'Capitalism With A Human Face' was the title of a well-known book
written by Sir Samuel Brittan, a leading economic commentator, shortly
before the year 2000.
Sadly, the financial calamities of the first decade of the 21st
century have revealed that – sometimes at least – capitalism has a very
far from human face. Indeed, more than occasionally it has seemed to
have the countenance of a monster.
But now, under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, it
looks as though the Church of England is attempting to give capitalism
the opportunity to develop a new appearance – even a Christ-like face.
The start of this month has seen the news that Justin Welby is hoping
to draw up a ten-year action plan with the aim of forcing payday
lenders such as Wonga out of business.
This follows previous news that the Archbishop had told Wonga's chief
executive the Church of England was "not in the business of trying to
legislate you out of existence" – but "trying to compete you out of
existence".
Then there has also been the announcement in recent days that the
Anglican Church is getting involved in setting up a new "ethical" bank
to be created from 314 branches being sold off by the Royal Bank of
Scotland.
The new bank will be a 'challenger' to the existing big four names on
Britain's high street, with a particular focus on small business
banking.
A Church of England spokesman declared it would operate "to the
highest ethical standards".
But is it possible for the representatives of God and Mammon to work
together so closely?
After all, doesn't the Bible say something about
money being the root of all evil?
Well, to take the last question first, the answer is – no, it
doesn't.
What the New Testament actually says is not that money per se
is the root of all evil – but that the love of money is.
And that's an
entirely different matter.
It's certainly true, as the wisdom writing of
Ecclesiastes puts it, that "whoever loves money never has enough".
It's
also true that Jesus warns very bluntly, "You cannot serve both God and
Mammon."
Money can easily take the place of God in people's lives – and
often does.
But money itself is not evil – it's just a convenient way of trading
goods and services. It's far simpler – obviously – to pay by cash or
card when we buy a house, say, than to have to offer a thousand sheep or
goats, for example.
So if money itself is not a problem, but can easily
degenerate into being one through human sin, it follows that a
Christian approach to economics will want to explore the possibility of
financial systems being redeemed under the rule of Christ – and of money
being used properly rather than improperly.
This, it seems, is what the Archbishop is aiming to do.
If banks in
an increasingly secular Britain have lost their moral compass, he's
effectively saying, then let's redeem the idea with a properly ethical
bank.
If payday lenders such as Wonga have driven tens of thousands into
financial misery and despair, then let us, as Justin Welby proposes,
serve their needs in a Kingdom way – by making church buildings
available to credit unions and recruiting financially-astute Christians
to staff them.
British coins and banknotes bear a physical portrait of the Queen.
Perhaps, through ethical schemes such as the ones which the Church of
England is proposing, they can also begin more and more to reflect the
spiritual image of the King of Kings as well.