Truth In These Days
Four Biblical Problems with Socialism
Four Biblical Problems with Socialism Heath Lambert Is America Going Socialist? One of the biggest stories of the summer and what will prove to be one of the most important issues in the upcoming midterm elections is the growing number of socialist candidates running for elected office across the United States. In electoral politics, the national story of socialism has really orbited around only one man, Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders. Those days are over. In 2026, a spate of socialist candidates is winning support in the democratic party and at least has a shot at electoral victory. Some of the candidates for the United States Congress are Chris Rabb from Pennsylvania, Melot Kiros from Colorado, Cori Bush from Missouri, Oliver Larkin from Florida, Donavan McKinney from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, and Rashida Tlaib seeking a fifth term for her congressional seat from Michigan. Then there is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is arguably the most famous national figure linked with socialism. Representative Ocasio-Cortez made big news recently by ranking ahead of California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris in a recent presidential opinion poll. It is hard to talk about the increased interest in socialism without talking about the election of Zohran Mamdani to the office of mayor in New York City. While it is true that Mamdani won with the barest majority of 50.78%, it is also true that a win is a win, and Mamdani as the victor gets a chance to refashion public policy in America’s biggest city. He is making the most of this opportunity and has proposed everything from government-run grocery stores to free bus fare to free child care to free date nights for parents. In one sense, this lurch toward socialism is not surprising. Electoral politics often favors pendulum swings from one extreme to the other. It makes sense that the passionate opposition of the American political left to Donald Trump would inspire an interest on the part of some to move to his perceived political opposite. In another sense, the increased interest is concerning. There has never been such interest in socialism in America, and, in the New York mayoral office, they have already racked up one win, and there is a real potential for more this fall. It is unlikely that we are witnessing the beginning of a widespread embrace of socialism in the United States. But socialism is having a bit of a moment right now. That means it is important for Christians to pay attention to this situation and learn to think about it biblically. Before we can evaluate something, we need to understand what it is. Socialism is an economic system where a government has the authority to control the production and distribution of goods and services. It is different from capitalism, where the authority to control the distribution of goods and services rests with individuals. It is also different from communism, where the government, in addition to controlling the production of goods and services, also has complete ownership of the entities that create goods and services. Socialism, therefore, seeks a path between the freedom of capitalism and the complete tyranny of communism. Many problems exist with socialism. This week, we will consider four biblical problems with the socialist economic system. Socialism Undermines Motivation The first problem is that socialism undermines motivation. Let me explain. Socialism begins with a compassionate instinct. Socialists survey a population with many who face financial challenges and cannot afford many of the things they would like to have. Socialists want to solve this problem of want using the resources of the larger economy. In the United States, the resources of the larger economy are vast. Surely, they argue, the wealthiest nation in the history of the world can afford to have those with more resources offset the challenges of those with less. The difficulty socialists face is that those with more resources do not volunteer to share them in large enough numbers to meet all the needs the socialists see. That requires socialists to use government to mandate those who possess the resources to share them with those who do not. Many problems exist with this, but just one of them is the loss of the motivation it creates on the part of individuals to work hard for their own provision. The Word of God makes individuals responsible for their own provision, not the larger society of which they are a part. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” The socialistic effort to take resources from those who have them and provide them to people who do not ultimately means large numbers of people receive resources and benefits without earning them. For a while, socialism addresses the problem of want, but it accomplishes this goal by undermining the biblical goal of motivation. That leads to a bigger problem of want than initially existed. This is true because most people will not want to work for something when they can get it for free. Socialism creates a growing population of people eager to flee the demands of work and join their neighbors who get their desires met with far less effort. The Bible motivates work by making our provision dependent on it. When this principle is undermined, it leads to pain. The history of socialism is a history of this pain for anyone familiar with it. Socialism Undermines Compassion The second problem with socialism is that it undermines biblical compassion. Earlier I made clear that the project of socialism begins with a compassionate desire. The compassionate desire is to provide for people the things they want but cannot afford. The instinct is praiseworthy as far as it goes, but everything depends on how you seek to satisfy that desire. Socialists seek to accomplish that desire through a seizure of governmental power and mandates about everything from prices to resource distribution. Just one problem with this is that it undercuts the very compassion that was the initial impulse of the project. One of the most repeated teachings of Scripture is that God’s people ought to have hearts of compassion that seek to help the poor. In Matthew 5:42, Jesus commands, “Give to the one who begs from you.” Other passages say similar things, including Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Psalm 41:1-3; Proverbs 19:17; Galatians 2:10, and many more. But one fact that all these passages have in common is that God’s command for compassion goes to individuals. In the Bible, compassion, just like work, is an individual responsibility. A socialist society undermines this biblical reality, and, therefore, undermines the very concept of compassion. When government forces mandates or wealth redistribution through confiscatory tax policies, it takes away any notion of compassion. When one individual meets the needs of another because they want to, it is called compassion. When someone meets the needs of another because the government forces them to, it is no longer compassion, but socialism. When citizens are forced to pay for the wants of others against their will, it creates an attitude of resentment and bitterness. People become frustrated with their neighbors who receive for free what others must work to provide. The result of this is not a society of abundance and compassion, but of increased want and bitterness. Socialism Undermines Reality A third biblical problem with socialism is that it undermines reality. A massive problem with socialism is that it simply does not work. One of the older examples of this is Cuba. That beautiful island nation has had a few generations to demonstrate the benefits of socialism. Instead, it is an impoverished country and a nearly-failed state. A more recent example is Venezuela, once one of the wealthiest nations on earth, now tottering at the brink of ruin after the implementation of socialist policies. A different kind of example is New York City. America’s largest and wealthiest urban center did not achieve that status through socialism but through free market capitalism. It boggles the mind that the mayor of that great city is now pursuing policies which are the opposite of those that led to its greatness. The reason socialism cannot work has to do with the hard-core reality of math. Socialists may want to give unearned resources to everyone who wants them. And this desire may originate out of a heart of compassion. But math is a stern task master and does not care about our feelings. In the real world, nothing is free; everything has a cost, and someone must generate the resources to pay those costs. Eventually you get to the point where there is not enough societal wealth to pay for all the resources that socialists want to provide. As the great Margaret Thatcher famously said, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” Philippians 4:8 commands, “Whatever is true . . . think about these things.” Christians are not allowed to deny reality. We are not allowed to pursue bad ideas with the best of intentions. We are commanded to think on what is true because the effort to fulfill good intentions with bad ideas will always fail. Socialism simply does not work, and the rejection of that truth is the rejection of reality. Socialism Undermines the Hope of Redemption Finally, socialism cuts at the heart of the biblical message of redemption. We live in a sinful and broken world full of poverty, want, and limited resources. In that painful world, Jesus gives a sad promise in Matthew 26:11 that you will, “Always have the poor with you.” This is a tragic guarantee from the Son of God that the socialist desire to eradicate poverty will always meet failure in this life. It is the most good news that Jesus—and Jesus alone—intends to solve the problem of poverty. Jesus’s solution to poverty does not come through state controls and wealth redistribution. It comes through the gift of eternal bliss for everyone who trusts in his life, death, and resurrection. Anyone who comes to Jesus will know pain and limitation in this life, but he promises a future existence free from all pain and full of endless pleasures forevermore. Socialism ultimately promises through the state in this life what can only come through Jesus in the next. Any thought that we can accomplish today what only Jesus can accomplish is guaranteed to lead to failure. This failure is why I do not believe that America is standing at the beginning of a broad embrace of socialism. Socialism has not, will not, and cannot work. The only question concerns how many elections we need to waste before we learn this inescapable truth.
