A Religious Socialist Defends Democratic Socialism

DSA and its activities have been covered in many news outlets recently, not always favorably. Here, RS contributor C. Don Jones responds to Dennis McIntyre’s August 19 article in Patheos. It appeared in the August 20 issue of Patheos.We reprint it  in slightly adapted form with the authors permission.–Eds.

I read Dennis McIntyre’s recent Patheos article The Rise of DSA And America’s Socialist Movement with great interest. Even when we disagree, I find McIntyre to be a good writer and a sincere believer in Christian hope. I join him in his prayer “that all involved have open hearts and focus on the common good, guided by the values Jesus gives us.” I normally do not write about political ideologies. His thoughts are worth discussing.

U.S. Socialist Movements

My first objection to his piece is that there has never been one U.S. socialist movement. There have been many approaches to socialist thought and practice in the United States. The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest group of socialist organizers in U.S. history, if we go by numbers rather than percentage of the population. It is a multi-tendency organization. We have experienced a number of socialist organizations in our history. DSA won’t be the final expression of the socialist dream.

There has not been a common unifying ideology of socialism in the United States either.. McIntyre errs in equating socialism with the Marxist-Leninist ideology, which is the official doctrine of about five countries in the world and unlikely to grow. There is a reason Marxist-Leninists are called “tankies.” They do not take or maintain power by democratic means. Democratic socialism is messier because democracy is messy. 

Religious Socialists

My second objection is McIntyre’s neglect of the tradition of religious socialism. McIntyre presents what he calls “the Catholic view.” I know many Catholics who are socialists. Why could they not claim theirs is “the Catholic view”? The reason is simple. They know there is not simply one such view. However, when we consider the claim that “Jesus focused on voluntary generosity and on transforming hearts,” we  must ask , “What is the point of transforming hearts if the people as a community do not transform their habits, interactions, and shared goals?” I ask another question about voluntary generosity: “Is individual generosity morally superior to collective generosity?” My experience in ministry is that pooling resources leads to more efficient use and better outcomes.

DSA has a working group of active Religious Socialists promoting shared devotion and values as part of their activism. Although they come from many faiths, these are people who also join the prayer “that all involved have open hearts and focus on the common good. . . .”

A Few Questions

I applaud every effort made by people of faith who attempt to alleviate the economic suffering of other people. Honestly, though, is it really better to have a church attempt to pay off the medical debt of people in their community than for there never to have been any debt? The same question could apply to school-lunch debt.

Which is moral: a government that provides housing or one that criminalizes homelessness? Which would Jesus. who had no place to rest his head. support?

Would Jesus support keeping workers in poverty or support human dignity with humane working conditions and pay raises to keep up with the cost of living? Historically, unions/organized labor have raised the standard of living for everyone.

Because the Gospel of John asserts that the “Word” that “became flesh” is the Creator, is environmental destruction okay with him? Would it not be moral to find ways to make the world a more livable place?

The answers DSA offers support “human flourishing, dignity, protects freedom, strengthens families, and reflects biblical principles of justice and mercy.”

Jesus, Adam Smith, and Karl Marx

Karl Marx was the biggest fan Adam Smith ever had. Reading Capital by Marx and Smith’s Wealth of Nations for comparison would be important for Christian believers to understand the problems of moral philosophy as it applies to economic questions. The basic problem is a misunderstanding of human nature that comes from materialist thought.

Humanity has a spiritual side that is largely dismissed in economic thought. We do not define rational as decision making based on our own material interests. Human beings often do not know what those are. Jesus once praised the widow’s apparent irrationality of giving “all she had” amid people who gave large sums to the Temple Treasury. Why did she do that? She saw the injustice of her life that was caused by the institution of the Temple and the wealthy people who held abundance in the midst of poverty. She did not simply give her money. The mite was useless. She threw it away. Jesus pointed this out to his followers. who, to this day, fail to understand.