The Enemy of Liberty

For they do not speak peace/But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land (Psalm 35:20).

Introduction

We are in the midst of ideological warfare that could have far-reaching effects for a republican form of government. Note how the mainstream media has become a mouthpiece for the left and its progressive ideology. Pay close attention to those businesses which progressive ideologues have sought to ruin because they dared adhere to their Christian beliefs. The attacks on 1st and 2nd amendment rights never cease. Progressivism is an ideology that holds that a centralized powerful State will bring about a utopia on earth through bureaucratic regulation that threatens what we have typically experienced as liberty. Couched in rhetoric touting democracy, progressivism is a collectivist ideology that views individual liberty as the problem, a problem to be cured by an all-powerful State. Hence comes the movements of Critical Theory, Social Justice, and egalitarianism.

The Rhetoric of Progressivism

The Orwellian speak from the progressive left under the guise of such words as democracy, equality, and peaceful coexistence, is nothing more than rhetoric that they use to push their ideology. First an absolute democracy not checked by a republican form of government becomes rule by the majority. Note the move to eradicate the electoral college and the desire to shift all legal matters away from the states and localized decision making to the centralized government. This was specifically played out in Biden’s move to dictate to the state of Texas its decision on how it should guard and protect its own border. Second, equality of opportunity is not the aim of the egalitarianism of the progressive left. Egalitarianism shares nothing in common with equality of opportunity. Equality of results is the goal of progressive ideology. Individuals by the power of the State will be made equal, whether it be in pay, hiring practices, or educational outcomes. The aim of progressive ideology is to empower the centralized State to force equality of results. Meritocracy is targeted as racist and the result of class privilege. Given this stance, we see the onslaught of Critical Theory and Social Justice ideologies, particularly seizing the academy in all departments. Thus, peaceful coexistence is the last thing that progressives truly desire. Although much of the ideology undergirding progressivism emerges from postmodernism and its claim that all is a relative and a social construct, the true driving force of progressivism is the mantra, everything is political. Given that presupposition progressives will drive home their ideology via political power. Again, we can see this reality in the attacks on free speech and the weaponizing of the legal system to punish businesses that do not adhere to progressive ideology.

Ideological Warfare

Joseph T. Salerno, in his pamphlet, The Progressive Road to Socialism, hammers home that given the ideological presuppositions of progressivism, there can be no peaceful coexistence with the political goals of progressives. The conclusion of everything is political is that political power makes right. Salerno points to the work of Murray Rothbard as a blueprint for how those of us who stand against progressive ideologies should wage ideological warfare. First, we have to recognize that throughout the 20th century, progressives, the academy, and corporatism (corporate cronies tied to big government and the academy) have teamed up to apologize for progressive political aims. The payoff for both the academy and corporations has been subsidies from the State at the taxpayers’ expense. Such politicizing of all avenues of life is not something with which those who stand against progressive policies should seek to coexist, especially if coexistence as defined by progressives means that those who are critical of leftist policies are deemed racist and privileged, basically a move to silence any critical dialogue of progressive policies. Again, note the attacks on free speech. Second, given the political power wielded by progressives, Salerno points out that Rothbard counsels that those on the right must wage a warfare based on ideology that shatters the disguised rhetoric of progressivism, showing that progressive policies will lead to the destruction of a republican form of government, the economic prosperity it brought about, and the end of any sense of meaning of liberty. Salerno, quotes Rothbard: We are engaged in the deepest sense . . . in a “religious war” and not just a cultural one, religious because left-liberalism/social democracy is a passionately held worldview . . . held on faith: the view that the inevitable goal of history is a perfect world, an egalitarian socialist world. . .It is a religious worldview toward which there must be no quarter; it must be oppose and combated with every fiber of our being (p. 18). Salerno, as a libertarian, throws down the gauntlet. He states, There is no middle ground. You are either a progressive or a reactionary. You either join, or acquiesce in, the forced march into socialism or you join the reaction (p.19). Salerno points out that those on the right must recapture the meaning of reactionary, not letting it be labeled as a derogatory notion. This is the game the left plays. Again, note any critique these days of leftist policies is met with the opprobriums racist and privileged.

Conclusion

For the second time in three months I have opened this monthly blog article with an epigraph taken from Psalm 35:20. The question for those of us who are born-again Christians is how we go about the ideological warfare that Rothbard calls for when we are also commanded by Scripture to love and pray for our enemies. First, as a Christian, I hold that we should do as Scripture calls for, love and pray for our enemies. Note however, that in such a commandment, there is no denial that our enemies are just that, an enemy. The progressives do not speak peace (everything is political). Instead they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. As one who is opposed to an all-powerful and centralized State, I simply want to be left alone by the State, to live quietly in the land. However, there comes a time when it no longer suffices to remain quiet, but to engage the ideological warfare that has engulfed us. As believers in Christ, we must engage that warfare in a way that doesn’t turn us into the likeness our enemy.

Reference: Salerno, J. T. (2023). The Progressive Road to Socialism. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute.

[Joseph T. Salerno received his doctorate in economics from Rutgers University. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Mises Institute where he is also academic vice president and professor emeritus.]

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./ April 14th, 2024

ANALYSIS/Politics

Mis-State of the Union

Introduction

We live in a day in which everything has become politicized from health care to sexuality. The rhetorical prayer of postmodernism – everything is political – borrowed from their god, Karl Marx, for now is winning the day. Six days ago the presiding President of the U.S. declared his state of the union. This blog proffers my personal critique and response to the President’s address. I will disclose from the outset that politically I hold mostly to a libertarian viewpoint. As a Christian, I hold strongly to a Judeo-Christian ethic. The purpose of this blog is not to exalt the RNC, which I think has done nothing to counter the politicization of our culture. As a libertarian I believe that people can live a life in which very little is political. We cannot carve out a life for ourselves, however, apart from values and beliefs that form the foundation of how we live in the world. Today people in the U.S. are becoming more and more to believe that the State provides a life for them.

My response to the State of the Union Address is formed among three categories: 1) foreign policy; 2) economics; 3) political rhetoric. 

Foreign Policy

It is entertaining to listen to how Biden connects Putin’s threat to the world with the disproved charge that Trump won the election against Hilary Clinton because of Russian interference. And then he analogizes Putin’s world threat to the January 6th insurrection. To hear Biden’s claims, Putin is the most dangerous Stalinist in the history of totalitarianism. By the way, FDR, whom Biden praises, saw Stalin as an ally. Many in the military at the time saw exactly what Russia was about during those days. Is Russia about spreading totalitarianism today? Perhaps Putin may see himself as a world conqueror. 

While excoriating Russia, Biden then shows his anti-Israel colors by being soft on Hamas. Yes, he had to speak to the October 7th debauchery executed by Hamas. What else could he do? But sending money to “Gaza” is sending money to Israel’s enemies. Calling on Israel to a cease-fire with Hamas is anything but a rational foreign policy. If Putin epitomizes the evil from whom America can’t ever back down, then what is Hamas and the threat of Iran? There comes a point when the people of Gaza and Palestine must say to Hamas – no longer – no longer can you hide in innocent people’s homes, hospitals, and schools. I know that such a stance will take more courage than I can fathom. But courage is what is required to stand against such an evil as Hamas. Hamas’ evil is not limited to the gross debauchery they have perpetrated since their existence. It is also evident in their willingness to hide among civilians, placing them in extreme danger in the midst of reprisals for which Hamas’ evil deeds call forth. Israel is an ally. As such their foreign policy should not be dictated by America’s government. We may disagree at how Israel has gone about its response to Hamas; nonetheless, Israel is a sovereign country and is an ally. 

Next Biden seeks to tell everyone that China is really not rising in power and should not be considered that much of a fear factor. Tell that to the Taiwanese. Speak that nonsense to those who live in Hong Kong. If Putin is a threat to world peace, then to neglect China as such a threat, is totally irrational. In this nation we face the fact that China is buying up land and other forms of real estate throughout the country. Biden may want to claim that he and his cronies have brought to life the computer chip industry in America, but globally and economically that doesn’t make sense. China is a threat to the world as much, if not greater, than Russia. We will have to keep a close eye on Taiwan to see what happens. If China invades Taiwan, we’ll have to experience what our foreign policy is really made of. I would rather any support go to the Taiwanese than to Gaza, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. 

