by Doug Bandow, Juicy Ecumenism (Photo: Unsplash)
Popular professions of support for socialism are common today but typically presume the continued existence of capitalism. Most self-proclaimed socialists are leftists who accept a market economy, only under greater government control. Rather than impose real socialism, they expect capitalism to continue to act as a golden goose when squeezed by the ruling political coalition, to which they aspire.
Even more confused are “Christian socialists.” The traditional model for many of them is the early Jerusalem church, where “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” (Acts 2:44) Moreover, “No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32)
Of course, this had nothing to do with socialism. The community was communal, but not coercive. Indeed, it was subversive of the political order, promoting life apart from the ruling authorities in which people, resources, and activities were beyond control of the Roman Empire and the subservient Jewish religious establishment.
Moreover, even this system evidently faltered. While Ananias and Sapphira had no obligation to turn over their property for the apostles’ use, they lied about the amounts and suffered accordingly (Acts 5:1-11). The Jerusalem model apparently did not spread overseas along with the faith.
Yet the Institute of Christian Socialists declares that it is “Building a Movement of the Ecumenical Christian Left.” The Institute’s mission “is to support US churches, their members, and institutions in confronting the world’s captivity to capitalism and in claiming, embodying, and promoting the radical socialism of the Christian faith and life.”