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Capitalist GreedSunday 28 Dec 2008 The fallout from the current Financial Crisis and the recent US elections contain a message that Christian Capitalists everywhere should not ignore: the people will not tolerate Capitalist greed. Although election results, first in Spain, then Australia, and then in the United States, resulted in left-leaning governments being elected; and it might look like a global trend to the left; it needs to be understood that in all these countries, there is still very strong support for free enterprise capitalism. Elections in Europe that brought right leaning Angela Merkel (Germany), Nicolas Sarkozy (France), and returned Silvio Berlusconi (Italy), to power also contained the same message of “change”. And if we could honestly poll the mood of the people in Russia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Brazil, and elsewhere throughout the world, we would find that everywhere, the people want the same thing from their government: opportunity to be all that they can be – nothing more and nothing less. This is the message of the Twenty-First Century that politicians everywhere need to hear, because change is in the air and the people will not be denied. The Promise of Change The truth is that, like Barack Obama, all these Western leaders were elected on the promise of change. However, the people do not want this change to result in the destruction of the underlying free enterprise system upon which their jobs and prosperity depend. America is the odd man out in the current cycle because (a) the US elections coincided with the worst financial crisis in more than 50 years; (b) the media coverage of the US elections was not honest; (c) the Democrat Party candidate was extraordinarily charismatic; and he was black; and (d) the Republican Party in the United States has clearly forgotten its core principles and lost its way. These four things conspired to excuse the historically unpopular Democratic Congress that had more than a small responsibility in creating the current Financial Crisis; and give the Democrats control of all three levels of government. Now President elect Obama is faced with a dilemma, if he is as astute as the world believes he is, because, within his remarkable success are also, clearly, the seeds of his demise. If he takes advantage of his considerable majority and moves too far too the left, there is little doubt that the fragile US economy; and therefore, the World economy will most likely collapse into what could well be a prolonged global depression that could make the Great Depression of the 1930s look like a Sunday School picnic. Unlike President Bill Clinton who was forced into the middle ground of politics by an aggressive Republican controlled house and senate, Obama is going to have to make this move himself; out of sheer political common sense and the desire to survive. Yes, it is possible that he is a moderate centrist, anyway, but, being a political skeptic, this is probably more than we should expect from any politician. He is however, an historic figure who has a unique opportunity to go down in history for much, much more than being the first black President of the United States. The Bigger Challenge Barak Obama’s challenge is indeed great and it will make for fascinating Washington watching over the next four years to see what he does; which way he goes. It is not encouraging that he has stacked his cabinet with Keynesian economists and promises that his first major move will be a major public spending bill. An equally big challenge; and maybe one that is even bigger than that which faces President-elect Obama is that which confronts the Republican Party and conservative politicians around the world: can they regain the spirit of conservatism that made Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher so popular? Can they escape from the lure of big business and get back to their small business roots that have always done them well? Compassionate Christian Capitalism Conservative politicians need to remember that George W. Bush was twice elected to the presidency by the people of the United States, and, had his colleagues in the house and the senate stayed true to their conservative principles, the current Financial Crisis would probably not have happened; and the outcome of the recent US election would probably have been different. It was not George W. Bush’s beliefs that were out of step with the American people; it was that the Republican Party failed to walk the walk. This combined with the fact that unlike Ronald Reagan the great communicator, President George W. Bush, will probably go down in history as one of the worst political communicators; he just seemed to have no idea how to survive against a hostile, media intent on his demise. Compassionate, Christian Capitalism is what people everywhere are looking for. It is the spirit of Jesus Christ that has made the Free World all that it is today. It is what conservative politics must deliver if they ever want to regain the confidence and support of the people. Until conservatives start electing good people to high office, that the people can trust to walk the walk, and not just talk the talk, they will be regarded with a jaundiced eye by the electorate. An interesting development in the widening gap between rich and poor that will ultimately work in favor of conservative parties around the world is that there has been a marked change in the past 10 years in the political persuasion of the world’s richest people. It has long been known that many of the world’s richest people vote Democrat anyway. The difference today is that many of these people are moving out of the shadows and into the political spotlight. They obviously think that they can be more visual than before, but they will find that this is a mistake. |
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