Failed Economic Policies

According to Biden’s speech he has made everyone better off from the poor to the wealthy. Addressing the decrease in deficit spending in the face of a $34-trillion dollar debt is like trying to irrigate a desert with a cup of water. The next government budget may very well see a fifth of its spending go simply to paying off the interest on the debt. And listening to Biden’s address doesn’t give anyone any comfort that government spending is on the chopping block. (By the way, this is as true of the RNC as it is the DNC.) Government spending is rather an oxymoron. It is actually the tax payers who are on the hook for the fiscal policies that lead to irrational spending by politicians. According to Biden, he is going to fix all problems from healthcare to education to corporate profits by the old game of tax-it-and-spend-it. Not one word did he utter regarding the government debt, what it does to the value of the dollar, and how it undermines peoples trust in economic policies. Not one word did he utter regarding the debauchery known as the Federal Reserve. End the Fed has been a shout for those who hold an understanding of economics contrary to Nobel Prize winners like Paul Krugman. The mindset that has taken hold of Washington’s fiscal and monetary policies can simply be translated as – spend our way toward utopia. 

As Biden spoke out of one corner of his mouth regarding deficit spending, out of the other side he played the old rhetorical tune of class envy, calling on the wealthy to pay their fair share. No doubt the tax burden in on the middle class. But this fact is due to both Democrat and Republican policies that uphold a so-called progressive income tax. The real question is who determined what is fair for everyone to pay in taxes. Such rhetoric is nothing more than the State being too much a part of our lives. When politicians set the tax code, then they and their IRA crony bureaucrats dictate to others what their fair share should be. There are many other pledges that Biden made that speak to what will be the continued failed economic policies put forth by Washington. Teachers will get raises, children will be forced to go into public education at earlier ages, unions will be subsidized to make America strong again. And then finally, an insult to all insults, inflation is going down. Tell that nonsense to people who are trying to buy a home, pay for an automobile, and to even those going to the grocery store. Of course all of these rises in prices will be fixed by more government spending and subsidizing of corporate cronies while the government debt continues to reach higher levels.

Everything is Political

Biden mentioned all the necessary politically-correct items from abortion to transgenderism. And then there is the border situation, which he has really tried to fix while instead trying to dictate to Texas that the state cannot string barbed wired along the Rio Grande. Literally millions of illegal immigrants have crossed the border, wreaking havoc on communities. Even schools in New York have been shut down, sending the students home while the educational facilities were used to house illegal immigrants. The border situation is a disaster. It’s remedy should be left up the each and every state that has to deal with the effects of illegal immigration. Immigration policies also effect economic policies. Those who enter the U.S. illegally are subsidized with healthcare, housing, and education. Interestingly enough, it is the very unions that Biden touts that look with scorn at immigration policies because of the jobs and inflated wage losses due to illegal immigration. I happen to believe that it is a wonderful reality that people want to move here, work, and establishing a life for themselves. But as in all countries, Mexico included, there are legal and legitimate ways to obtain that goal. Tax payers should not be subsidizing those who cross the border illegally.

Biden’s political rhetoric, which is true of Washing D.C. as a whole, was replete throughout his address. If we were to believe him, he will put forth policies that will solve all of our problems, of course at the tax payers’ expense. With every line, he had to take a jab at Trump (and I’m no Trump supporter). Of course it’s an election year. What this State of the Union puts forth is like most addresses over the last few decades, if not longer. People are to look to the beltway in D.C. for a life. Never mind the the pandemic and the policies that followed from it crushed the economy. Never mind that politicians are spending the economy into oblivion. Never mind that our foreign policy for the last decades since WWII have taken of the goal of a Pax Americana. And never mind that NATO is an organization that is at best a silent enemy of what America supposedly stands. NATO stands because of the American military and loss of American lives in foreign conflicts that we should not have engaged, from Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan.

Conclusion

The political rhetoric continues. Look to the politically elite for a life. They know better how we should live. The populace surely cannot carve out a life for themselves worth living. People are called to depend on the government. That is the taxpayer.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D/March 14th, 2024

ANALYSIS OF POWER/Politics  

The Political Class and the Rest of Us

For they do not speak peace/But they devise deceitful words for those who are quiet in the land. (Psalm 35:20)

Introduction

I have a trick question for you: what has the political class done for you lately? It’s a trick question on several levels. First and unfortunately, many people believe that politicians do extraordinarily benevolent things for them. Second, government and its peons can do nothing for any of us unless they first take something from someone else. The only thing that politicians can truly do for “the rest of us” is find more efficient ways to extricate themselves from our lives. Ho-hum. That will never happen, and all this question and answer exercise is simply to preface that, whether we like or not, we’re in an election year where candidates will promise people all they can get away with in an election year, only to renege on the promises once in office. However, don’t blame the politicians. Making promises is how they stay in “power.” The citizens are to blame because of their view of government. Government, especially on the national level, exists to give us a life – so people have come to believe in an ever evolving mind-numbing way. There are three things on which we can focus if we really want a nation that no longer looks to the federal government for some kind of life. First , we need a refocus on the legitimate relationship between the federal level of government and the state and local levels of government. Centralization of power has gone much further than simply being an overreach to being a tyrannical threat to state and local powers. One example of this overreach is being played out in the border crisis in Texas. However, too much centralization of power is the core problem of all that will be discussed in this blog article. Second, we need to properly understand economics and, in the words of Murray Rothbard, what government has done with our money. Third, we need to take a hard look at our foreign policy, not defining every conflict in which the U.S. engages the military in patriotic colors and rhetoric about spreading democracy around the world.

Centralization of Power

The present conflict between Biden and Abbot regarding the border crisis is simply a symptom that speaks to a more pernicious issue of the loss of states’ rights in the usurpation that accompanies the centralization of power that has been accumulated in Washington D. C. The crisis of illegal immigration is another reality that the Federal Government would have people believe doesn’t exist. Illegal immigration is not merely about people crossing the border. Who can blame individuals for wanting better lives for themselves. Presently, however that “better life” is promised to illegal immigrants in terms of entitlements at the expense of the taxpayer. Free schooling, healthcare, and welfare benefits are held up like a carrot to entice people to cross the border illegally. There is also evidence that non-citizens are being allowed to vote in elections. To desire to be a citizen in this country is a good thing, and there are proper channels for doing so. The border crisis is real, but it’s simply one piece of evidence for the politicalization of everything, particularly at the expense of states rights while the federal level of government seeks to bully states into relaxing or eradicating their stance on illegal immigration. Centralization of power at the federal level of government risks more than laws regarding immigrants. We have watched over the years federal powers intrude on states rights in areas from education to now free speech and second amendment rights. One place this power struggle is being played out now happens to be at Texas’ southern border.

Understanding Economics

Wrap your mind, if you can, around the figure $34.2 trillion. This is our the present debt owed by our government on the day I’m writing this article. We are fast approaching where one-fifth (20%) of federal expenditures will go specifically to pay the interest on this debt. For a people that looks to government to take care of their needs, the simple fact that the government has no money is unfathomable. There are two basic truths about politicians. One, they want to keep promising people anything they can spew from their mouths; two, they don’t want to raise taxes. Not doing the former and doing the latter will prevent them from getting elected. If the promises that politicians make are not paid for via taxes, then the Federal Reserve simply prints the money. (Others outside the government are imprisoned for counterfeiting money). The more printed money the government infuses into the economy, the less valuable the dollar becomes. Hence, people’s purchasing power of the money they work for is destroyed. Looking at both government and our society as a whole, we have become an indebted people. We tend to define wealth by things people possess without seeing the indebtedness in which they swim. Regardless of what Paul Krugman in the New York Times spouts, the devaluing of our currency along with inflation are realities. These realties tend to hit hardest those who are on fixed incomes, such as retirees. One short paragraph will not suffice to help us understand economics. This is a topic to which I want to return time and again in the future. The basic principle to remember for now in this election year is that politicians love to make promises with other peoples’ money in mind.

