I once made a student really upset in the school I used to teach in. He was not used to a Bible teacher calling into question the biblical nature of capitalism. I suggested that socialism may be a more New Testament approach. I thought if there were no effect of the Fall on man, that there would be a great deal more sharing and no hungry children, etc. But of course its a silly statement isn’t? Since we are living with the results of the Fall, we have to operate in a world of brokenness which includes apathy and greed. I think that these are the two things (among others perhaps) that keep capitalism from really working.
“I want more”
and
“I don’t care”
But, I must say that, having seen socialism (and the aftermath of communism) up close, capitalism seems like the system that has the potential for the most justice. But this is dependent on those who have willingness to be caring and giving (either of themselves, opportunities or their resources) to those who have less. Caring enough about the needs of others to give away something of themselves.
Along these lines is a new film by Michael Moore. I’ve not seen it, doubt if I will, but an interesting review of it is available here. If you read the article, think about the last sentence.
kingdom travelin' 
Amen! I wasn’t around 200 years ago, but the (perhaps overly nostalgic) impression I have of our forefathers (and mothers) was that there was much more of a recognition of the value of the common good rather than the greedy amassing of as much as one could possibly grab for himself. Greed poisons and eventually kills whatever system (political, religious, social, personal) it is introduced into. And I hadn’t thought much about the contribution of apathy – good insight. Although convicting – am I part of the problem?!?! Lord, may we be part of the antidote and not succumb to the poison or the carelessness of apathy!
I think the whole socialism vs capitalism thing is something of a red herring (no pun intended) because both are systems of economic management and not electoral or legal systems.
There are plenty of totalitarian governments which espouse a capitalist approach to the market place, in particular when you think of places like Dubai and Saudi Arabia – entirely unfree from a social perspective yet unrelentingly capitalist.
When talking about justice, what exactly do you have in mind? Justice for whom? The worker? The magnate? The oppressed? From what I see of the Gospels, the sheep on judgement day are those who provide justice for the poor and downtrodden and I am not convinced that it will be the capitalist magnates who qualify.
I love how the Lord is rocking our greedy, comfortable nation. I’ve noticed since being back just how much we love our comfort and have been lulled into a state of inattentiveness to many very important things on God’s heart.
If I may quote Marx:
“religion is the opiate of the masses” – it seems at times from my short stay here so far, that the true religion of the American masses is capitalism, and a capitalistic interpretation of the faith. That religion has dulled the senses of many to the reality of the world around them, even to the existence of the world around them.
I cannot disagree with your assessment Al. But I think it is also about our lack of curiosity and our desire to be spoon fed information by CNN, NBC, Rush, Fox, etc. There is no seeking of the real turth from investigation, its more about what our fav speaker has said. Sadly, no… tragically, many, many Christians are the same, its just that they are following what ever their own leader says without critical thought… be it their pastor, minister, priest, or TV, radio or internet teacher… Paul said to the people in Thessaloníki, “I wish you were like the Bereans, for they check the Scripture to see if what I am saying is true.
I believe the Lord is saddened by the blindness of His sheep who are so easily led astray because of their intellectual laziness. He gave us His image, He gave us reason and communication so that we might have dominion, and yet we are willing to blindly follow, without being like the Bereans. Just because someone has a website, a TV show, a microphone, a following (large or small) doesn’t make them right, and it SURE doesn’t make them biblical.