61

Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and Not the
Problem
Jay W. Richards. 2009. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN: 9778-0-06  

Reviewed by P.J. Hill, Wheaton College

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just ignore incentives.
Whenever books are published that evaluate capitalism from a Christian
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Jay Richards, however, offers one of the best hopes yet for bridging the
gap. His book is clearly pro-market in terms of its overall perspective,
but he treats honestly and fairly the major concerns of Christians who are
critical of capitalism. He also does not attempt to read out of Holy Scripture
the concerns about materialism, greed, and self-centeredness. And he takes
with utmost seriousness Jesus teaching that we must show compassion for
the vulnerable and the marginalized.
Gods concern for the poor isnt just some sidelight.
It follows straight from what Jesus tells us are the two
greatest commandments. (p. 35)
God knows your heart. Spiritually youre better off a little
mixed up about economics than indifferent to human
suffering. (p. 35)
Richards own intellectual pilgrimage probably helps him understand
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college freshman in 1985 he was convinced that anyone serious about
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coordination. Over time, though, as he read more widely and became
acquainted with economics, his views changed. He came to believe that
Christian condemnations of capitalism are based on misunderstandings of
the moral groundings of markets and the actual workings of property rights
and markets. Richards thinks those misunderstandings can be summarized
in eight myths.
!"# The Nirvana Myth (contrasting capitalism with an unrealizable
ideal rather that with its live alternatives)

62 FAITH & ECONOMICS

$"# The Piety Myth (focusing on our good intentions rather than
on the unintended consequences of our actions)
%"# The Zero-Sum Myth (believing that trade requires a winner
and a loser)
&"# The Materialist Myth (believing that wealth is not created, it
is simply transferred)
'"# The Greed Myth (believing that the essence of capitalism is
greed)
("# The Usury Myth (believing that working with money is
inherently immoral or that charging interest on money is
always exploitive)
)"# The Artsy Myth (confusing aesthetic judgments with economic
arguments)
*"# The Freeze-Frame Myth (believing that things always stay the
samefor example, assuming that population trends continue
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always be needed).
Myths 1 through 4 are standard fare for economists and should not be
controversial. In fact, myth #2, the problem of focusing just on intentions,
is the main staple of books by Christian economists. If economic analysis
teaches us anything it is the importance of the and then what? question.
Richards, although not an economist, does an excellent job of bringing
sound economic analysis to bear in this chapter. He treats numerous issues,
including the living wage, fair trade coffee, and foreign aid. Richards is
familiar with the economics literature on these issues and explains the
economic principles clearly and effectively.
Myths (and chapters) 5 through 7 require more explication, and some
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beyond the standard application of economic reasoning to issues that are
more theological and philosophical. It is these chapters, however, which
make the book particularly strong, because Richards does not dismiss out
of hand moral objections to capitalism, but treats them seriously and fairly.

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book. Too many people, economists included, believe that greed is actually
the essence of capitalism, and unfortunately, some defenders of capitalism,
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why Rand, along with Bernard de Mandeville in his Fable of the Bees,

63

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argues that we act in our own interest in almost all of our daily actions, but
since we are social beings, our interests include the interests of others also.
In the words of Richards,
Self-interest has to do with those things we know, value,
and have some control over. I am most responsible for
what I do. I have more responsibility for my daughter and
the next-door neighbor than I have for a random person
picked out of the Fargo, North Dakota phone book (p.
121).
In other words, as Adam Smith understood, the self-interest that operates
in capitalism is a component of all human behavior and is not unique to
capitalism. The reason we pay more attention to our own interests and
the interests of those closest to us is more the result of limited knowledge
than perverse behavior. Thus self-interested motivations in a society can
lead to successful social coordination through the process of impersonal
exchange.
This coordination does depend on appropriate government action;
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property rights under the rule of law. Otherwise, greed can run rampant and
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of others.

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short-hand description of this issue. The fundamental question is one that
has energized both defenders and critics of capitalism and is captured by
the title of the chapter explicating this myth, Doesnt Capitalism Lead to
an Ugly Consumerist Culture? Richards answer is not necessarily. He
correctly points out that gluttony, or excessive desires, are the real sin, a
sin that is not necessarily driven by the economic system one lives in. A
free market allows people to choose incorrectly, but it does not force them
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to buy local, are not sustainable at anything other than the margins of ones
life. Richards ends his chapter with a compelling charge against much of
the capitalism is consumerism idea.
The cultural critique of capitalism reduces to little more
than aesthetics masquerading as economics. Good tastes
dont suspend the truth of economics. Moreover, it is the
materialist worldview that even denies the divine, and not
capitalism, that is the greater driver of ugliness in modern

64 FAITH & ECONOMICS

culture. By pursuing the wrong villain Christians squander

their energies, which could be better spent battling the
real culpritan insidious worldview that denies the
great truths of Christianity, truths that led to the greatest
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that the world has ever known. (p. 182)
Chapter 8, the natural resource chapter, reverts to standard economic
analysis and is well researched and argued. Richards explains how, in a
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increased resource scarcity to both consumers and producers, and the
resulting market adjustments keep us from running out of resources. He
also recognizes the possibility of market failure and the problem of the
tragedy of the commons.
The book concludes with a list of ten ways to alleviate poverty, all of
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spiritual nature of the universe we live in.
One of the more interesting parts of the book is actually relegated to
an appendix, where Richards critiques one of the saints of free-market
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problems of central planning insightful, he thinks Hayek is so bound to a
materialistic view of the universe that he pushes his order out of chaos
paradigm too far. It is his effort to see all forms of order as resulting from
spontaneous, undirected processes that troubles Richards, as well it should.
The problem comes in Hayeks leap from his critique of central planning
to a more general argument that the more complex the order the more
likely that it is not the product of any ordering force. The proposition that
markets and prices serve a spontaneous ordering function is quite different
than the argument that there is no cosmic purpose to the universe we live
in.
This is a thoughtful, carefully argued book that is accessible to a general
audience, but also is well grounded in current research. I recommend
it to both economists and non-economists. There are only two places I
would wish for greater clarity. First, the problem of pollution, while
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enforcing property rights would have been helpful. Second, Richards
is unclear as to whether he thinks some forced income redistribution is
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law and property rights as the key to wealth expansion, but the issue of
state involvement in caring for the poor is not thoroughly treated. These are
minor complaints, however, and the book clearly is a welcome addition to the
ongoing debate over the moral and economics issues surrounding capitalism.