Foreign Policy

In this years’ election drama, foreign policy will be a hot topic with so many points around the world embroiled in military conflict, with Russia/Ukraine, China/Taiwan, and Israel/Palestine being three of the most visible points of contention that could lead to further world conflict and war. Our foreign policy over several decades since W.W.II has been one disaster after another. We continue to embroil ourselves in the name of “American interests” in various countries around the world, spreading our use of troops to an ever-thinning layer and making poor decisions as to why we entered a conflict in the first place, and then making even poorer decisions about how to exit such conflicts. Foreign policy and the Pentagon is another example of other peoples’ money. The budget for the Pentagon contributes heavily to the U.S. debt. Although I am for a strong military and the proper role of the military in defending this country, we need to really search out why and if we need our military stationed all around the globe in a Pax Americana fashion. We are presently looking at some potential heavy conflicts that could really draw on our ability to defend this country, ranging from China to Iran to Russia. This is not a time to speak of spreading democracy around the world via the Pentagon,

Conclusion

Although in the Psalm from which the epitaph for this article is drawn the psalmist, David, is writing a prayer to God for rescue from enemies, I believe we must recognize when a government crosses the line to becoming an enemy of the people. Crises regarding the centralization of federal power hit home in the areas of fiscal/monetary policy, immigration policy, and foreign policy. While people can expect these three areas to be the foci in this election year, do not expect much discussion around the decentralization of power, not as long as the basic premise to which people hold is that the government (the State) exists somehow to take care of our needs, security, and peace of mind. Those of us who believe in a radial decentralization of power long for a government that does its minimal job of guarding our basic rights, which, by the way, do not come from the hand of the government. Otherwise we want to go about our business and be “quiet in the land.” What we will hear from political wannabes are many deceitful words about why they should live in every nook and cranny of our lives. One of the pathways to peace entails ridding ourselves of the State that presently controls our lives too much. The other and more important pathway is spiritual, praying that God awakens this nation unto Him. Government, the State, is not, never has been, and never will be a way to true peace and prosperity.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./February 14th, 2024

GENERAL ESSAY/ANALYSIS OF POWER/POLITICS

The Gift of Time

So teach us to number our days that we may present to You a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

Introduction

Several times I have posted on this blog regarding six major themes (here) I intend to explore at various times from month-to-month through Contemplations. For this month I want to focus on the theme humility/finitude, more specifically finitude. We are finite creatures with a limited amount of time given to us in this life. As a Christian although I believe in the Biblical teaching of eternal life through the atoning work of Jesus, the Messiah, this present earthly existence is the one life that God has granted us on this side of eternity. Life and time are gifts. Hence we are responsible for how we use this life, how we go about living out our lives. For Christians such a journey is wrapped up in our sanctification (John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). God’s sovereignty is a comforting truth for the lives of us who are in Christ. The fearful truth is that time is something we can waste, thereby culminating in an empty and a wasted life. Meaning making is also one of the six major themes I have explored on this blog. If our lives are to be meaningful, then via God’s sovereignty and providence, we are to obey Him, utilizing the gifts and talents He has granted us via His grace. It is a frightening thing, indeed, for many people to look back on their lives and ponder: What was it all about?

This Side of Eternity

On this side of eternity life is short, whether or not we want to admit it (Psalm 39:5, 11; 103:15-16). Living a full and satisfied life in this world evades the grasp of many people. In 1969, I was just starting out my college studies at University of North Texas (North Texas State University back then). Since then, fiftyy-five years have passed. Needless to say those five-and-a-half decades flew by like the wind. In many ways, I have no idea where they all went. I became a believer in Christ through Campus Crusade when a couple of Crusade’s members stopped by my dorm and shared the gospel. I can’t reinforce enough how I wish I would have embraced my sanctification over those fiftyy-some-odd years, grown and matured in Christ, never looking back to my previous way of life. But I did not. Much too often in my life, there were too many years of wandering, not following God’s truths that led me down some dark paths. Simply put, those days of wandering were wasted time, time that I cannot reclaim and make different. That is not to say that God is not sovereign over all we do. He is. His sovereignty for me involved pulling me back on the right path more than once. That doesn’t alter the reality that I let valuable time in my life expire, not living in the manner I was supposed to live.

God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

We are called in Scripture to obey and abide in God and Christ (John 15:1-11). We are exhorted to pursue our sanctification. This Biblical truth channels us through the thorny knot of God’s sovereignty and our responsibilities before Him. All that is good comes from the sovereignty of God. That includes the commandments He calls us to obey, which we can do only by His grace. The sad fact is that we can also go astray. While such wanderings are part of God’s sovereignty, many times that sovereignty comes with the hard lessons we learn through our erring ways. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us, The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. As finite creatures, we must also embrace the humility that we cannot fathom the mind of God. His sovereignty and our personal responsibilities as saints in Christ are both Biblical truths. God uses the means of our obedience and disobedience to bring us toward the ends He has for us. This is difficult to plumb with finite logic. As saints in Christ totally via God’s grace He has called us to sanctification, which we also obtain via His grace, but which we can shirk in disobedience with consequences that follow. One of the most devastating consequences is that we can waste and trash valuable time in this life on this side of eternity.

Time As a Gift

Whom God has called to be in Christ, the Messiah, He will not lose one of them (John 17:12). God set me on a path to encounter other believers during those wandering times following 1969 that brought me back to the fold. Many of those individuals whom I’ve known since the 1970’s remain close friends of mine. The fact still holds, however, with this question: How different would my life have been had I begun the path of my sanctification following the evening of my conversion? As a finite creature, I’ll never possess the capability of answering that question. I know this. I learned a hard truth. Do not be deceived.God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap (Galatians 6:7).There was some wasted time during those years I would like to have back. But they are gone. God’s sovereignty is not an excuse to waste our time. Rather His sovereignty is a comfort that we can keep our focus on Him, knowing that while acknowledging Him in all our ways, He will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). The reality of this finite life is that we can in sinful disobedience walk many crooked paths. God’s sovereign lovingkindness is not an excuse to walk those paths without fear. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever (Psalm 19:3). His sovereign lovingkindness is a blessing we have, even when we go astray.

Conclusion: Finiteness and Infinity

The epigraph that opens this blog article from Psalm 90:12 provides us with an important truth regarding the time that makes up our lives. Having a Biblical understanding of our finitude should lead us to be wise. The importance of wisdom is highlighted throughout Scripture. We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:37-40; Luke 10:27). Knowing that our days are numbered should lead us to present a heart of wisdom to God. On this side of eternity, we know our finitude, and for those of us in Christ, we have an unfathomed blessing ahead of us to spend eternity with the Triune God. Although finite, for those of us who have believed in the only begotten Son of God, our infinity with Him begins now. We have the blessing via our sanctification to know God on a deeper level each and everyday. Why would we want to waste our time not pursuing that blessing? Another warning comes to us via Scripture. There is no Biblical justification that an individual can claim to believe in Jesus, the Messiah, and continue unchanged with his or her formal way of living. Wasted time can be a reality for believer and unbeliever alike. For those of us in Christ, God is sovereign in our lives. Let us never call on His sovereignty as an excuse for a wayward life.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./January 14th, 2024

ANALYSIS/CHRISTIAN THOUGHT

The Season of Advent

Introduction

The Christmas season is upon us. As one who believes in the atoning work of Jesus, the Messiah, this time of year is a joyous one for me. We are in the middle of what Christians call the season of advent as we approach the day that we will celebrate the birth of our Savior. This is typically the time that those churches that hold to the Incarnation of Christ take four Sundays before Christmas to light the four advent candles. In the church I attend, the candles of hope and joy have thus far received their flame. We have the remaining two candles of peace and love to light before we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th. On this month’s blog, I thought I would say just a little about each of the advent candles: hope, joy, peace, and love. The theme that will run through the discussion of these four blessings is Jesus, the Messiah, Himself. These four words cannot stand on humanistic understandings. Apart from Jesus, they fall short from their true meaning.

