The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #99160   Message #1974101
Posted By: Joe Offer
20-Feb-07 - 04:17 PM
Thread Name: BS: Religion and Capitalism
Subject: RE: BS: Religion and Capitalism
Of course, you could also argue that religion is far more compatible with socialism, and that the capitalistic leanings of some religious people are just an aberration.
The Acts of the Apostles describes how people held resources and property in common, hardly a capitalist practice. In The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong claims that most great religious were founded on the Golden Rule, the concept that we should do to others what we want done to ourselves. Selfishness and self-interest are basic capitalistic principles that are contrary to the teachings of most religions - but selfisness runs rampant among religious people, possibly because self-righteousness is such a common flaw among those who claim to be religious.
-Joe Offer, Catholic Social Democrat-