Capitalism is the root of all evil

Not.

There's a book out there called "Wealthy Christians in a Hundgry World." Very good title. According to the reviews I've read, the book not so much.

Why? Because -- according to the reviews -- it attacks capitalism and espouses some form of socialism; a "system of just processes" and the like, to protect Mankind from all the bad things people do. Won't work, sorry.

This book was written in the 70's and is now making the rounds again in certain churches. While I agree with the sentiment behind the title, socialism and "just processes won't fix a thing.

Here's the deal. Capitalism -- or as it really is in the US, regulated capitalism --is an economic system, not a moral system. Capitalism has proven highly effective at producing more. More what? That's my point. More anything you want. Thus it is that poor people in the US live like middle class people or even upper class people in other countries. That's a good thing that Capitalism has done.

But Capitalism is not to blame for the fact that you decided to buy a car rather than give $20,000 to a food bank. It is not Capitalism's fault that your neighbor decided to buy yet another beach property rather than give that money to help build a shelter for battered women. Who's fault is that? Yours, not Capitalism's. By the way, I'm as guilty as you are. The problem is not Capitalism, but peoples' hearts. Unfortunately, that's a really hard sell compared to blaming Capitalism.

And that leads to the second problem. "Just processes" are not machines that you can set up that will run along creating justice. They're inhabited by -- uh oh -- human beings; human beings who make flawed, imperfectly informed decisions based on what they, in their little hearts, think is best. But wait a minute! These are the same people who buy new cars instead of food for the poor! Again, the "processes" are not the problem.

Anyway, my two cents.