Is Christian Social Justice Christian?

Of course not. But, I'll let Laurence M. Vance explain.

The Myth of the Just Price
Laurence M. Vance
3/31/2008

But here is Robert L. White, a Christian, in Biblical Economics: Economic Myths versus Biblical Values, published just a couple of years ago:

The working of the market economy over the last 20 years has resulted in increasing inequalities, persistent poverty, chronic unemployment, and more persons without health insurance.[49]

These increasing inequalities are "far beyond what could be considered fair and just according to historical standards."[50]White holds master's degrees in economics and divinity, and has worked as both a pastor and an economist. He was actually one of those 4,800 government economists I mentioned previously. I hope that White's Gospel preaching was more biblical
than his economic pronouncements. Here is some more of White's "biblical economics":

If some have too much and others have too little, the answer from the Bible is that nobody should have too much and nobody should have too little. Everyone should have enough.[51]

There is enough to go around so long as each of us takes only what each person needs.[52]

The concept of fairness is that people are obligated to give back in proportion to what they have received.[53]

Social justice requires that a just society be characterized by a continual improvement in the prospects of the least advantaged.[54]

There is no theoretical or empirical reason to expect all of society's economic objectives to be met systematically by the market. In other words, justice, equity, and fairness cannot be assumed to occur automatically, and therefore need to be intentional goals and objectives in the realm of public policy.[55]

According to White, the free-market economy is an "idol."[56] There is a cultural war waging "between the prevailing 'free-market' ideology and biblical values."[57] Today's "prevailing economic ideology" promotes "greed and consumerism over the common good."[58] The lesson we are supposed to receive from Jesus' feeding of the multitudes is that "if bread is broken and shared, there will be enough for all."[59] Because he believes that "the rich have been getting richer and the poor poorer,"[60] White deplores reductions in tax rates.[61] He rightly decries increased defense spending, but only because it diverts the funding of social programs.[62] He favors national health care and environmentalism.[63] He is also very concerned about global warming and greenhouse gas emissions.[64] In short, he rejects laissez-faire in favor of government intervention.

White, of course, is not alone. When noted Christian economist Donald Hay proposed eight biblical principles relating to contemporary economic life, he not only specifically excluded private property rights,[65] he also stated that "the government should not hesitate to use the traditional tax and transfer mechanisms to ensure that those without the means to acquire the basic necessities of life are provided for."[66] But White is typical. His trinity is the state, the earth, and social justice. He is a statist through and through.

read the whole article here.

Educationists: First they demand your tax dollars, then they condemn you for earning them

Jeffrey Tucker over at Mises.org posted the following article.

Read it and weep for our future as the Rethinking Schools teachers (follow the link below) scheme ways to destroy what remains of our Liberty. These teachers -- who I believe represent the vast majority of public educators -- play out their socialist agenda in an after-school program. An experiment in Marxist social change.

Should those of us who produce value in the private sector apologise to those who live off our toil? According to the teachers at this school, we should. We are in debt to those whose serve the state. This is a theme heard over and over again from almost everyone on the Left (note statements from Clinton and Obama). According to these folks, the private sector is no place for the next generation.

Yes, these folk believe that one most be employed by the state in order to produce anything of value. Our efforts and our products are nothing more than the fruits of our servitude to the evil capital class.

Never answered are these questions: Who will produce in this utopian paradise? Who will be left to pay the taxes?

From Legotown to Communist Utopia
Jeffrey Tucker

A commentator on this blog draws our attention to this piece on the site Rethinking Schools. It is called "Why We Banned Legos." It is indeed an amazing piece of work, a perfect distillation of the romantic attachment that bourgeois educators in a prosperous society have for a communist ideal they have never experienced or seen or, apparently, read about.

In the short version, the teachers allowed the children in an after-school program to build a massive and growing Legotown. As kids will do, they students tended to homestead certain pieces and structures, and then barter them. Eventually resentments over who owns what emerge, and, after some inadvertent destruction of some buildings took place, conflicts arose.

The teachers then used the occasion to teach a lesson straight from old-time communist ideology, bringing the kids around to the view that all structures must be public structures, that nothing can be owned but by groups, and that all structures will be standard sizes.

It is an engaging if very alarming read! I would be curious to know to what extent the kids absorb the "lesson" they were given, or, if their heart of hearts, they really do miss the excitement and beauty of the real Legotown.

In any case, reading this piece, you can understand how it is that Castro's resignation has unleashed mind-boggling statements about the glories of the society he created, and its "immense achievements in terms of healthcare, poverty reduction and education."