Hope

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2nd Corinthians 5:21).

Unfortunately, we use the word hope many times to mean nothing more than wishful thinking. Biblically, the notion of hope has nothing to do with wishful thinking that may or may not come true for our lives. The Christmas season is one of hope because it is grounded in God. The advent (coming) of Christ is the basis of our hope. Indeed, He is the foundation of our hope. From Old Testament times, beginning in Genesis, God promised the advent of a savior that would defeat evil and death. We have hope because God keeps His promises. Our savior came in the Incarnation of Jesus, the Messiah, who Himself is the foundation of our future hope when we place faith in Him. Hope apart from God is meaningless. The word of God gives us the truth about our future hope of being in God’s presence through our savior, Jesus, the Messiah. Through the atoning work of Jesus through the cross – His death, resurrection, and ascension – we have the promise and the hope we can look forward to of being in God’s presence forever. We have the hope that through Jesus we have been removed from God’s judgment. Indeed, meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:21 that heads this section. God sees us through Jesus’ atoning work as the righteousness of God. Our salvation and position in Christ is totally the work of God. His eternal decree never fails. Our hope is in our rock and redeemer.

Joy

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full (John 15:10-11)

Just as the word hope has been popularized to mean wishful thinking that may or may not come true, people many times confuse the word joy with happiness. Happiness is a fleeting emotion that is based primarily on particular situations or circumstances. There is nothing wrong with happiness, but joy carries a depth of meaning to it that far surpasses the meaning of happiness. In Luke 2:10-11, the angels informed the shepherds in the field that a savior had been born to the world. This good news (gospel) according to the hosts of angels that appeared to the shepherds, would bring joy for all the people. The apostle Paul tells us that in Christ we are to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4). In John 15, what some call the abide chapter, Jesus tells His disciples that He has given them the things He told them so that His joy would be in them to make their joy complete (John 15:11). In the following chapter of John, Jesus informs His disciples that in the world they will have tribulation, but that they should not be concerned for He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Hence joy is something we hold to, not just in happy circumstances, but in times that are difficult as well. Just like hope, joy is grounded in God and what He has done through the Incarnation of Jesus, the Messiah. Through Jesus, we come into a relationship with God, knowing Him on a deeper and deeper level through our sanctification. Christmas is a joyous season because of the birth of Jesus, the Person of Jesus, and the salvation that Jesus offers to those who believe in His Person, name, and work.

Peace

Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

We live in turbulent times. The conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas serve as examples of wars and violence that we would like to see have a peaceful resolution. We think of peace as the absence of war and turbulent times in our lives. However, again, the Biblical view of peace, like hope and joy, is grounded in God, and what He has done through our Lord, Jesus, the Messiah. Those who believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God, will not come into judgment. Those who believe in the atoning work of Jesus, the Messiah have passed out of death into life (John 5:24). Peace, rather than being the absence of conflict, is the presence of God whereby His wrath has been propitiated through the atoning work of Jesus, the Messiah. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ and His salvific work He has performed. This is something we didn’t earn, merit, or deserve. It comes to us totally by the grace of God. What does this mean about the way in which we are to respond to the turbulent times that engulf us? The only antidote to sin is the blood of Christ ( Outreach: Behold a Savior is Born, p. 38). We are to respond to the world as through Christ. This doesn’t mean we don’t call evil, evil, and good, good. We have a Biblical mandate to do so. But ultimately, the Biblical meaning of peace is the peace we have with God through our faith in the atoning work of Jesus. The Apostle Paul exhorts us: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). We can demonstrate what this season is about through the peace we have with God by showing goodwill toward others. Who are those in our lives to which we can show goodwill, perhaps in ways we never have before?

Love

But God demon\strates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

As I have said before on this blog, we live in a postmodern world, where truth is set aside for relativity, although so-called postmodern warriors do not fail to use the political realm in coercive ways. We also live in a world where feelings supposedly describe truth rather than rationale and reason. If I feel that you have offended me, then my truth is that you have offended me. And politically, if possible, you are to be held accountable for offending me. Consequently, like the notions of hope, joy, and peace, the notion of love is caught up in sentiment, feelings, and emotions. The primary word for love, used in the New Testament, is agape. It is a love that does for others, that serves others, that helps to meet others’ needs where possible. Agape love is also grounded in God. 1st John 4:19 tells us, we love because He (God) first loved us. Apart from God we do not understand what it means to love. He is our rock and redeemer(Psalm 19:14). This is true of the unbeliever in the sense that all human beings are created in the Imago Dei, the Image of God. God’s ultimate love is seen through the sending of His only begotten Son into the world so that we may have life through Him (1st John 4:9). God did not have to save anyone. His love is shown through the gift of His Son who willingly took on our sin when He didn’t have to do so. He willingly gave up His life to have laid upon Him our sinful filth. Jesus is the Lamb of God, but He is also the Lion of Judah. No one took His life from Him. He willingly surrendered it so that His righteousness could be imputed to those who place faith in HIs atoning work. Our response to God’s gift of salvation brings us to what Jesus declared as the greatest commandment: You should love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . you should love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). We can do this only because God first loved us. Agape love for God and neighbor is an active and serving love. The Old Testament word for love that is used quite frequently is the hesed of God, meaning His lovingkindness. Psalm 100:4-5 tells us that God’s lovingkindness is everlasting. Lovingkindness is an attribute of God that never fails us. It is available only to those who believe in the atoning work of Christ. As we approach the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, as Christians, we need to set aside the busyness of the holidays, and rejoice in God’s love, what the season is truly about.

Conclusion

The season of advent is upon us, and for those of us who are in Christ through our faith in His atoning work, it is a season where the advent candles of hope, joy, peace, and love, describe the hope we have in God’s promises, which will be fulfilled; the joy we have because of the birth of our Savior; the peace we have with God through our belief in the atoning work of Christ that propitiates the wrath of God; and the love of God seen in His sending His only begotten Son into the world that we may live through Him. Hope, joy, peace, and love are grounded in God. They are concepts that humanistic values cannot sustain. Apart from the one, true, living God, they are ultimately meaningless concepts. I encourage Christians this advent season: embrace your hope in Christ; rejoice that the advent of a Savior has been fulfilled; find peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace; and know the lovingkindness of God that is everlasting and never fails.

[All Biblical passages are taken from the NASB 1995 version of the Bible. Some of the ideas stated here are informed by the 30-Day Devotional Journal: BEHOLD: A Savior Is Born. Colorado Springs, CO: Outreach Inc.]

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./December 14th, 2023

THEOLOGY/BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

Takeaways/Book Review – Lew Rockwell on Economics and Moral Courage

Introduction

As I’ve said before on this blog, we live in a postmodern age in which the notion of truth has been jettisoned, and rhetoric is king in a social milieu where everything is political. Most people, when they think of economics, see a field regarding filthy lucre. They do not think of absolute truth as being a part of any discussion of economics. The positivist philosophy of science constantly attacks the notion of economics as an a priori science. Indeed it attacks the notion of any a priori science. Hence, we live in a morass today whereby politicians and those in power define economic truth. For the most part, the academy is the mouthpiece for monetary policies proffered by bureaucrats who define what is and what is not economic reality. Hence we hear from the halls of power today that we truly have no inflation. State of the union addresses tell us that we are ensconced in a stable and healthy economy when all one has to do is go to the grocery store or seek to purchase a home to discover that Washington D.C. is made of nothing but lies. (To believe in lies, however, one must believe in truth.) Lew Rockwell Jr. has authored a small pamphlet with a title that stands fully against this postmodern age: Economics and Moral Courage. It speaks of three men who stood against the cultural milieu of their time in upholding that economics is not merely about political ideologies, but about truth and the reality that people must face as they strive to make a living, build savings account, and seek to make sound and stable lives for themselves. The three individuals are Henry Hazlitt, Murray Rothbard, and Ludwig von Mises.

