Opus 2015-466: Discernment Watch: Greedy Thoughts

Modern socialists like presidential candidate Bernie Sanders try to divide the people of America by a mantra aimed at the evil rich.  They harp on greed.  Greed is the problem.  Greed is a disease that can only be cured by taking away all the money of the rich.  It is supposed to be passed on to the poor; the money, not the greed.  What really happens is that the greedy socialists put it in their own pockets.  They know that the poor are not yet ready for that wealth and of course the rich don’t deserve it.  Only the elites, in their infinite wisdom, can handle it.  So they hold it in trust for those of us who are not ready.  How benevolent. 

America’s problem is not the greed of the “have’s” but the envy of the “have not’s”.

We have many of the first and uncounted masses of the second.

Many times what they “have” is really the willingness to work hard and take risks.  The combination of those two qualities often generate wealth.  Because they are successful they are labeled “greedy”.

Three of the Ten Commandments might apply here.  The first is,

(Exodus 20:3 KJV)  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

This is where God starts.  This is at the core of any problems we have.  This is the difference between Christians and culture.  The reality that socialists deny is that God-replacements are a problem for the poor as much as the rich.  Materialism is just more obvious in the rich because they can buy the big toys but it is just as common among the poor.

A second Commandment being ignored is,

(Exodus 20:15 KJV)  Thou shalt not steal.

Modern culture wants to only apply this to the rich.  They assume that if you are wealthy you took it from others.  They believe in zero-sum economics which says there are a set number of dollars and if you have more than someone else you stole them or cheated to get them.  Of course if that were the case then there would be no point in digging more gold out of the ground or growing more food.  The socialists ignore the fact that taking money from one group to give to another group is stealing, no matter which way the money is moving. 

The third is,

(Exodus 20:17 KJV)  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

There is a difference between coveting and wanting to better yourself.  Coveting looks at your neighbor and says, “I want yours.”  Betterment says, “I am inspired by your success.  I am going to work to achieve a similar success.”  The socialists seek to rule society by getting the poor to covet the success of the rich without teaching them to work and save in order to achieve the same ends.  It denies people the reward for their hard work and extra effort that generates more hard work and effort.

Obviously some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth.  Obviously some who are at the top have cheated and used government contacts to get their.  What is not obvious is that most of these people have become socialists.  They plan on staying at the top by making it impossible for others to do what they have done.  Their method is government coercion. 

Next time you hear someone complaining about the greedy rich, follow the money.  See what it is that they have to gain by their sermon.  Is it political power?  It is someone else’s wealth?  Is it headlines and notoriety?  And ask yourself how many jobs you have gotten from poor people and how well they paid.

homo unius libri