7.1 Christianity – Neither Socialist nor Capitalist
Living as I did in a communist country, I could never have imagined that a Christian could be anything but a conservative and right wing, politically speaking. My structural allergy to Marxism and to leftist politics made me blind to the fact that God does not take sides politically. Later in life, I had the opportunity to meet people who were definitely committed Christians but who regularly voted for the left, and this really shook my preconceived ideas.
Up until that point I had had no doubt that God hated socialism (and even more so communism) and that he was a fan of capitalism. Yet when I started to move beyond my prejudices I began to realise that in both capitalism and socialism you can find elements that are compatible with the gospel. Thus respect for private property is an underlying theme in the Bible. At the same time, however, the Bible repeatedly speaks of the responsibility of those who have towards those who don’t, a very ‘socialist’ idea.
Today, although I am still more inclined to the right politically, I have a great deal of sympathy for many of the ideas promoted by left wing politicians, although fundamentally I do not share their world view.
Various political parties, both in the free world and in the post-communist countries, have tried to as it were ‘affiliate’ God to their political agendas, particularly by using the word ‘Christian’ in their official titles. However, in most cases God has not been honoured by this association and the Christian community has not been helped to fulfil her prophetic role in society.
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