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Capitalism

In chapter 19 of Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, President McKay said, in part, the following:

The law of pure nature, survival of the fittest, is self-preservation at the sacrifice of all else; but in contrast to this the law of true spiritual life is, deny self for the good of others.

If they are in such contrast, why would the gospel be restored in a capitalist society, the epitome of “pure nature”?

He also said

The greatest spiritual blessing comes from helping another.

What is “the greatest spiritual blessing”?

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Kim Siever

Queer Mormon poet with radical political views. I have been married 27 years, and we have 6 children. Sunday school president. Served in the Utah Provo Mission.

9 thoughts on “Capitalism”

  2. Capitalism offers the opportunity for self-determination from an economic standpoint. That sort of economic freedom offers other types of freedoms within the society. Its an adaptive and malleable economic model which facilitates individual and corporate freedoms.

  3. Kurt, you’re right. Captialism also epitomizes the struggle of all against all that the post discusses. It enables societies to become profoundly unequal — which, in the Book of Mormon, is the primary predictor of the downfall of civilizations. In other words, there are reasons to worry about the compatibility of capitalism and the gospel.

  4. I think capitalism is compatable with the gospel, because sacrificing yourself for others (and the law of consecration) need to be done completely out of our own free will. If greed and lack of charity prevails then we suffer the consequences sooner or later because of our choices. However, being compelled or forced to ‘share the wealth’ goes against the the concept of free will and is also incompatable with the gospel.

    President Benson had ALOT to say on this subject.

  5. The gospel was restored at this time of ouor lives because it would have been obvious to Heavenly Father that we needed it the most. We would have the greatest temptations to fight against, the greatest amount of evil to be strong against. We needed a spiritual shot in the arm to make us stronger and able to combat these forces.

    I believe the greatest blessing, other then agreeing with Mary’s comment, is being able to meet Heavenly Father and Christ and be able to say I did my best to follow your teachings and I have a clear conscience of my life.

  9. Consider the alternatives to the capitalist system and you will find that none of them offers as much individual liberty. Capitalism, by contrast, offers the opportunity to be as good or as evil as one chooses. It does promote some bad parts of human nature, such as a competitive spirit, but it allows a lot of freedom of choice, compared with the other systems.

    That freedom was an absolutely necessary element of restoring the gospel, and it’s also an important element in making spiritual progress. How much will I grow in faith, hope, or charity, if I am shackled and forced to come to church each week? If I have my tithes forcibly confiscated from my paycheck? If I face imprisonment for failure to read the scriptures or go home teaching? Obviously, the more freedom we have, the more we can make covenants with free will. Exercising our agency in that way helps us to grow.

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