Economics Should Explain the Financial Reality Which We Face

Thomas Carlyle dubbed economics as the dismal science. Austrian economists, however, have a different take. In this age of Keynesianism, however, (which might even frighten Keynes himself if he were still around to see what government has done to our money) the Austrian perspective is not mainstream. Over the past fifteen years, we have witnessed the spending of billions of dollars to bail out businesses and banks because they were deemed too big to fail. What the State cannot confiscate in taxes to pay for such policies, they turn on the printing machine, flooding the market with money. Hence, the dollar, which sometime back was ripped screaming bloody murder from the gold standard, has continually weakened in purchasing power, and inflation is undermining people’s ability to structure a life for themselves. Our overlord politicians tell us there is no inflation, and all is well with the economy.

In the first few pages of Rockwell’s pamphlet, he uses the the phrase underlying reality at least five times, speaking to how economics as a science should address, not the surface, but the reality that people face in their economic strivings. The positivist view of economics offers charts and statistics to explain the economy. The Austrians address the economic realities that people face day-in and day-out. Economics from the Austrian perspective is about human action. Rockwell calls on Bastiat’s notion of the unseen dimensions of human action through which we must understand such economic realities as the business cycle, the structure of production, sound money and investment, and the difference between fake and real savings. The goal of the political class, however, is to keep reality at bay.

Abstract Thinking Is Required to Understand the Economy

To grasp a full understanding of economic production in contrast to uneconomic production, economists must have a theory by which to explain the economy. What is the relationship between capital and interests? How can we understand the business cycle so as to know we are in a boom that will eventually bust? The 2008 debacle is a prime example. How do we understand what money really is and what it is not? How can such understanding provide us with a solid understanding of money and investment? What is the role of the central bank in the economy? Do we really need a central bank? The age of positivism will not give us answers to these questions. Only good and sound economic theory can lead us through and hopefully take us out of the morass that monetary policies created by politicians have brought about. In contrast to the postmodern dictum that everything is political, Frank Chodorov stated that economics is not politics. This is a lesson we must learn if we are to build a sound economy.

Holding To Sound Economics Requires Moral Courage

Rhetoric creates a reality that will eventually undo itself because what rhetoric alone creates is not real. In this age where we constantly hear the dronings of everything is political or follow the science, Austrian economists go against such mainstream notions. Since the academy, for the most part, is mouthpiece for the political class these days, there are few institutions of higher learning, where students will obtain the Austrian perspective on economics. The academy censors ideas that do not align with the political and philosophical ideologies that have become mainstream. (This is not only true of the field of economics, but it is true also in the field of science, especially regarding climate change and its political hacks. But that is another blog article.) Rockwell discussed three individuals who held the Austrian perspective and lived out their lives standing against other perspectives such as Keynesianism and its consequential interventionism and massive government spending. These three men were: Henry Hazlitt, author of Economics in One Lesson; Murray Rothbard, author of Man, Economy, and State/Power and Market; and Ludwig von Mises, author of Human Action. Two economists and one journalist held to principles and the moral courage that led them to, for the most part, to work outside economic departments in the academy. Hazlitt worked out a life as an American journalist while Rothbard and Mises taught as economic professors outside mainstream academic positions. As Rockwell points out, their moral courage and integrity led them to become known by those who believe in a free market. Over a million copies of Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson has been published. And the works of Rothbard and Mises form the foundation for the Austrian perspective in economics. These three men held to their principles in a time when government interventionism and middle of the road and socialist thought was sweeping the country as it is today.

Conclusion

Austrian economics today, however, is making comeback through such institutions as the Mises Institute, and the theory of Austrian economics is taking hold around the world from Spain to Germany. Politics is about power, not the truth. It requires moral courage to stand for the truth. As I opened this article, in this postmodern age, rhetoric is king. We live in a nihilistic culture in which the notion of truth is disparaged. However one must question whether or not the claim that there is not absolute truth is itself a claim of absolute truth.

Reference: [Rockwell, L. H. (2022). Economics and Moral Courage. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute.]

John V. Jones, Jr,, Ph.D./November 14th, 2023

ANALYSIS/BOOK REVIEW/Economics

Inflation and the Demise of Spiritual Values

Introduction

Jörg Guido Hülsmann is probably known to many who are members or followers of the Mises Institute for his massive biography of Ludwig von Mises, Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism. I am presently reading through that work. For this month’s Contemplations blog, however, I will draw from a short pamphlet he authored back in 2004, How Inflation Destroys Civilization. February 10, 2022, this pamphlet was republished by the Mises Institute under the title The Cultural and Spiritual Legacy of Fiat Inflation. Sometime in the future I would like to do a TakeAway review of the pamphlet, but for this month I thought it would be fitting to focus on sections 7 and 8 from the pamphlet that address how fiat inflation leads to the demise of spiritual values with the consequent demise of civilization that depends on those values for its just and moral existence. Because the Christian worldview is the foundation for this blog, I agree with Hulsmann that inflation and economic irrationality destroy the spiritual bedrock values on which civilization is built and maintained. The very fact that in the United States we can speak of $33-trillion debt without any depth of understanding what economic and moral dangers such debt holds for our nation is evidence of how inflation destroys both rational and moral precepts that undergird a culture.

Inflation Undermines Christian Family Values

Throughout his pamphlet Hülsmann describes the devastating effects of fiat inflation, giving rise to the fractional-reserve banking system, the increase of public and personal debt, the undermining of legitimate entrepreneurship, and the decrease in quality of manufacturing products, these among many other destructive effects. Hülsmann in part 8 of this short pamphlet (p. 16) discusses how fiat inflation and the rise of the welfare state leads to what he calls suffocating the flame of Christian family values. How does inflation lead to this effect?

First, with the constant increase of public debt the welfare state emerges and usurps private responsibility through the politicization of all areas of life. For those of us who care to be aware, we are first-hand witnesses of this phenomenon in the United States. There was a time when people felt frantic about the fact that from the inception of Johnson’s Great Society legislation in the late 1960’s to the turn of the 21st Century, state expenditures for HEW was just over $5-trillion dollars. The welfare state has now encroached on nearly every area of an individual’s life from retirement to health care to public education. As stated above, people can nonchalantly speak of a $33-trillion dollar government debt in the blink of an eye without grasping what that means for the economy and where the nation is headed economically and morally. When people turn to the state for all their needs, human values change. Hülsmann points out that massive public debt represents a major factor in the decline of the family. Perennial inflation slowly but assuredly destroys the family, thus suffocating the earthly flame of Christian morals (p. 16).

Second, the Christian family generates a particular type of morals that can undergird and uphold a society. Among others, such values include understanding the legitimate place of authority, heterosexual marriage between a man and a woman, and prohibition of incest and abuse of children that appears so prevalent today. Hülsmann points out where families live according to Christian values, marriages stay in tact, offspring are loved and care for, and children respect their parents. For those who truly believe in Jesus, the Christ, the reality of the Triune God and the truth of the Christian faith is passed on. I would also add that where a nation stands on Christian values, a Christian consensus comes about, whether or not everybody is a believer. With these values come the responsibilities that families take on in educating their children, charitable assistance in times of need, and a work ethic that maintains the subsistence of the family and society. Most or all of these responsibilities have been hoisted upon the welfare state. Government expenditure escalates, taxes increase, and inflation sets in due to state fiscal policy, thus individuals no longer hold to the responsibilities that once belonged to families. When it comes to charitable giving, people say, I gave at the office. It’s called taxes.

Third, as Hülsmann points out, compassion cannot be bought (p. 18). Amazingly, Americans continue their donations to charities, but not at the level that once existed, especially when adjusted for inflationary costs of living. I might add not only can compassion not be bought, but neither can education and health care when it is placed in the hands of the state. Because the welfare state, and statism in general, is grossly inefficient economically, it must depend on taxes. People bow and praise the holy state because government bureaucrats slow down the rate of spending rather than reducing spending in large sums as they should. People’s taxes will continue to rise, and state spending will continue to escalate. Because people look to the state for a life, we are trapped in a nonstop escalating cycle. Government continues to tax, but taxes alone cannot come near paying for what politicians have promised people via their campaigns and once in office. Hence the state continues running the printing press and floating loans with the consequent absorption of capital that should be used in the manufacturing and production of goods and services (p. 18). The free market, the production of income, savings, and wealth, and the manufacturing of quality goods and services cannot coexist with statism and government’s infiltration of every area of the economy and life. The excessive welfare state of our days is a direct attack on the producers of Christian morals . . . The welfare state systematically exposes people to the temptation of believing that there are no time-tested moral precepts at all (pp. 18-19).

