Values and Capitalism

A concise introduction to the principles of world economics, Swap is an easy-to-understand resource for a general audience. This brief, practical volume covers the principles of specialization, comparative advantage, deficits, supply chains, labor and environmental standards, trade with the developing world, and more.

As debates over climate change rage in Washington and American consumers become ever more conscientious about 'going green,' evangelical Christians are increasingly concerned about the proper relationship between faith and environmentalism. The notion of human 'stewardship' over God's creation could be a groundbreaking opportunity for cooperation between evangelicals, the scientific community, and environmental activists. However, a deep understanding of environmental issues from a distinctively Christian perspective will inevitably complicate partnerships with those who approach the subject from conventional secular viewpoints. Although there is some common ground, there remain important differences between Christian and secular perspectives on the environment. Are human beings merely one 'part' of the undifferentiated whole of nature? Or, worse, are humans a blight and a drain on God's perfect creation? Do we really 'own' the land we live on and the plants and animals that provide our sustenance? The answers to these questions begin to form a Christian approach to solving ecological problems. In Mere Environmentalism: A Biblical Perspective on Humans and the Natural World, Steven F. Hayward provides a thorough examination of the philosophical presuppositions underlying today's environmentalist movement and the history of policies intended to alleviate environmental challenges such as overpopulation and global warming. Relying on Scripture to understand God's created order, Hayward offers an insightful reflection on the relationship between humans and the natural world.

Helping the poor is a question central to American life. Partially driven by America's Judeo-Christian heritage, Americans believe we possess enough wealth to provide some minimum basic standard of living for all and genuinely desire to help the least among us. We are the most generous nation on earth, spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually through private giving, corporate philanthropy, government aid, and other forms of charity. And yet, despite these efforts, international and domestic poverty persist. In From Prophecy to Charity: How to Help the Poor, Lawrence M. Mead critiques the philosophical presuppositions of past and current endeavors to alleviate poverty and provides a framework to guide future efforts based on what has been proven to actually help those in need: charity rooted in love.

Human beings depend on energy. From burning wood to harnessing the atom, we have relied on the consumption of natural resources. As civilization grows and the demand for energy increases, we must ask ourselves how to best meet our energy needs while responsibly stewarding our resources. In Abundant Energy: The Fuel of Human Flourishing, Kenneth P. Green provides a brief history of our reliance on different sources of energy, explores the viability of both current and potential future sources, and offers a vision for the task of fueling human prosperity in the 21st century.

Popular opinion would have us believe that America's free market system is driven by greed and materialism, resulting in gross inequalities of wealth, destruction of the environment, and other social ills. Even proponents of capitalism often refer to the free market as simply a 'lesser evil' whose faults are preferable to those of social democracy or communism. But what if the conventional understanding of capitalism as corrupt and unprincipled is wrong? What if the free market economy actually reinforces Christian values? In Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism, Arthur C. Brooks and Peter Wehner explore how America's system of democratic capitalism both depends upon and cultivates an intricate social web of families, churches, and communities. Far from oppressing and depriving individuals, the free market system uniquely enables Americans to exercise vocation and experience the dignity of self-sufficiency, all while contributing to the common good. The fruits of this system include the alleviation of poverty, better health, and greater access to education than at any other time in human history-but also a more significant prosperity: the flourishing of the human soul.

While the recent economic crisis was a painful period for many Americans, the panic surrounding the downturn was fueled by an incomplete understanding of economic history. Economic hysteria made for riveting journalism and effective political theater, but the politicians and members of the media who declared that America was in the midst of the greatest financial calamity since the Great Depression were as wrong and misguided as the expansionists of the Roosevelt era. In reality the cyclical nature of market economies is as old as the markets themselves. In a free market system, financial downturns inevitably accompany economic prosperity-but the overall trend is upward progress in living standards and national wealth. While it is helpful to understand what caused the recent crisis, the more important questions to consider are 'What makes the 'boom and bust' cycle so predictable?' and 'What are the ethical responsibilities of the citizens of a free market economy?' In Boom and Bust: Financial Cycles and Human Prosperity, Alex J. Pollock argues that while economic downturns can be frightening and difficult, people living in free market economies enjoy greater health, better access to basic necessities, better education, work less arduous jobs, and have more choices and wider horizons than people at any other point in history. This wonderful reality would not exist in the absence of financial cycles. This book explains why.

Endowed with the authority to enforce justice, government is a necessary prerequisite to human flourishing. Citizens rightfully bear the responsibility to contribute to the existence of just government through the rendering of taxes. Because tax policy is also a reflection of values, citizens in a democratic society should be concerned with how taxes are collected and spent. In Real Tax Burden: More than Dollars and Cents, Alan Viard and Alex Brill explain everything you need to know to understand taxes in America today. The authors describe who pays what and why, the implications of the current system, and provide a vision for reform that is simple, effective, and consistent with our values.