Economics and Politics

Words have meanings. Sometimes, however, we lose sight of what they mean. If you're like me, sometimes we operate on what we think a word means without actually knowing what it means. As you can imagine, this might cause no end of confusion. In this time of economic unrest and political wrangling, I thought it might be a good idea to ... figure out what the terms "economic" and "political" mean. I suspect that 1) we're often operating off of what we think they mean and 2) we're wrong. I also suspect that figuring out what they really mean might help us in our current conditions and views.

The first I'll examine (simply because it fell first in the sentence above) is the concept of economics. Economics is the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind. We understand that "the economy" is "bad" and that it has something to do with money. That's only partially correct. Think about the word for a moment. When we "economize", we practice being frugal. Words you will hear in this concept is to "avoid waste" and "reduce expenditures". Why? Because we are operating on a set of limited resources. (Think about it. If you had unlimited resources, you would have no need to "economize".) Economics, then, is the management of limited resources. When I realized that, it helped me understand the concept of "the economy", an "economic crisis", and other uses of the term. We are running up against the limits of our resources. There is not an infinite amount. We can't all have everything we want. It is limited. The question then becomes, "Am I going to be satisfied with the limited amount of goods and services I have, or am I going to require someone else to be satisfied with less?" You see, all of the sudden "economics" becomes a heart problem, not a resource problem ... because resources are always limited.

Next up is "politics". We most often think about politics as something to do with partisan governmental entities. That's an extremely narrow view. Politics is the aggregate of relationships of people in society, especially those relationships involving authority or power. It is the process by which a group of people make decisions. Here, try this. What kind of politics go on in a party of one? None, right? That's because "politics" requires "group". And, of course, in any group there is a competing set of concerns, goals, and values. Thus, politics is the give-and-take, push-and-pull, of a body of people. This would, obviously, include a government (as long as that government is not a party of one). But it also includes any group dynamic. You know that it happens in churches. You know that there are "office politics". Politics occurs anywhere there is a group. (Thus, a dictator doesn't worry about politics.) So how does politics work? Well, in a group of two -- you and me -- we look at what you want in Situation X and we look at what I want in Situation X and we come to some sort of compromise. You want Y and I want W and you're bigger than me, so Y it is. Nice compromise! That's politics.

Oh, now wait a minute. Look at "economics" and now back at "politics". Do you see a parallel, a connection? Economics is the management of limited resources. Politics is the management of power. Oh, now that's interesting. So the question becomes "Am I going to look out for my own best interests or for the interests of others? Am I going to be most important, or am I going to consider others as more important than myself?" Those questions work in either the use of limited resources (economics) or the management of power (politics). I would suggest that Christians would find that answer in Philippians 2. I would also hope that you would see that both economics and politics at this point cease to be mere principles and means, but an indication of heart. The problems in both are not resolved by policy or force, but by changed hearts. And that is a job bigger than my vote or your dollar.

(Thanks, Danny.)