Additional Spiritual Casualties of Fiat Inflation

Part 7 of Hülsmann’s pamphlet (p. 13) actually begins his exploration of how fiat inflation undermines spiritual values in a culture. Part 8 discussed above puts the crowning cap on his discussion. I will briefly delineate what Hulsmann designates as the casualties of fiat inflation (pp. 13-16) in part 7.

First, because inflation destroys the purchasing power of money, people have to spend an extraordinary amount of time managing their assets and investments. No longer can we simply depend on having a healthy savings account. Indeed, these days leaving cash in the bank not invested is dangerous as inflation eats away at the value of the money simply lying there. It is a shame, but once having money in a savings account was considered to be a frugal. At retirement age, I know so many people, having worked all their lives who are frighten about having enough income to continue to live on for the rest of their lives. The state should have never taken over the retirement plans for individuals. One’s social security account does not exist. The state spent the money years ago. This means retirement has been placed in an immoral pay-forward systems that puts retirees at odds with younger people who are starting out in their early productive and working years. The precept addressing the Biblical stewardship of money has fallen on hard times.

Second, the concern over the value of money leads people to consider higher-paying careers that would not otherwise be at the top of their lists except for its lucrative returns that will put them in better stead for retirement years. There has become a large financial rift between certain types of work and those sought out in the worlds of industry and corporations. This is especially ludicrous when one reflects on how the state and major industries and corporations are bed partners.

Third, inflation makes society cling to materialistic values (p. 15). As the economy descends into more and more ill-health, people, whether they want to or not, must place heavy emphases on their monetary decisions.

Fourth, continued inflation leads to the a lower quality of production (pp.15-16) Small businesses, and even large firms, industries, and corporations cut corners as prices increase in both production and consumer goods. Although technological innovation can ward off some of the inferiority in products, as a whole, innovation is a victim of inflation as well. What we are witnessing now is the desire of corporations to become political so as to gain a favored market share, regardless of the quality of their products.

Fifth, a failing economy leads to a blurred distinction between truth and lie (p. 16) In this postmodern age, rhetoric has become king, and what sounds good is true. Hence, the cost of advertising rises to create a language to convince people of the quality of what they purchase. The fractional-reserve banking system is a product of the distinction lost between what is true and false. The history of money-runs on banks bears this out. What people believe is safely in the bank is not there.

Conclusion

In this short 19-page pamphlet, Jörg Guido Hülsmann provides much food for thought, not only regarding economic catastrophes that come about due to fiat inflation, but also how inflation and the destruction of the value of money leads to and is continued by moral and spiritual decay. Economics, family, ideas about justice and frugality, and people’s moral and spiritual values are not separate compartments. They are a way of living out what we believe to our core in the world.

Hülsmann, J. G. (2004). How Inflation Destroys Civilization. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute.

[Jörg Guido Hülsmann is a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute located in Auburn, AL. Additionally he is a member the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Pontifical Academy for Life. He is a professor of economics at the University of Angers where he also directs the Master of Law and Finance and co-directs the bachelors of Law and Economics. He has taught courses in economics, including macroeconomics, money, banking, and finance. He has authored several books, including an extensive biography of Ludwig von Mises, Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism.]

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./October 14th, 2023

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/ANALYSIS/Economics

Mind, Worldview And Ideology

Worship the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37).

Introduction

For a number of years, this site, Contemplations, revolved around my counseling practice. Since I’ve retired and have also retired my license, I do not focus that heavily on the profession of counseling any longer on this blog. I will write a piece every once in a while about the field of counseling, but it is no longer the main theme of this blog. However, sometime back I delineated some themes (here)and (here) for this blog which I want to form the core of what I write here. Post-retirement I also changed the direction I want to take this blog (here) and (here) whereby I hope to discuss more than just the field of counseling, including such areas as philosophy, economics, history, the arts, and what I call analysis of power. Although my desire to change the emphases on this blog was generated by my retirement, much of it came about due to my recommitment to my faith as a Christian. Hence my faith in Jesus, the Christ, is the foundation for all I write on these pages.

Two of the themes that I come back to intermittently on this blog are mind and worldview. I will discuss the importance of these themes in this month’s blog in the context of today’s culture, particularly as an analysis of power (AOP) related to our political environment.

How We Think and Act Shapes Our Worldview

We live in a postmodern age where everything is relativized, but ironically everything is politicized and about power and control over others. Individuals cannot consistently live out a worldview that claims everything is relative while also becoming politically active, embracing the pursuit of power and control over others. Note the direction that wokeism has taken us in terms of its assault on freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to live out one’s spiritual beliefs as one sees fit. The first and second amendments to the Constitution are under constant attack. Business owners have been sued with the threat of losing their livelihood because they didn’t want to engage certain actions that contradicted their faith.

Living in a postmodern and politicized age means that we cannot help but experience a conflict of values when it comes to the way we want to live out what we believe in the world. Presently we see that the conflict of worldviews has led to violence, destruction of property, and loss of life. Such conflicts of basic core beliefs cannot be resolved by either embracing relativism or engendering the politicization of all things in life. Indeed, the Constitution and Bill of Rights aimed at severely restricting political power that could reach into peoples’ lives, whether that power be considered of the right or the left.

The conflict of worldviews we witness today, whether it be in our work environments, educational institutions, or on the streets is a conflict of ideologies. How we think about life and confirm our values shape our worldviews which contribute to our ideologies. Those who hold an ideology that they want established by political power over others may consider themselves relativists but they are absolutists in the most strict sense. Power makes right. Whether one considers him- or herself to be conservative or progressive, such a worldview is absolutist and totalitarian.

Can We Hold to Absolutes Without Being Totalitarian?

As one who holds to the Christian faith, I believe in absolute truth. Hence, I most definitely believe that it is possible to hold to the notion of truth as absolute without becoming authoritarian or totalitarian. Given human nature, it is easy to slide into desiring our worldview to be foisted on others. Yet that very desire is authoritarian in-and-of-itself. Simply because I do not hold to postmodern politicized precepts doesn’t mean that I think all worldviews are equally valid and worthy of being considered as true. I do believe that we should live and be at peace with others as much as that is possible. There are times when conflicting ideologies must be resolved where possible. There will always be those with whom we not only disagree, but with whom we also are at odds on the most core level. A civilized society finds ways for people to coexist with ideologies that are at odds. I will never embrace the acceptance a worldview that is opposed to my Christian faith that sees the Bible as the word of God. However, I will not call for political power to convert people to my faith. I will call on the Constitution that gives me the right to live out my worldview, fully knowing it is at odds with other belief systems.

The conflicting ideologies we face now are these. Many progressives call for an absolutist centralized power that sees individual liberty as suspect. Such an ideology, whether progressive or conservative, cannot allow individuals to live according to their own values and worldview. Thereby, such an ideology is authoritarian and totalitarian. Conservatives as well call on political power to have their way. We live in a political age that sees politics as an answer to life’s problems and dilemmas. Couple that with a postmodern age, then everything is about power, and power makes right.

Conclusion

As Christians what does it mean to live out what Jesus said was the great and foremost commandment (Matthew 22:37-40)? For too long the church has given over the culture to the designs of those whose worldview is antithetical to God’s word and who God is as the most Holy One. There has never been a time when it’s unimportant for us as Christians to live out our worldview. But it is of extreme importance today in an age of postmodernism that politicizes every area of life. We have to show others that for sure, there is a battle and conflict of ideologies that we face in everyday life in all areas of life. And we will not shrink back from such a battle. Simultaneously, we have to show we represent not political coerciveness toward those of antithetical ideologies until they cross such a line with us. That means that we have to know what those lines are. In addition to what Jesus called the great and foremost commandment, He also said that there is a second commandment like it: love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). This doesn’t mean that we condone the evil in the world. What it means, however, is that we must truly beseech God to revive the churches and awaken this country. Regeneration is the way to bringing about the peace among people for which we hold out hope.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./ September 14th, 2023

ANALYSIS/CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/THEMATIC/Mind and Worldview

TakeAways/Book Review: Bylund’s Economic Primer

[Bylund, P. L. (2022). How to Think About the Economy: A Primer. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute.]

