Comments for Vinoth Ramachandra

Comment on Unemployed by vinothifes

vinothifes — Tue, 21 May 2013 05:24:34 +0000

There are a variety of “market economies” (Japan, Germany and the US have been very different from each other). Moreover, unemployment data in the US is often misleading- we need to ask who is counted as “employed” and in what form of employment (e.g short-term, part-time). The economy is also heavily indebted to “undocumented” migrant workers who save their bosses the costs that ethical companies incur.

Since WW II, the US government has been the biggest generator of employment (as is the case in most countries). It has also been the biggest investor in scientific and technological research and development. Many of the hi-tech firms that are household names around the world were, in effect, subsidized by the US taxpayer.

Is this “socialism”? I find it strange that this term is disparagingly applied to governments only when public funds go to help the weakest and poorest sections of society. Finding textbook examples of capitalism and socialism in the world today is an impossible task. But what I said in my post is that globalization favours the worst kind of capitalist practices, undoing the moral restraints that were placed in the last century.

Comment on Unemployed by jacobad

jacobad — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:37:14 +0000

Adding to Vinoth’s question…Who exactly was becoming “extremely prosperous” in 1800s America?

Though I don’t have a sophisticated understanding of political/economic theories, I tend to see capitalist and socialist philosophies as (imperfectly) representing two sides of this Biblical paradox:

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Ephesians 4:28

God honors hard work and self-sufficiency (if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat), yet, it is our sacred responsibility to share our wealth with those in need. The Biblical economy is not about “the right to keep what you earn.” It might sound more like, “work hard, in order to bless others.”

Vinoth, your critique does not seems to be targeted at market economies, per se, but at an “unbridled” capitalist ethic (prioritizing profit over human beings, work over family, greed over generosity, etc.). Can you separate this moral philosophy from the market-based economic system?

Also, in terms of unemployment, the countries in most bad shape seem generally to be more socialist, while the U.S. and Germany, for instance, have made modest recoveries. Do you agree, or what do you make of this?

Comment on Unemployed by vinothifes

vinothifes — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:13:54 +0000

Anthony Rose: please could you tell us from which American history book you get these views?

1800s America was about slave economies, genocide and the plunder of native American lands, the invasion and annexation of large parts of Mexico, exploitation of Chinese labour, unjust trading practices with Latin American neighbours, and Robber Barons who manipulated federal and state legislatures to their financial advantage.

“Well-regulated capitalism”?

Comment on Unemployed by Kumar Abayasekara

Kumar Abayasekara — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:09:05 +0000

Capitalism and Socialism are Christian heresies which having lost their Christian roots have ended up over emphasising (favouring) some facets of our existence and ignoring others. Hence the confusion over valuing individual productivity and ignoring the needs of a community (equal worth of humans) and vice versa. What we choose to favour or ignore is a function of our sinfulness. We have a yearning to love things (including money and power) by using people when we should be using things (including money and power) to love people.
Jesus acknowledged the need for a worker to be given his keep and commended the servants who invested the master’s fortune (parable of the wages/ Minas). Proverbs (31) acknowledges the good wife as one who shares her wealth, generates wealth and obtains instruction from God. The early church shared her wealth Acts 2:44-45, Acts 4:32. Ancient Israel had a jubilee system of redistributing wealth and protecting the vulnerable (widows, orphans and immigrants).
We must recover a comprehensive biblical understanding of our existence if we are to clear up our mess.

Comment on Unemployed by Stephanie Kisch

Stephanie Kisch — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:35:41 +0000

Yes! Thank your for thought-provoking comments Anthony Rose.

Comment on Unemployed by Anthony Rose

Anthony Rose — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:03:28 +0000

1800s America was well-regulated capitalism, and became extremely prosperous.
Nowhere is greed a part of the definition of capitalism. It is a part of the definition of humanity. And under capitalism, we have isolated pockets of greed which we can control. Under socialism or communism, we have runaway greed in positions of power.
There is a huge swing being promoted against capitalism, as though it were the enemy. This is, I think, because the path to power, to the anti-Christ’s one world government, relies on the people voting in more powerful, richer governments to give them what they want. The proverbial carrot in front of the donkey’s face while the schemers ride on its back.

Comment on Unemployed by Anthony Rose

Anthony Rose — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:55:24 +0000

Capitalism is the right to keep what you earn.
Socialism is the right of the government to take away from you as much as it wants to, in order to give it to somebody who does not earn.
Communism is no right to any earnings at all.
While ungoverned capitalism can lead to a lot of abuse, this is not what you are seeing in the world today.
The pain you are dealing with in the world today is caused by socialism. The reason for the lack of jobs is because the capital required to inspire those jobs is being misused by corrupt governments.
Focus on the morals:
1. Stealing is wrong. People ought to be allowed to keep what they earn. Taxes ought only to be used to maintain government and shared public services. Allow people to support those around them.
2. Stealing is wrong. Corporations and massively powerful and rich men ought not to be allowed to bribe government officials, and government ought not to have access to money to pay them off.
The result of all this stealing is that no one has anything except the rich and powerful who steal best.

Comment on Compassion or Justice? by Florence

Florence — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:37:49 +0000

Having read this I believed it was very enlightening.
I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this informative article together.
I once again find myself spending a lot of time both
reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

Comment on Unemployed by Stephanie Kisch

Stephanie Kisch — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:32:32 +0000

Thank you Vinoth for your thoughtful post. I love the way you so aptly describe the “dark night of the soul” that comes with unemployment.

Comment on Unemployed by Philip Powell

Philip Powell — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:52:16 +0000

Thank you Vinoth for writing on the topic of unemployment. In my own town in Luton, one in five homes, does not have a single member who is full-time employed. The distribution of this demographic is not evenly spread across the town, which means, in some streets, there are hardly any full-time employed men or women. Families are being destroyed. Walk on these streets and you will find empty beer cans, broken bottles and condoms laying around.

There is a gloominess and a weariness on people’s faces. Young girls get tricked into prostitution, and young boys get trapped in a lifestyle of drugs and crime. Immigrants, asylum-seekers, and non-White people become easy-targets, and they get blamed for causing the unemployment. “These foreigners come here and take all our jobs.”

What makes me even more angry is hearing certain Christians friends defending the system in the name of some ‘pie-in-the-sky’ definition of capitalism, and blaming the poor for their own poverty. These friends preach ‘self-help’ for the poor and then support government-help for saving big banks. This is typical, ‘capitalism for the masses and socialism for the rich’.

Sad, very sad…