Ken S. Ewert is currently editor of U-Turn, a Christian worldview magazine. Writing in 1989, he examined a number of contemporary Christian criticisms of free-market economics. One such criticism is that the market promotes selfishness, and so enshrines sin. Ewert argues such critics misunderstand the root cause of sin—the falleness of man. Further, he suggests that the market itself is morally neutral and that the free market provides the means by which wealth for charity is generated.

[W]e must bear in mind that although selfishness does exist in the free market, it also exists under other economic systems. Is the Soviet factory manager less selfish than the American capitalist? Is greed any less prevalent in the politically directed system which operates via perpetual bribes, theft from state enterprises, and political purges? There is no reason to think so. The reason for this is clear: selfishness is not an environmentally induced condition, i.e., a moral disease caused by the economic system, but rather a result of man’s fallen nature. It is out of the heart, as Christ said, that a man is defiled. Moral failure is not spawned by the environment.

It is clear that not all self-directed action is necessarily selfish action. For example, when I enter the marketplace in order to earn wealth to feed, clothe, house, and provide education or medical care for my children, I am not acting selfishly. Likewise, if you or I want to extend charity to a needy neighbor or friend, we must first take “self-directed” action to create the wealth necessary to do so. Such action is hardly selfish.

The point is this: the free market allows individuals to peacefully pursue their chosen goals and priorities, but it doesn’t dictate or determine those priorities. It does not force an individual to focus on his own needs and desires, but leaves him or her at liberty to be self-centered or benevolent. My ultimate goal may be self-indulgence, or I may make a high priority of looking after others—the choice is mine. As to which I should do, the market is silent. As an economic system, the market simply does not speak in favor of selfish or unselfish priorities.1
 
Footnotes:
 
1  Ken S. Ewert, “Moral Criticisms of the Market,” The Advocates for Self-Government Website, http://www.theadvocates.org/freeman/8903ewer.html (accessed October 29, 2004). First published in The Freeman, March 1989.
 
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