As Christians, we want to be good stewards of what we have. Part of this involves using our resources to create wealth and then using some of this wealth to help the poor flourish.

What is the best way to do this?

In a recent speech at Grove City College, Dr. Anne Bradley explained one of the most common misconceptions about wealth creation:

She pointed out,

In a well-functioning market economy, wealth is generated—surplus capital is accumulated—when we serve others…The government can’t create wealth. That’s the number-one myth of wealth creation.

Wealth creation, Dr. Bradley explained, results in innovation and service to others in exchange for a profit.  Both the buyer and the seller—engage in voluntary trade in order to benefit equally from the exchange.

Dr. Bradley explained that this type of trade is good for the poor because it creates wealth, provides them with access to goods and services that they would not get otherwise, and gives them the opportunity to create wealth and become innovators.

Dr. Bradley concluded that as a result,

We need to set up institutions and a society—a culture—that supports creativity, that supports entrepreneurship, that supports innovation from not just the rich innovating…because again, this is how people are able to lift themselves out of poverty. This is the inherent dignity of work.

On the other hand,

The government is not a firm…it can transfer wealth and can actually destroy it. But it can’t create it.

So, if the government can’t create wealth, where does it get its money? Watch the entire clip to find out.

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