutions later draw on to perpetuate themselves.”

Community

The original concept of federalism meant that as many decisions as possible were made at the lowest level possible.

As Cleon Skousen taught, strong, local self-government was the keystone to the original American system.

Understanding that power centralizes and expands, the Founders knew that the bulk of our political decisions should be made on the community level.

The role of the community, therefore, is to prevent the centralization of power by keeping responsibility and decision-making close to the people.

Religion

John Adams wrote that,

“Religion and virtue are the only foundations, not only of republicanism and of all free government, but of social felicity under all government and in all the combinations of human society.”

George Washington affirmed,

“Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure…reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

The role of religion is to remind republican citizens of their duties to and reliance upon God. Virtue is the bedrock of free society, and religion provides a constant reminder of that fact.

Furthermore, religion serves as a venue where citizens serve God by serving their fellowman; philanthropy is enacted in large part through religion.

Academia

Academia advances culture through knowledge, helps to prevent socio-economic inequities, breaks through boundaries of human ignorance and fear, helps societies to avoid repeated historical mistakes, and serves as a check on the government by keeping citizens informed of civic affairs.

As John Adams said,

“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people…They have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge — I mean, of the characters and conducts of their rulers.”

Business

The role of business is to provide exchange, commerce, and ultimately widespread prosperity. In a free market economy prices tend to decrease through competition and innovation, the ultimate benefactors being end consumers of products and services.

In a free market economy poverty decreases, the standard of living rises, and people are able to find self-fulfillment as their subsistence needs are met.

In The 5,000 Year Leap, Cleon Skousen wrote that,

“By 1905 the U.S. had become the richest industrial nation in the world. With only five percent of the earth’s continental area and merely six percent of the world’s population, the American people were producing over half of almost everything — clothes, food, houses, transportation, communications, even luxuries.”

The occurred because of our free market economy, where business was left free to fulfill its role.

Media

The role of the media is to disseminate information, highlight important current events, and to essentially stand as a witness, an observer of cultural, political, community, and educational events.

A healthy media provides a check on the government and increases the political astuteness of republican citizens.

Government

The role of government is to protect unalienable rights. Government is the institutionalization of force, and as such should not do anything that would not be right for an individual to do (such as steal).

As Thomas Jefferson said,

“…a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

Why It Matters

Freedom occurs when all seven of these societal institutions are on an equal plane, with no one form being more important or having more power or influence than another. When one gains predominance, some form or level of tyranny always emerges.

For example, having family run society results in the mafia. The Dark Ages illustrate the problems of religion ruling. When business is predominant, the society is oligarchic. When the government is predominant, this usually occurs as a monarchy or aristocracy.

The best way to ensure that all seven institutions remain on a level plane is to keep the government within its proper role.

Since the government does not produce — it only takes what others have produced and redistributes — any time it favors one institution over another it does so to the aggrandizement of the one favored and the detriment of the other.

When government tries to get into the business of philanthropy through wealth redistribution, family, community, and religion are weakened.

When government stifles the press, the media is obviously weakened, and so is academia as citizens are kept in the dark on important matters.

In America today, government and business are predominant over the other five societal institutions. Furthermore, they are often joined together, forming an oligarchic structure that harms small business, decreases widespread prosperity and increases discrepancies in wealth distribution, and increases the size and scope of the government.

If America is to survive and thrive in the 21st Century, it is imperative that the power and influence of the government and business be reduced and the power of family, community, religion, academia, and media be increased.

The Alabama Federal Court decision ordering the removal of Chief Justice Roy Moore’s monument of the ten commandments from the state judicial building is an illuminating example of the contemporary trend in America of discordant, litigious minority groups causing an alarmingly steady fragmentation of our society.

As these contentious groups advance their short-sighted agendas, they debilitate the nation as a whole by undermining those unifying principles vital to our existence.

A week after the federal court ordered the monument removed, a disturbing CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll found that 77% of Americans disapproved of the controversial decision that ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with only 400,000 members nationwide (out of a total US population of almost 300 million), who found the monument “offensive” and complained that it made them feel like “outsiders.”

Those of the overwhelming (although remarkably passive) majority have to be alarmed by the destructive factionalism exemplified by this highly propagandized case.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, noted that

“Separatism nourishes prejudices, magnifies differences, and stirs antagonisms.”

He added that

“This multiethnic dogma abandons historic purposes, replacing assimilation by fragmentation, integration by separatism. It belittles unum and glorifies pluribus.”

The ever-widening dichotomy between dissentious minority groups and the majority, contrary to unification, will inevitably cause the dissolution of a strong national identity, which is imperative for the perpetuation of a healthy society.

Fanatical dissidence of this nature diametrically conflicts with the explicit purposes of the Constitution to “form a more perfect union, establish justice, and insure domestic tranquility” and to “secure the blessings of liberty.”

The irony is that the ACLU and other similar groups are steadily eradicating the very thing they purport to be fighting for.

The self-proclaimed mission of the ACLU is to fight for civil liberties so as to “prevent the tyranny of the majority.” The only problem is that their hypocritical methodology constitutes a tyranny of the minority at the expense of the liberties of all.

Alexandar Solzhenitsyn wisely noted that,

“The defense of individual rights has reached such extremes as to make society as a whole defenseless against certain individuals.”

James Hitchcock, an American historian, observed that,

“Values are necessary for the functioning of any society, and if they are not consciously adopted and publicly acknowledged, they will be smuggled in surreptitiously and often unconsciously. Values are always in real or potential conflict. And the state inevitably favors some values over others.”

In this case, the Alabama judiciary has obviously shown that they support the religion of non-theistic over Judeo-Christian beliefs, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans, regardless of religious belief or affiliation, adhere to the ethic found in the Ten Commandments.

Could not this majority legitimately argue that the monument should remain using the same reasoning: That the lack of the monument is “offensive” and its absence makes them feel like “outsiders?”

Other than a few glaring yet historically rectified contradictions, the legacy of American history has been that of broad ethnic, religious, racial, and linguistic diversity united behind the political ideal of inalienable rights and a morality that acknowledges God.

And while the upsurge of many historically maltreated minorities struggling to achieve equal rights has resulted in healthy consequences (such as the abolition of slavery, civil rights, universal suffrage, etc.), the current trend in America is to denounce the idea of a melting pot and to protect, promote, and perpetuate separate and divisive ethnic, racial, and ideological communities.

Unless the trend is halted, the segregation, tribalization, and fragmentation of America are inevitable. Schlesinger wisely said,

“…as we renew our allegiance to the unifying ideals, we provide the solvent that will prevent differences from escalating into antagonism and hatred.”

Recommended Reading:
Ike Wilson wrote another great article on this subject here.