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Why all the grousing about capitalism?

Why all the grousing about capitalism?

Jason Turuc’s letter of Dec. 8, “Think about true cost of bargains,” ultimately indicts capitalism as much as it does Walmart specifically. He accused Walmart’s Walton family of paying unduly low wages, strategic scheduling to avoid paying benefits, and simply making too much money. He asked, “When is it enough?”

Whereas, “the love of money (greed) is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10), and it was behind the recent recession, capitalism isn’t inherently evil. Capitalism permits us to acquire goods and services we might not otherwise be able to obtain for ourselves; it’s most basic form is barter. Simultaneously, it allows us each to specialize so that we may become more valuable to our fellow citizens. Organizing into companies allows us to pool our energies to achieve more than any one of us could on our own.

A Christian perspective on business, views business owners as stewards of what God has given to them to manage, and that includes the welfare of their employees but the health of the organization is the owner’s first priority. A dying business is of no use to its employees. Are Walmart’s practices, perhaps, protecting organizational health?

Entrepreneurs take a big risk starting a business, so there must be commensurate reward or the risk isn’t worth taking. A business owner’s reward should be proportionate to the degree the company’s products are valued, the number of jobs it creates, and the benefit it is to society.

Who begrudges the recent Powerball winners their fortunes? They took little risk, produced no jobs, products or anything more than all the other ticket buyers who got nothing in return, yet are very rich. So, shouldn’t productive business owners be potentially entitled to even more?

Brian Van Dine

Carol Stream

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