15 areas and how we give counsel about how various aspects of human action (politics, economics, etc.) ought to be organized. In this section we will examine some selected areas of application to suggest the range of life and thought to which a biblical view applies. Economics and Human Nature The biblical view of human nature and the Fall ought to have a special role in the realm of economics. Economics is the discipline that concerns human action in markets and the role of state intervention in those markets, as well as the legitimate (or illegitimate) role of government in providing public goods and services. By virtue of being created in the image of God, we saw that humans possess creativity, the capacity to reason (including the ability to calculate means and ends), and are innately social creatures. In addition, humans were given dominion over the earth to make it a better place for the glory of God. The implications for possession, production, and exchange are evident. Humans are not only mandated to have dominion, but are given the creative capability to “make things” and to use reason to solve production problems in order to make better and cheaper goods or provide better and cheaper services. Because humans are social, they will be driven both to cooperate and to exchange some things for others. The result is that those who make one thing better tend to specialize on that (and do it better and more efficiently) and sell that to others who make what they want better and more cheaply. Both parties benefit, and wealth is created. Expand this process among many and there is a market that is able to coordinate many simultaneous transactions that enhance life and produce human flourishing. Ideally, of course, this is all done for God’s glory and His Kingdom. Contrast this with the economic system of Karl Marx. Marx was indeed a child of the Enlightenment, and his influence in politics and economics cannot be overstated. Marx believed that human nature was malleable; however, humans were changed not by some inward action, but outwardly, by economic systems, by the organization of material production. According to Marx, the ideology of capitalism contained within itself the seeds of its own destruction. Owing to its natural tendency toward increased competition, the capitalist system would inevitably produce “alienation,” or frustration and discontent, among the proletariat (factory workers). Why? Because he predicted that such ruthless competition in the market place (desire for profit) would increase unemployment (because businesses would go under) and lower wages.
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