From: "Richard Hong" 

>> Now about that Kalahari bushman -- what kind of car does he drive?

Gary,

Remember the context of this discussion: economic injustice and human sin.
What makes you think that bushman isn't *also* guilty of being selfish? 
You can be selfish and poor at the same time.  A poor person who would grab
all he can if it was offered to him freely, in excess of his needs, is just
as guilty of perpetuating an unjust economic system as a rich man who
hoards.

The fundamental questions are these:

1.  If humans were perfect, would we be cooperative or would we be competitive?
2.  If EVERY human worked as hard as he could, using the talents he has,
for the common good, mightn't we ALL be wealthy?

BTW, the "common good" doesn't mean sameness.  It can simply mean
a society where each can take as one desires and each produces as much as
one can. (Again, every excess you can imagine would happen if we actually
tried this is a symptom of sin, which is the point.)

I am not arguing that communism would actually work better than capitalism.
What I am arguing is that capitalism works *because* it accounts for human
sin and selfishness, and adapts to it.  It is eminently practical.  But
practical is not utopian.  And utopia is unattainable because we are
sinners.

Rich

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