The tenth principle of Biblical Economics. In this case applied to global economic systems. See the video at www.vimeo.com/vivgrigg This is part of the course on Community Economics at www.wciu.edu/matul taught by Professor Viv Grigg as part f the MA in Transformational Urban Leadership.

1. Principle 10:
Economic
Development as
Freedom, Liberty,
Being Set Free…
Dr Viv Grigg
Professor of Urban Leadership
William Carey International
University
July 2022

2. Development as Freedom
The work of the Spirit of
Liberty in creating
structures that allow for
multiple seeds of creativity
and productivity in a free
economy.
.

3. Humankind ought to be left to follow its inborn
inclinations, which are to sustain life and to acquire
goods.
Reflections from Adam Smith:
The Wealth of Nations, 1776

4. Humankind ought to be left to follow its inborn inclinations,
which are to sustain life and to acquire goods.
Human interests are best served by a government that
abstains from interference in free enterprise, putting checks
only on undue strife and competition.
Reflections from Adam Smith:
The Wealth of Nations, 1776

5. Humankind ought to be left to follow its inborn inclinations,
which are to sustain life and to acquire goods.
Human interests are best served by a government that
abstains from interference in free enterprise, putting checks
only on undue strife and competition.
Attracted by their own interests, individuals will do what
serves the common good, for in that all will gain and
prosper.
Reflections from Adam Smith:
The Wealth of Nations, 1776

6. • Genesis: Am I my brother’s keeper?
• We are to manage creation but we are to be equals of out brother
and sister, not rulers, though we do need leaders, but they are our
equals.
• Exodus: How a Slave People Became the People of God
• Leviticus: Structural & National liberation: Jubilee
• Slaves set free
• Wealth Redistributed
• Means of Production Equally Distributed
• Personal & National: Where the Spirit is there is freedom (2
Cor 3:17)
• What happens when the teaching of the scriptures and revival (The
Word & the Spirit) infiltrate every part of society?
1. The Biblical Basis for Freedom as Goal

7. • Leviticus: Structural & National liberation: Jubilee
• Slaves set free
• Wealth Redistributed
• Means of Production Equally Distributed
The Biblical Basis for Freedom as Goal

8. • Samuel’s unwillingness to appoint a King because of the
centralization of Power (1 Sam 8).
• Kings will oppress
• Kings will centralize power and wealth
• God does not wish it, but allow it
Biblical Basis
•The Limits to Government

9. National/ Global
• At Creation it was the Spirit who moved freely over the
waters creating structures that enabled life.
• Luke 4:18; Jesus declared goal to set people free from
oppression. Referring to national and global liberation
through an eternal Jubilee
Personal & Communal
• Where the Spirit is there is freedom (2 Cor 3:17)
• What happens when the teaching of the scriptures and
revival (The Word & the Spirit) infiltrate every part of
society?
Biblical Basis
•The Holy Spirit as Author of Freedom

10. 2. The Book: Development
as Freedom
Freedom for Individuals
Freedom for Communities
Freedom for Nations
.
Amartya Sen

11. A theoretical framework that involves two
core claims:
• Freedom to achieve well-being is of
primary moral importance.
• Freedom to achieve well-being must be
understood in terms of people with
capabilities.
•Amartya Sen’s Capability Theory

12. • Take away the barriers to freedom:
oppression, tyranny, racism, civil war
• Open the way to freedoms e.g.
education, health care as foundational.
At the Grassroots and Governmental Level
The Capability Approach

13. • Open the way to freedoms e.g. education,
health care - foundational.
• Overcome political oppressions; develop
political freedoms
• Overcome widespread hunger and deprivation
• Identify and support basic freedoms
• Create sustainable environmental policies
At the Grassroots and Governmental Level
Overcoming Unfreedoms

14. • Personal Freedom
• Economic opportunities
• Political Freedoms
• Social Facilities
• Transparency Guarantees
• Protective Security.
Contrasting Domains of Freedom

15. Transparency of Government => Accountability to the
People can be measured
• Rule of Law – property rights, freedom from corruption
• Limited Government - Government size, % of GDP
• Regulatory Efficiency - Business freedom, labor freedom,
monetary freedom
• Open Markets – Freedom to trade, investment freedom,
freedom of the banking system from political interference
• Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation
• (Others might identify other freedoms as more important)
3. Freedom => Limits to Government

16. • Market economies solved the
problem of coordination of
supply and demand more
successfully than planned
ones.
• A pluralism of trial and error,
experiments, failures and fresh
experiments – innovation
expands coordination.
John Kay
The Liberty of the Spirit
acting at governmental
levels releases multiple
creativities that
combine to create
efficient economic
infrastructures.
Viv Grigg
•Spontaneous Order Creates Economic
Infrastructure

