Asking the Clergy: What is your faith's stance on capitalism?

During the holiday season, religion meets commerce in store decorations, holiday movies and homes and workplaces, where gift-giving and celebrations are traditional. This week’s commenters discuss how their faiths view the economic system behind all that getting, spending and revelry.

Bob Yugi Festa

Zen practitioner

The Buddha lived 2,200 years before the economist Adam Smith published his magnum opus, “The Wealth of Nations,” in the late 1700s, introducing the world to capitalism. The Buddha did teach economics, but his economics concerned the lay people that he called householders. He taught that the householder should divide his wealth (income) into four portions: one portion for wants, two for business spending and the fourth saved for times of need.

In other words, he advises that to ensure future growth, twice as much be invested in the householder’s business than the 25% invested for retirement and the 25% for wants. One of the steps of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path to Enlightenment was Right Livelihood, and that introduced the moral content of one’s work. He taught that one should avoid the arms trade, animal trafficking, the meat and poultry industry, the alcohol trade and trading in narcotics. The Buddha would not have had a problem with capitalism as proposed by Adam Smith, who said there would be many small businesses competing, and in the Buddha’s time that is exactly what existed.

Marie McNair

Secretary, Regional Bahá’í Council of the Northeastern States

The Bahá’í teachings support some aspects of capitalism, but also state that its present form will require adjustments if it is to effectively serve humanity. For example, current extremes of wealth and poverty are conditions that inevitably produce unfair advantages for some and devastating deprivation for others. With its underlying doctrine of materialism, capitalism defines people as selfish beings who will always consider their own interests first, while Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, informs us that we are noble beings with the ability to express love and compassion to one another. He emphasizes a new kind of human culture where people see themselves as members of one human family, where the good of others is the good of all and, therefore, all have responsibility for the well-being of others. It involves a spiritually based social order that promotes liberty, justice, consultative democracy and compassion. Thus, without removing the rights of initiative offered by capitalism, committing ourselves to this kind of fairness and justice, and to the organization necessary to bringing it about, we find within the Bahá’í teachings explanations of the spiritual and practical solutions that society’s current economic systems have left unaddressed.

The Rev. Barbara Whitlow

Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Central Islip and Hauppauge United Methodist Church

My faith recognizes capitalism as an economic system in which the main goal is to make and increase profits. The Scriptures describe capitalism in terms of God’s requirement of equitable business practices, and people’s unscrupulous business dealings aimed at gaining power and wealth.

An example of faith-led fair and equitable business dealings is found in the book of Ruth, chapter 2. Boaz, a rich business owner, took notice of the poor widow Ruth gleaning the edge of his fields. He provided for her need for food out of his business profits. In the New Testament Jesus tells tax collectors to collect only what is actually owed (Luke 3:12-13). My faith affirms that God provides opportunities for people to work, start businesses, buy, sell and trade as part of God’s provision for humanity. My faith also affirms that neither work nor wealth should be our sole aim in life. As we near Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, let us remember to honor our faith by engaging in practices that eliminate the impact of commercialism — climate change — which creates a better environment and gives a living wage for all of God’s children.