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To: greasyHeart
Your reply to question #1What other socio-economic concept has achieved a higher standard of living for more people in less time in the history of the world?
"So, my answer is that the highest imaginable standard of living for the greatest number of people would be based on the kind of capitalism which emerges naturally from a society where the majority of the members are deeply and passionately Christian"

If your answer is "The Dissenters [who] themselves gave up on England, came to North America, and tried to duplicate the new society here. But, over the generations, the same kind of "Establishment creep" set in and the institutions which were founded on religious precepts were purged of those values." - then this failed so it has not "achieved a higher standard of living for more people in less time in the history of the world" than Western (US) capitalism.

Your answer to # 2: What socio-economic concept would you suggest the WTO export instead in order to address the paralysing poverty of the third world?
I posed the question because you criticised the WTO's "exportation" of capitalism.
Your answer was the WTO should not "export" anything. Well, that is not going to happen, so I find your "answer" inadequate.

Third, you campare OPEC to the US as a "world power". Yes, OPEC has significant economic power but this has been severely marginalized by oil exports from the former Soviet Union and South America. Besides, I was talking about military power - which, when used, makes economic power irrelevant (in the short term).

Overall, I see your devotion to Christianity (a good thing) limiting your vision regarding the realities of the world. We are discussing apples and oranges. I wish you well. The missionary efforts of Christians across the globe has been a quite successful humanitarian effort and in the long run can have a significant positive spiritual and economic impact. I suggest to you though, that rather than cast aside the non-faith based organizations of the world trying to achieve purely economic progress for the third world, that you embrace the positive impact these organizations can and do have and become more active with them rather than less. In this way you can impact those organizations with your Christian values. Remember "Render unto Ceasear what is Ceasar's." I think Jesus was a realist.

14 posted on 10/31/2002 10:04:01 AM PST by efnwriter
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