17. • What businessman wants the Government to take his
hard-earned money and give it away?
Biblical Basis for Governmental Redistribution
• Yet Psalms tells us it is the responsibility of rulers to care
for the poor.
• That involves the principle of redistribution but at a
national level.
• The Jubilee gives us a principle of redistribution. Each
nation has to work out that principle with different methods.
Liberty & Governmental
Redistribution

18. Historical Basis
• European Christendom: The church cared for the poor in each
city and province
• Disestablishment of the Church: During the progression from
feudalism and the industrial revolution, the church became
largely disempowered and the Government began to take more
responsibility for migrant populations
• The Great Depression: fostered a new concept of a social net,
a basic provision for the poor, the New Deal in the US,
eventually the social Welfare State.
• Global OECD Countries Social Services: The ongoing political
debate has been how much can productive businesses give to
government to then give to the non-working poor through the
Ministry of Social Services.
Liberty & Governmental
Redistribution

19. • Fordism refers to a way of economic life developed around the
mass production of consumer goods, using assembly-line
techniques. A few large companies came to dominate the key sectors
of the economy, they dictated the market, and dictated what
consumers would be offered.
• Critique: Dehumanization: Under mass production, not only were
parts interchangeable, so too were assemblers. According to Womack,
Jones, and Roos (1990: 31), the mass-production system carried the
division of labor to its ultimate extreme: "[T]he assembler ... had only
one task -- to put two nuts on two bolts or perhaps to attach one wheel
to each car (G. Frederick Thompson Fordism, Post-Fordism,and
the Flexible System of Production).
•Fordism

20. Neo-liberal Economic Theory challenges statist Models
where the government controls freedoms
• Adam Smith, in The Wealth of the Nations, talked about the
invisible hand.
• Neoliberal Economic Theory, based on that, seeks to:
• Minimize government controls
• Minimize bureaucracy
• Free businesses from unnecessary red tape
• Expand public choices
• Assist business growth
Is this a good application of Biblical concepts of Freedom?
Neoliberalism: Free Markets, Public Choice &
Market Friendly Approaches

21. The Impact of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the U.K.
• Thatcher implemented sweeping reforms concerning the
affairs of the economy.
• the central reform measures of Thatcherism
• deregulation
• privatisation of key national industries
• maintaining a flexible labour market,
• marginalising the trade unions
• centralising power from local authorities to central government.
•Thatcherism, Reaganism

22. •
• Provider of public goods & services
– e.g. law & order services, military
• Protector of the commons
– e.g. enforcement of property rights, development
of cultural identity
• Re-distributor of wealth
– e.g. Superannuation, Working for Families,
progressive tax system
• Economic risk bearer (insurer)
– e.g. health services, ACC, dole, DPB
• Investor on behalf of citizens
- e.g. state owned enterprises, the Cullen Fund
•What are Economic Roles of the
State in New Zealand?

23. • Moses?
• Samuel?
• David?
• Solomon?
• Daniel?
• Jesus?
• Paul?
•What are the Debates about the
Roles of the State in the
Scriptures?

24. Consider example levels of Government:
• Broken Government: In Somalia, conflict
means infrastructure does not exist for
economic takeoff
• Limited Government: Among the Yezidis,
80 invasions mean entrepreneurship is
impossible because infrastructures do not
exist.
• Take-off Stage: Adam Smith was writing
from England with centuries of
development, and expanding government
roles
• Developed governments: ongoing success
includes 30-60% taxation to the common
good. This has worked to advance these
nations generally.
• Centralized bureaucratic control of
economic decisions by Marxist countries
has not produced high levels of productivity.
Conclusion: Limited
but extensive
governmental
frameworks of
economic involvement
in free countries have
worked positively to
bring about economic
growth and increases
in equitable
distribution.
Limited Government? Freedom does not
Mean No Structure, No Government =
Anarchy

25. • The jubilee brings a year of celebration
(Lev 23).
• Redistribution brings celebration (II Cor
8,9).
• The Coming of the Spirit brings
redistribution and celebration (Acts, 2,4).
• The Gospel is good news!!
• The Gospel is economic good news!!
• Communities of Christ celebrate weekly,
and yearly
• Where Disciples live out the Kingdom
ecoonomics, communities celebrate
4. Freedom Brings Celebration

26. •Readings on Freedom
Sen, Armartya. (1999) Development as Freedom. Anchor
Books.
Grigg, Viv. Kiwinomics. Auckland: Urban Leadership
Foundation. pp. 108-111.
Heilbroner, Robert L & William Milberg. (2002) The Making of
Economic Society. Prentice Hall.
Kay, John. (2004) Culture and Prosperity. Harper Business.
Todaro, Michael P & Stephen C. Smith. (2015). Economic
Development. Pearson Education.