Was Jesus a Socialist?
"Jesus was a socialist." What people generally mean when they say this, is that Jesus and the early Christians willingly shared, rich and poor, Jew and gentile, alike. But that's not really socialism. Socialism is a form of government that gives great power to the State to redistribute wealth, through taxation. It can also mean that the workers control the means of production, which can only occur in one of two ways; either the workers have sufficient capital (money) to actually own the means of production, or the state seizes the means of production from its rightful owners by force, and then gives it to the workers.
So, do we really think that Jesus was advocating that Rome should levy more taxes in order to pay for his great socialist utopia? Or, that maybe, the Pharisees, Sadducee, priests and scribes, who were Israel's ruling class, should levy more taxes and increase their power? I realize that theoretically, at least, that is not the socialist's intent. That is the inevitable outcome, though.
Finally, was Jesus really a socialist? Volunteering to give is charity. Being forced to give at the point of a gun, is not. The one is Christianity. The other is socialism.
Mark Magula
So, do we really think that Jesus was advocating that Rome should levy more taxes in order to pay for his great socialist utopia? Or, that maybe, the Pharisees, Sadducee, priests and scribes, who were Israel's ruling class, should levy more taxes and increase their power? I realize that theoretically, at least, that is not the socialist's intent. That is the inevitable outcome, though.
Finally, was Jesus really a socialist? Volunteering to give is charity. Being forced to give at the point of a gun, is not. The one is Christianity. The other is socialism.
Mark Magula