What’s Wrong With Socialism?

While many Americans were preparing to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, something significant was happening in our political arena: democratic socialist candidates were winning major primary elections.

After the surprising election of a democratic socialist as mayor of New York City, several candidates he supported defeated establishment-backed Democrats in New York primaries. In Denver, Colorado, 29-year-old attorney defeated a 15-term incumbent in a congressional primary and declared, “This is a movement. We are just getting started!”

Paul warned in Romans 1:21-22 that when people refuse to glorify God or give thanks to Him, their thinking becomes futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. A nation blind to God’s blessings is vulnerable to falling into a disastrous pit. Many of us have sounded that warning for decades. We expressed concern about the spiritual damage that could result as our nation drifted toward secularism, but many ignored the signs. Progressive educators, media pundits, and Hollywood elites emphasized America’s flaws while ignoring the extraordinary positives of our country. Many young Americans have heard far more about our nation’s failures than its unique spiritual heritage.

What’s the difference between communism and socialism?

Socialism seeks greater public control of wealth and resources while allowing varying degrees of private property and democratic government. Communism envisions the common ownership of property and industry; in practice, communist governments have concentrated that control in the state. Some socialists have regarded socialism as a transition toward communism, while democratic socialists reject that description.

What’s wrong with socialism? On the surface, it has broad appeal because it appears compassionate to the oppressed. What could be wrong with giving more to the poor and asking more of the wealthy? Isn’t that a biblical principle?

Below are six ways socialism conflicts with biblical principles.

1. The Bible teaches the right to private property. Both the eighth commandment, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15), and the tenth commandment against coveting (Exodus 20:17) assume the individual’s right to own property. The state should not arbitrarily confiscate what rightfully belongs to an individual or family.

2. The Bible teaches that hard work and wise investment should be rewarded. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the men who doubled what had been entrusted to them were commended for faithful stewardship. The one-talent man who buried his resources was condemned for his laziness. Solomon wrote, “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4).

3. The Bible teaches that Christian charity toward the poor should be voluntary. “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). It isn’t generosity if it is merely forced. The helpless poor should be cared for first by family and then by the Christian community. A government safety net should not relieve Christians of their personal responsibility to help people in need. Socialism can rob individuals of opportunities for heartfelt generosity.

4. The Bible teaches the sinful nature of mankind. David said, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Socialism often assumes that society can be made right if oppressive structures are corrected. The Bible teaches that the root of societal brokenness is the sinfulness of mankind, which cannot be cured apart from divine intervention.

The sinful heart can gravitate toward either laziness or greed. The Bible says, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Jesus’ warning not to store up treasures on earth cautions the rich against the equally sinful accumulation of possessions. Sin corrupts the poor, the wealthy, the worker, and the ruler.

5. The Bible honors the dignity of personal stewardship. The apostle Paul wrote, “The worker deserves his wages” (1 Timothy 5:18), a timeless principle that hard work merits fair compensation. Jesus stated, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded” (Luke 12:48).

Those entrusted with wealth are to be wise, generous stewards of God’s gifts. Arbitrary wealth redistribution can undermine an individual’s responsibility and opportunity to be a wise steward.

6. The Bible teaches us to learn from past mistakes. “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (1 Corinthians 10:6). Christ-followers should learn from history. Socialist experiments have too often produced scarcity, coercion, and concentrated power. Solomon advised, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (Proverbs 22:3).

Some Christians point to the early church in Acts as an example of successful socialism because the believers shared their possessions (Acts 4:32-37). But the early church’s sharing was voluntary, motivated by love, and rooted in personal faith rather than mandated by the state.

Margaret Thatcher summed up the economic problem well: “Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money.”

My favorite critique came from Winston Churchill. He called socialism “the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.” On another occasion, he said its supposed virtue was “the equal sharing of miseries.”

Years ago, Ann Landers printed a humorous explanation of several “isms” using cows:

Socialism: You have two cows—give one to your neighbor.
Communism: You have two cows—give both cows to the government, and they may give you some milk.
Capitalism: You have two cows. Sell one and buy a bull.

Admittedly, capitalism has dangers too. Greed, materialism, and indifference to the poor are serious sins. No economic system can save us because no economic system can change the human heart.

The solution to our deepest problems is not the redistribution of wealth but redemption in Christ. Jesus transforms the greedy, the envious, the lazy, and the proud. Christians should work hard, give generously, care for the helpless, and refuse to place their ultimate hope in either government or wealth.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).