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I wish theologians who write about social matters would learn a little more about politics and economics.  Especially about unanticipated consequences, ulterior motives, and political snake oil.

Consider a society of a few enormous landowners, some modest landowners, and a mass of propertyless laborers.  Suppose one must have a little bit of land to vote.  Then the middle class will choose the rulers; of the two enfranchised classes, they are more numerous.  Now suppose even the poor can vote.  The poor are even more numerous than the middle class.  So now the poor will choose the rulers, right?  No, the upper class will choose them, because the poor are utterly dependent on the wealthy, and will vote as they are told.  The rich, with the votes of the poor, will squeeze out the middle class.  But the naïve will think that universal suffrage in such a society would help the poor.

Now consider a society like ours.  At the top is a small technocratic and bureaucratic elite.  In the middle is a middle class of workers and middling professionals.  At the bottom is are people who are economically precarious.  Suppose there is a strictly regulated dole and only citizens can vote.  Then the middle class will choose the rulers.  Now suppose there is a wide-open dole and even noncitizens can vote.  So now the poor will choose the rulers, right?  No, the middle class will be squeezed out and the elites will rule, because the poor are utterly dependent on the dole and will vote as necessary to keep it coming.  But the naïve think that a wide-open dole and unregulated voting help the poor.

What, aren’t such policies merely Christian generosity and godly charity?  No, they are cruel.  They aren’t ways to help the poor, but ways to make ourselves feel better about not helping them – worse yet, cynical ways of using them.  What the poor want is jobs, education, and hope.  What our welfare state gives them is permanent, demoralizing dependency on the government.

NEW STUFF

One-minute Author Video on Amazon.com

“Is the War in Iran Just?” Catholic World Report. 

“Deep Down, Are People Good or Evil?  The Camp of Cynics vs. The Camp of Utopians.”  Excerpt from my new book Pandemic of Lunacy in New Oxford Review.

“Dr. J. Budziszewski on Cultivating Rational Thinking.”  Interview by Steve and Becky Greene on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

UT Austin Professor Tackles Cultural ‘Pandemic Of Lunacy’ in New Book.  Interview by Micaiah Bilger in The College Fix.