Just finished an interesting book that offers a powerful case that Christianity cultivates free commerce. The key premise is that Christianity creates conditions for free labor, free markets, and protection of property. These conditions enable free commerce to thrive no matter the circumstances.
The book, The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success
The Victory of Reason’s back cover reads, Among the world’s great monotheistic traditions, Christianity alone embraced logic and deductive thinking as the path toward enlightenment, freedom, and progress. The book takes the reader through the “Dark Ages” to the New World giving numerous examples of where Christianity flourished also did commerce and freedom.
This book really brought home to me how important freedom is to capitalism and commerce. Free commerce needs three things:
Free Markets. A free market in its purist form is where anyone can buy and sell at whatever the market will bear. What disrupts free markets is greed. This greed can come in the form of monopolies, but also from Government and authorities that either excessively tax or restrict commerce for their immediate benefit.
Free Labor. Free labor is where anyone can work in any profession, but also allow employers to employ people without undue restrictions. This includes employers using new technology and techniques to increase employee productivity. Free commerce is disrupted when entrepreneurs are restricted from entering a profession or industry. In many cases, this has happened throughout history to protect the status quo of existing businesses that desire to monopolize an industry, and not just pressure from labor unions. Free commerce is inhibited when employers are prevented from leveraging technology or new techniques to increase employee productivity.
Protection of Property. Protection of property coupled with free markets and free labor encourage entrepreneurs and businesses to invest and grow their businesses. Free commerce is inhibited when either the Government cannot protect property or where the authorities do not respect people’s property. In these situations, very few individuals will risk capital to grow their businesses.
This is why free commerce and capitalism will not thrive under dictators. Dictators do not respect people’s property. They take it at their whim and have a tendency to consume resources versus encourage investment and free commerce. In these situations, people will hide or just consume their resources as any investments are shaky at best.