Introduction

One thinks of a primer as an introduction to a field of study. Per L. Bylund has fulfilled what the title of his book states. Although this is a short primer, Bylund’s work is not an oversimplification. Readers will obtain a thorough introduction to how to think about the economy. The author writes within the framework of Austrian economics, so in his exploration of the economy he draws on such historical figures as Carl Menger and Ludwig von Mises, both to whom the book is dedicated. Some might think this is a bias, but how many economic textbooks are written from a Keynesian perspective for the purpose of describing the “economy”?The Keynesian perspective, along with historicism in the social sciences, floods the universities. This primer is theoretical, building on the axioms of Austrian economics put forth by Menger, von Mises, Rothbard, and others.

The Primer at a Glimpse

Bylund divides his work into three major sections: 1) Economics; 2) Market; and 3) Intervention. In each section he introduces readers to the major elements of economics, explicated from an Austrian perspective. The following takeaways I provide regarding Bylund’s work merely scratch the surface of this excellent primer. If I succeed in piquing interest in people to read the book, then I will have more than satisfied my goal for this blog. If you champion the free market and desire a clear understanding of how the free market works, then this is a good starting point for anyone interested in economics, both as laypeople and for those starting out their journey on the road to becoming professional economists.

Six Takeaways from How To Think About The Economy

Economic Understanding Comes Through Economic Literacy

We live in an age where everything is politicized. And that is most definitely true about the economy. One can overhear debates regarding the market, government spending, inflation, etc., but the question that never comes to the surface is: how do you understand the economy? Per L. Bylund sets as the goal for his work to provide economic literacy. He would be the first to tell readers that they don’t stop with this book, but I believe it’s an excellent starting point, and that the author has fulfilled the goal he set for his readers. Through the three sections that divides the book, readers will learn what economics entails, what the market as a coordinated process involves, and how intervention affects markets.

Economics Is a Body of Theory

To properly study economics, one approaches the economy and the market from a theoretical orientation. Economic theory aims at helping people understand the working mechanisms of the economy. Without a theoretical foundation, one is speaking of a subject matter while standing over an abyss. Any theory should be coherent and based on first principles. These first principles, if flawed, my produce a theory, but it will be one that is not accurate. As I stated in the introduction, Bylund writes from the perspective of Austrian economics because he holds that Austrian theory provides a correct understanding of economics. He, therefore explicates the axiom of human action proffered by Ludwig von Mises as a first principle for economic theory.

Economics Is a Social Science, Not a Natural Science

For quite sometime, and it is still true today in many circles, social scientists have experienced the step-child syndrome in relation to the natural sciences. Because of this feeling of inferiority, many social scientists sought to incorporate the methods of the natural sciences into the social sciences. Such methodological procedures led to the rise of scientism and positivism. Hence, the very notion of science became misdefined. Bylund makes it clear from his discussion that the social sciences, and thereby economics, require a different methodological approach than the natural sciences. Drawing on Ludwig von Mises, Bylund discusses the a priori method that fits the social sciences, thereby truly defining any science as that which describes reality.

The Market Is a Process, Not a Factory

The market is a coordinated process among many entrepreneurs. Economic theory in describing the market, seeks to explain not merely the existence of goods, but how those goods got to the market via production and the savviness of entrepreneurship. One firm does not stand alone. It depends on what other firms do so that it can produce its goods and get them to market. For example, the automobile industry manufactures automobiles. But it does not manufacture the steel, rubber, and glass that are needed for the production of automobiles. Other firms do that, not only for the automobile industry, but also for a host of other industries. Hence the market is a coordinated process whereby all firms produce to make the economy work. To have a sound understanding of the market, one must approach studying the market as a coordinated process among those who act to fulfill their goals. Otherwise, statements regarding the market will be inaccurate.

The Scarcity of Resources Is an Economic Reality

Production in the market takes place to meet people’s needs. Production is demanded for the very reason that resources are scarce. Hence, to understand the market, one must understand production, cost, prices, profit, and the role of entrepreneurs. To grasp the understanding of entrepreneurship, one must also understand the distinction between capital and consumer goods. In his section on the market, Bylund delineates through an Austrian theoretical framework not only these important elements of the economy, but also he provides a thorough introduction of the place that value, money, and economic calculation play in the market. This latter concept Mises developed in his argument against socialism.

The Free Market Must Be Understood Before One Understands How Intervention Effects the Market

The third and closing section of Bylund’s work addresses government intervention into the economy. Throughout the book, Bylund approached the study of the economy from a free market perspective. He did not do this simply to propagate a free market. Workings of the market apart from government and regulations must be made clear before we understand how intervention affects the coordinated process that makes up the market. Bylund explores two general types of intervention: monetary and regulatory. The major question that emerges regarding any type of regulation is how do bureaucrats in government know how to design and control for the “common good” the coordinated process that is the market? Bylund discusses the effects of these two types of regulation on the economy. In so doing he discusses the Austrian perspective on the boom and bust cycle in the economy. Additionally, he explores a major economic theme found in the Austrian economic literature known as the seen and unseen effects when regulators seek to design the economy. Carl Menger was one of the first economic theorists to write about the seen and unseen effects of regulations upon the economy.

Conclusion

As I stated in the introduction, these six takeaways from Bylund’s excellent primer does not do the book justice. This short 132 page-primer is packed in a well-organized and succinct introduction to understanding the economy. For those who are searching for a beginning foundation to economic literacy, they couldn’t do any better than Bylund’s primer. In addition to his introduction to the economy, Bylund collected a thorough bibliography that will serve as springboard into continued reading for those who want to build on Bylund’s solid foundation. I strongly recommend this excellent primer for those who want to know more about how the economy works, and for those who want to pursue their study of economics further. This work is Austrian economics. I would welcome seeing this framework for understanding the economy replace what exists in most universities.

[Per L. Bylund is a Senior Fellow of the Mises Institute and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Johnny D. Pope Chair in the School of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Ratio Institute in Stockholm. (This bio is from the Mises Institute at mises.org)].

John V. Jones, Jr. Ph.D./August 14th, 2023

ANALYSIS/ECONOMICS/BOOK REVIEW

TakeAways/Book Review: Mark Cosgrove’s Case for Personhood in Neuroscience

Introduction

As human beings who are we? What are we? Are we merely defined by our material stuff? Or is there something more to us, such as soul and spirit? Does being a good scientist mean casting aside such beliefs as the existence of God and an after life as though such questions are meaningless? Can we integrate science and the questions of meaning that have defined human existence as long as we have known it? Or are such questions meaningless nonsense?

Neuroscience comes to us as a field emblazoned in a conflict. Many neuroscientists operate from an epistemological premise of reductionism and empiricism, which holds that all we can know is the material universe, including the matter that makes up human beings. For this reason, they are also called materialists. Others within the field of neuroscience hold to an interactionism of mind and brain. In other words, as complex and majestic as it is, there is more to the human being than the material brain. These diametrically opposed epistemologies influence how we view what makes us human and the methods we use to explore that question. These different viewpoints lead to the question that has shaped much of neuroscience and brain studies: the mind/brain question.

Mark Cosgrove in The Brain, the Mind, and the Person Within: The Enduring Mystery of the Soul, writes from a position that the title of the book readily reflects. He states his beliefs clearly in the preface of the book. We are being, spirit, and matter fused together . . . we await the resurrection of our bodies and brains (p. 8). Throughout his work, Cosgrove addresses why the materialistic premises behind much of science fail to give us an adequate understanding of what it is to be human. This book seeks to reclaim a sense of the sacred and the personal when examining the human brain. [There is] an inseparable relationship between our personhood and the neural activities and organization of the brain (p. 20).

