Genesis 1:26-31 (27), Psalm 34:1-8

1. Love & Human Worth

New Zealand an egalitarian nation
What does the word ‘egalitarian’ mean to you?
For many years this word meant New Zealand.

Historian Keith Sinclair wrote in 1969 that although New Zealand was not a classless society, “it must be more nearly classless… than any advanced society in the world” The evidence for this was the relatively small range of wealth (that is, the wealthiest did not earn hugely more than the poorest earners), lack of deference to authority figures, high levels of class mobility, a high standard of working class living compared to Britain, progressive labour laws which protected workers and encouraged unionism, and a welfare state which was developed in New Zealand before most other countries. Also, during the post-WWII years, New Zealand became an increasingly prosperous society, with the majority of New Zealanders coming to attain an affluent lifestyle.

The belief in an egalitarian society “shaped public attitudes towards opportunity. The classic Kiwi phrase ‘a fair go’ suggests that people should have an equal chance or opportunity to succeed, not that the result of those opportunities should be equal incomes per se. But the link between the two was clear.

“Professor Jonathan Boston argues that the core idea of egalitarianism is that all human beings “are equal in some fundamental respect or, at the very least, should be assumed to have equal moral value or equal dignity regardless of their ethnicity, gender, age and so forth”. In the 19th century, for Pakeha working men at least, there was “a powerful sense that greater equality was a good thing, compared to the vast inequalities of wealth and rank in [for instance] Britain”, says Otago University historian Erik Olssen.” Max Rashbrooke, April ’14

The principle and its origin in the Bible
Behind egalitarianism is a basic principle that each person is of equal value to every other person. This equality is applied in justice and fairness and, in economic terms, in there being small differences in income between the richest and the poorest and in those with the lowest incomes still having enough to live a decent life. This is one of the ideals on which New Zealand was founded and it was generally true here until 1985.

We’re calling it the Principle of Love and Human Worth and it is a Bible principle. In terms of its biblical derivation, there are two strands informing our understanding – creation and salvation.

God’s first act of Love was creation. God created the earth and everything on it and God loves his creation. He made a world and he peopled it with human beings who are rather like God himself. “So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself…” Gen 1:27 This means that we resemble God in many ways.

If you have ever created anything – and I’m sure you all have created something – you will know the value it has to you for the effort you have put into it – the time, the care and the love. My latest creations are two butterflies I carved out of olive wood. I loved them so much I gave them away. Something I love for someone I love. Bronwen has one and Ruth has the other.

Well, God loved the world he created and he also loved the people he made and he gave the world he loves to the people he loves, asking the people to lovingly care for the world and for one another as he does.

Human Dignity
Human worth stems from God’s love for us, our having been made in God’s image and from Jesus’ dying for every person. [God so loved the world..John 3:16, Christ died for every person 2 Cor.5:14,15] Since this applies to every person it follows that every person is of infinite worth and every person is equal in value to every other person. God says so and whenever we treat one person as more valuable than another – or even think it – we dishonour, disobey and contradict God.

I talked about other applications of this principle back in June and today I am applying it to economics.

Our forebears brought the principle of human value and equality to New Zealand. This country grew up as an egalitarian society. This was in reaction to the stratified societies our forebears came from and based on this principle. In our cultures of origin even the religious institutions gave hegemonic justification to the economic disparities in those societies. Against that, Christians raised their voices against institutionalised privilege and oppression of the vulnerable. You’ve no doubt heard of them: the Quakers, the Salvation Army, the Methodists, the Clapham Sect of William Wilberforce and friends and many others. Those who knew their God were often the prophetic voice to the nation, reminding them of God’s will and intention.

Recent research shows that equality is good for society and for the economy. “All the statistics point to better population-health with increased equality. Greater equality means fewer families in poverty, and fewer of the income gaps that divide a society making it more stressful and less cohesive. A more equal society is also an investment in the future, optimising life chances for the next generation.” Max Rashbrooke, April ’14 (altd.)

What’s been happening?
The principle of equality based on the inherent value of every person has been one of the factors holding capitalism in check until recently. From 1985 our governments have applied neo-liberal economic theory to our economy and it is primarily this change that has caused (among other things) the rampant inequality we have seen in the last 30 years.

So we are egalitarian no more. An article in The Dominion, Nov 18, 2011 said, “Though it is often lauded overseas as an egalitarian society, New Zealand’s income inequality statistics are much worse than those of most other developed nations. The richest 1 per cent of the population owns three times more than the combined cash and assets of the poorest 50 per cent.”

In 2013 the OECD put out a report on the economies of its member countries since 1985 and the onslaught of Rogernomics, Thatchernomics, Reagenomics and all that. This report showed that “economies the world over are being hamstrung by growing inequality – and that New Zealand was the worst effected. A stark rich-poor divide, the OECD argued, had taken over a third off the country’s economic growth rate in the last 20 years. An alternative path towards a modern economy, one in which the benefits of growth were shared evenly, was ignored. As the OECD report points out, that would actually have led to greater growth, as well as greater equality.” Max Rashbrooke, Dec., 2014 (altd.)

Neo-liberal economic theory teaches that wealth will ‘trickle down’ from the wealthy to the rest. Trouble is, in practice it doesn’t happen. And, according to UMR Research’s 2013 study, “Trickle down” is not believed by most New Zealanders. Only 6% believe they and their family personally benefit a lot when big businesses in New Zealand are doing well; 18% think they benefit a bit; 24% not that much; 19% hardly at all and 33% not at all. -UMR Research, “Inequality in New Zealand, 2013.”

Corollaries of this principle
-No one deserves to be wealthy; no one deserves to be poor.
-No one is entitled to wealth.
-The wealthy, particularly, have responsibility to share their prosperity with the rest, especially with the poor. When the rich act selfishly, withholding from others, God has words to say to them and He pushes the case for the poor. Read the Old Testament prophets and Jesus’ teaching and you will see this constant theme.

Rich people use a variety of justifications for retaining their wealth. They say, “I worked for everything I have.” But this is just as true for the poor as it is for the rich. They also say, “No one gave me anything.” However, this is more likely to be true for the poor than for the rich, for the rich look after their own. They also say, “I worked for it so it is mine to do as I please with it.” This in fact is not true for anyone. With wealth comes responsibility.

Do the poor also have a responsibility to share? Yes, everyone does. It is noticeable that the poor generally share more readily than the rich do and proportionally much more. The rich may share with and look after one another but that’s nothing.

Applications in nation, society and personally
Young people today don’t use the word “egalitarian” much but still value equality and fairness. The ideal hasn’t disappeared. However we express it in words, it is still a strongly-held ideal, with good reason behind it in social and economic health, that is worth pursuing. Furthermore it’s a Bible principle and we Christians ought to be leading the way.

The motivation to share is love. It is obvious then, that those who don’t share don’t love. Love comes from God so those who know God love those whom God loves. Is this what we mean when we pray, “Thy will be done on earth”? Are we praying that the wealthy people get to know God and his love so that they work to even out the inequalities in the economy and in society? Jesus said it was harder for rich people to get into heaven; he didn’t say it was impossible. He also said we would always have poor people around. He said that because he knew how selfish people are not because he thought people being poor was a good idea.

So what are we asking when we pray, “Thy will be done on earth.”? Are we asking for a fairer society and more economic equality? It would seem to be God’s will. And if that is what we pray for does this principle of love and human worth influence our choice of who we vote for? Does it say anything about the way we handle our finances? Does it motivate us to do something about our fellow-kiwis who aren’t getting a fair go?
Pray about these things and consider what other economic applications you can see for this principle.