Editor’s Note: As we celebrate Veterans Day (Nov. 11), IFWE would like to honor all those who have sacrificially served our nation to secure and defend freedom. Today’s blog reminds us that the freedom they fought for is precious, and it warns those who are flirting with ideas like Marxism that those ideas are not without dangerous consequences. 

We shouldn’t salvage Marx.

This statement may sound like good, old-fashioned common sense.

His ideas, adopted by some of the most vicious central planners in history, have led to untold devastation and destruction of human life and flourishing.

As Christians, this should concern us because we are called to care about flourishing and creating the conditions for human life to flourish on this earth.

The Anti-Flourishing Theorist

I had the pleasure of attending a roundtable discussion a few years ago at the American Enterprise Institute. The participants discussed economic liberty and human flourishing.

Economist Deirdre McCloskey was one of the panelists and I was excited to hear what she had to say. McCloskey is one of the most profound economic historians of our time. She also used to be a Marxist, which makes her perspective on his ideas all the more compelling.

McCloskey spoke about what we can learn from Marx concerning economic liberty and its relationship to flourishing.

Her answer: there is nothing to be saved from Marx.

Not only is there nothing to be redeemed from Marx, she said, but all efforts to implement Marxism (think of Stalin and Mao) have resulted in the opposite of human flourishing. McCloskey calls Marx an anti-flourishing theorist.

Perhaps It’s Cliché, but Ideas Have Consequences

I dragged my entire class of undergraduates to this talk in the pouring rain on a Thursday night to hear something that might seem to you like well-understood history because, as McCloskey reminded the audience, “Ideas have consequences.”

Ideas matter. They matter for our lives, our decisions, and what we think the future can and should look like.

Marx’s ideas have had devastating consequences on ordinary people. Many were starved to death or executed in gulags. Ideas matter.

We shouldn’t develop our vision of what the world should look like without assessing the appropriate means to achieve that vision. This is what Marx and his followers failed to do, and it’s why McCloskey recommends we walk away from Marx. For good.

Ideas + Faith + Action

Evangelicals understand that ideas have consequences. Ideas, rooted in our faith, have driven many of our actions in the public square.

Christians have fought for the lives of the unborn loudly and with considerable effect because we believe in the sanctity of human life and the defense of innocent human beings.

We need to apply this same zeal and persistence to the fight for lives already born. We must stand against political and economic systems that destroy God’s image bearers.

Advocating for Freedom on All Fronts

It’s easy to fight against corrupt dictators because their sins are so transparent and repugnant. Yet, we must also fight for economic, political, and religious freedom in systems where sins are not so egregious. Lives still hang in the balance.

This is why we should reject Marx and question ourselves anytime we think about limiting the ability of others to make decisions about the stewardship of their lives.

God calls us to good stewardship. We are to use our creativity to cultivate his creation, and we each do this uniquely through our callings. When we are free to cultivate and offer our gifts to others through voluntary trade, we have the privilege of serving many people.

The Right Means for Flourishing

Pursuing greater biblical flourishing requires having the right means at our disposal:

• Fostering good stewardship of all life’s choices

• Encouraging value-creation and the service of others through voluntary trade

• Not limiting the choices of others to steward their lives

• Fostering sound economic thinking that enables us to live in a society where we all serve each other, believer and non-believer alike

Marx sounded like he desired a society where we all could flourish. Sadly, his system of thought and its followers have decreased, not increased, human flourishing.

As McCloskey noted in her talk, we need an ethical base for flourishing. It’s not some sterile concept conceived in a vacuum and deployed on society.

To say we want freedom is a great start, but plotting out the best means to achieve it is hard work. With God’s help, we must change the hearts and minds of as many people as we can. Freedom is the best means for fulfilling our God-given job description to unleash our creativity on his creation and maximize what we’ve been given for the benefit of all.

To do this, we must start with the right ideas.

Editor’s Note: What does the Bible say about freedom and how should it impact our views of political, economic, and religious freedom? Check out Free Indeed: Living Life in Light of the Biblical View of Freedom.

Help more people learn about biblical and economic principles that lead to flourishing! Support IFWE today. 

On “Flashback Friday,” we take a look at some of IFWE’s former posts that are worth revisiting. This post was previously published on Oct. 7, 2015.