Perspectives: The Hard Question

As stated, Cosgrove holds to a Christian perspective that he says should not be set aside as we engage science and the study of neuroscience. The three-pound phenomena in our skull that we call the brain is a mystery. The primary mystery surrounding the brain is self-consciousness. We are aware of who we are, what we feel, what we believe, how we interact with others, and that life appears to hold meaning for us.

Many neuroscientists begin with the presupposition that there is no self or mind. Human beings exists as nothing else but matter. This is a radically empirical and materialistic presupposition. Cosgrove calls for a different perspective that he labels the personal. Although he doesn’t discount the importance of empirical studies, he sees such a perspective as a bottom-up approach. The details are important, but so is the big picture which he calls a top-down approach. The top-down approach while not negating empirical findings, maintains the view of personhood. We are the ones studying the brain. Human beings produce their findings while studying what neuroscientists state is the most complex structure in the universe, that three-pound mass in our skulls that allows us to interact with others, find meaning in our work, create art, and understand acts of heroism, faithfulness, and love.

The personal approach to neuroscience permits researchers to explore what has been called the hard problem in the study of the brain. The hard problem refers to explaining the phenomenon of our conscious experience and why and how the objective physical activities of the brain’s neural machinery should give rise to my subjective feelings (p. 61). Either our subjective experiences and feelings are meaningful in many ways, or they are simply epiphenomena of material neuronal connective pathways in the brain. Although correlation studies can depict what parts of the brain are activated when we experience certain emotions, these correlations should not be confused with cause-effect. Cosgrove throws down the gauntlet, never has a time needed such a personal viewpoint more when so much depends on thinking clearly about science and the nature of human persons (p. 16). Cosgrove’s distinction between materialism and a personhood approach to neuroscience in a threadlike manner weaves throughout his book. For those of us who are Christian, this is a specifically important work.

Six TakeAways

There is so much more to Cosgrove’s book than the six takeaways I delineate here. I draw upon his final chapter where he summarizes the important features of his work.

Assumption Are Important

The presuppositions through which we approach any work, whether it is art, business, science, or any other endeavor, have consequences. Assumptions in any research area influence what we are looking for, how we design our methodologies, and what we consider important findings. Although there are important ways to check our biases and presuppositions, there is no such thing as a purely objective approach to science or anything else. People come to the table with beliefs, premises, and presuppositions, whether or not they want to admit them. In neuroscience it is important to consider the premises on which research is built. Is one’s methodology radically empirical and materialistic, or does it allow one to explore what may transcend materialistic existence? Can we truly have a science of the human person if we rule out by presupposition religious and spiritual explanations? Do our research methodologies allow us to explore the hard problem?

Subjective Experience is Important

The position on subjective experience can easily be confused with radical relativism, the self-stultifying proposition everything is subjective. Another way of stating that proposition is everything is relative. Throughout his book, Cosgrove does not negate the importance of brain studies and empirical data. Instead, he states a simple truth. How we interpret that data can be heavily influenced by our presuppositions. Correlation studies in brain research do not tell us why we subjectively feel things like love, hate, fear, disgust, and other emotions. They do give us important information as to which brain areas are active when we feel certain emotions. Such studies can open the door to helping people who have problems with certain emotions due to brain injuries or malfunctioning in brain connectivity. They do not explain some of the most important things we recognize as our human experience.

The Hard Problem Is Important

Cosgrove states, if we are willing to work seriously with the hard problem, it is going to change our very concept of the material universe because there is a key piece of the universe that is partly non-physical and subjective (p. 163). Researchers in the field of neuroscience have always held that self-conscious experience is the hard problem for brain studies. Many neuroscientists simply want to cast it aside as a meaningless metaphysical proposition. Karl Popper stated decades ago that we need to become enamored more with what we don’t know than what we do know. This for sure is true of the most complex structure in the universe, the human brain.

The Unity of Human Experience and Brain Function Is Important

The study of active neural highways is important in brain studies, such as that pursued by the Connectome. However, it is not the only way to approach the study of the brain and mind. Research methodologies can allow for an interactionist approach to mind/brain. The Connectome itself, as Cosgrove points out, goes beyond the mere study of active neural highways. The brain is an organism that appears to constantly form and reform itself. What does this say about brain/mind interaction? What does it say about human experience that appears to transcend materialistic explanations of human beings?

Top-Down Thinking Is Important and Even Necessary

All people, including scientists, have theories and assumptions. Prior assumptions can play heavily in the way we approach studies in our particular area of interest. That is fine as long as we recognize it. We can look for ways to avoid vicious circular reasoning so as to place to some extent checks and balances on our thinking. The problem we face in science is that based on the epistemology of radical empiricism, studies that seek explanations beyond materialistic explanations are automatically ruled out as non-scientific as though the radical empirical and materialistic presuppositions are the only correct ones for scientific research. It is important, however, to understand what top-down means and doesn’t mean. Top-down . . . means there is something in different levels of the subject matter that have a bearing, and not necessarily a horrible bias, on what you are studying (p. 165). The personhood approach to neuroscience holds that we do not have a full understanding of human beings without considering the person, who is the one seeking to be understood in brain studies. We are more than the material substance of our brain. Different levels of understanding the subject matter of neuroscience should be given a hearing without being written off as non-scientific.

Personhood Is Important and Key to Understanding the Human Brain

We are in the strange position of studying the brain/mind phenomena with our own brains and minds. As such, we are the subject matter of research studies in neuroscience. We are part of the matter of our brains and bodies, and we are above the things around us and in us. There’s a mixture of the sacred, that completely separates the humanities and the sciences in our studies and in our research (p. 165). If we embrace only a materialistic view of the world, then we have eliminated the search for meaning and purpose, which many of us consider germane to our being human. Materialistic presuppositions will never lead us to an understanding of the hard problem and the meaningful questions that make us human, promissory materialism not withstanding.

Conclusion

There is much more to glean from Cosgrove’s book than the six takeaways I delineated above. However, he pointed out in his final chapter that those were the six points he wanted readers to take from his work. What else will you find in this book? Cosgrove takes readers through the amazing research that is occurring in the studies of neural pathways. He provides an interesting take on the Connectome project. Readers will learn about the important neurotransmitters that are active (but not causal) in our personalities. Many counselors who work with depressed, anxious, and schizophrenic clients will recognize the common neurotransmitters that are implicated in these experiences. Discussions of free will, the so-called God spot in the brain, and future technologies, including robotics also fill these pages. Throughout the book, Cosgrove has written sections that speak to persons of interest that form important discussions regarding his position on the brain and mind. These persons of interest cover the pages of history from the Renaissance (Leonardo da Vinci) to the modern area (Oliver Sacks). For the Christian, Cosgrove constantly calls for research methodologies that allow for the place of transcendence and spirituality in our studies of neuroscience. Christians hold that God created the brain and the mind, so in our study of neuroscience, we can approach it in Kepler’s words, thinking God’s thoughts after Him.

Importantly, Cosgrove emphasizes, let me suggest that nothing I say about personhood should take away from the wonder of the human brain because that brain is the embodied person who is you (p. 12). So in taking a stance against radical empiricism and materialism, Cosgrove in no way holds that such studies shouldn’t be continued. They are extremely important for what they uncover, but should not be the whole show. In that vein, his book provides an accessible overview of the amazing research and wonderment regarding the most complex structure in the universe, the human brain. Additionally, the book contains a rich bibliography for further reading in neuroscience studies and research.

Reference: Cosgrove, M. (2016). The Brain, The Mind, And The Person Within: The Enduring Mystery of the Soul. Grand Raids, MI: Kregel Publications.

[Mark Cosgrove received his undergraduate degree from Creighton University and obtained his PhD in Experimental Psychology from Purdue University. He worked at Probe Ministries in Dallas, TX where he spoke to numerous state universities regarding the tension between the Christian Worldview and secular thought. He has taught psychology at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana for over 40 years.]

John V. Jones, Jr., PhD./July 14th, 2023

BOOK REVIEW/CHRISTIAN THOUGHT