Blog Post
Archbishop Ted Scott • May 09, 2020
The Other Option - PMC Past Post September 1984
The Other Option - beyond Capitalism and Communism
The late Archbishop E. W. Scott (+ 2004) was Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and past moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches. In his official address to the Vancouver Assembly of the WCC in 1983, he stated that contemporary culture has come to be "expressed in two major competing ideologies - capitalism and communism.... Neither of these present ideological expressions... is adequately
responding to the challenges of our day."
The statement was widely quoted in the news media, but usually without interpretation or understanding of its meaning or significance. To enable pastors [readers] in local situations to appreciate the message more fully PMC asked Archbishop Scott to amplify his comments.
-----------------
Editor: Readers in 2020 will realize that in the intervening 36 years, since Scott's amplification was published in the September 1984 edition of PMC - the Journal for the Practice of Ministry in Canada - much has changed. The collapse of the Iron Curtain, the expansionist dreams of Russia and China competing with the American, and the explosion of the digital world shrinking earth with the global internet, the climate change threat - all exacerbate the challenges Scott describes. But the archbishop's call for a grander, more faithful vision by which to embrace the future is even more pressing today than then. Some readers will also remember that it was often said appreciatively that "Ted Scott was the best bishop the (non-episcopal) United Church of Canada never had!" H.O.
-----------------
The discovery of the scientific method and the technological development which flowed from it were key factors in the development of the urban industrial culture which has dominated much of our world for nearly two centuries. This culture saw science and technology as offering ultimate answers to human aspirations.
The material achievements of this culture have been and continue to be almost unbelievable. But even as this development continues at an ever increasing rate, our world is becoming aware of the threats posed by this development, as well as the promises it offers. From environmental destruction to unlivable cities, much of the optimism and hope which was so prominent only two or three decades ago has vanished. It has been replaced in the lives of most people by uncertainly and doubt, if not fear and despair.
The ideologies of our time
Urban industrial culture has come to be expressed in two major competing ideologies - capitalism and communism. In recent decades, these two ideologies have been closely associated with the two superpowers, the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union. While there are major differences in the theoretical or philosophical thinking behind these two ideologies, there are also many similarities in the way they are presently
expressed in the world. This reality is very often overlooked in the cold war atmosphere.
It is my conviction that we are at the end of an historical era. This end has come about, first, because neither of the major ideologies in their present expressions are responding adequately to the new challenges which now confront us, and secondly, because the struggle between the two accentuates the problems. I am convinced we need an analysis, a vision, which is more searching than that provided by the popular exponents of the ideologies, and that we need to channel much of the energy that is presently expressed in defensive attitudes and in self justification into responding creatively to the basic issues.
There are many who resent and would deny the affirmation that there are any similarities between capitalism and communism. I make a deliberate distinction between the philosophical undergirding of the two ideologies and their practical expression. The similarities exist at the level of their practical expression. In practice both ideologies are basically materialistic.
They place great emphasis upon material prosperity. Both are very much concerned with the production and delivery of goods and services
that can be measured in terms of the Gross National Product, and in the material standard of living. Both tend to see human beings primarily as units of production or consumption.
Both limit their focus of achievement on what happens in space and time; both talk about "natural laws," without any evident sense of a transcendent reference or any ultimate accountability.
The Christian perspective
It is at these points that committed Christians (and representatives of other theistic religions) must pose questions which arise out of their faith affirmations. People who believe that the world is not an accident but a creation, who believe that human beings, male and female, are created in the image of God, must affirm a human accountability to God in every area of life, for the whole of life. They must affirm that human beings are not "over nature," but "in nature," beings who influence and affect nature but who are also inter-dependent with nature. We are realizing today that nature is not infinitely patient.
Neither capitalism nor communism, as they have been expressed in recent decades, has shown an adequate respect for human beings or an adequate appreciation of their inter-relationship with God's creation. The destructiveness of this lack of understanding is being increased in the struggle between the two ideologies which leads time and time again, on both sides, to human beings being viewed and treated as pawns in a power game for control of physical resources in all parts of the world. In this rivalry and power struggle, non-renewable resources are expended in incredible amounts and in incredibly wasteful ways, creating an ever-increasing gap between the have and have-not parts of our world. Neither of the superpowers, as representatives of capitalism and communism, have, so far, been able to check the growth of this increasing gap. Neither has been able, as yet, to respond effectively to the growing ecological crisis within their own borders or on the global scale. Neither of them has been able to develop patterns of policy making in which citizens feel that they are truly participating in the decisions which affect their own lives.
Ways of responding
Christian leaders must accept some share of responsibility for conditions that exist. All too often the Church has failed to critique the culture in which it was set from the basis of its faith affirmations.
I am convinced that, when we take our faith seriously - and I believe more and more Christians are seeking to do this today - we can discover more creative ways of responding. We must resist the tendency to "label" people and to accept or reject what they say on the grounds of the label attached. We must focus greater attentions on the value and creativeness of persons, and ask basic questions about the kinds of relationship which we want. What kind of view are we helping people to have of themselves, of their relationships with other people, with nature and with God?
This will lead to a recognition of both rights and responsibilities. It will call for a much deeper level of personal integrity and honesty, which is fundamentally important if any society is to be stable. It will focus attention upon the well-being of particular individuals or groupings. It will recognize that where people are being marginalized and are suffering or oppressed, action is called for, if a given society in the world is to be improved. Policies must begin to close the gap between the have and have-nots.
As we affirm that the created order must be treated with reverence - viewed as "holy" - we will be concerned about replenishing the earth, researching with greater care the impact of developmental projects, and not allowing ourselves to become involved in ecological deficit financing - that is, seeking immediate profits at the expense of future reclamation debts. This approach will emphasize long term policies rather than our present tendency to look for immediate solutions. This change is of particular importance. The challenges which confront us did not arise overnight. They have been developing over many decades and there are no quick solutions. Rather, we must be involved in the dull, hard task of refocussing direction so we can begin to move to more creative policies and patterns of relationships.
Following the Vision
All these steps flow from our central Christian affirmations. They indicate my conviction that we must avoid wasting energy on a sterile, non-productive ideological struggle, which does not get at the basic issues. This is not easy to do in the midst of the fear and anxiety of our time, especially when we are exposed to the powerful propaganda war taking place.
Philosophically, capitalism places great emphasis upon freedom and upon individual initiative. Those of us who live in a part of the world where capitalism has been the dominant ideological force, should claim the freedom which it emphasizes, utilize it in constructive criticism, and take initiatives which involve a more creative response to the challenges which confront us.
To do this, we will need not only much more careful and open analysis, but also some vision of the kind of world we want to help come into being. Without some sense of where we are trying to go, it is impossible to have a sense of direction. Without vision, the people perish.
I offer a very simple but profound vision of the kind of world I believe Christians are called to help come into being. In words (slightly adapted) written by Verna Dozier, I believe we are called to work for a world "in which every human being knows that he or she is loved, valued; has a contribution to make and a right to share in the resources of creation."
This, I believe, is a world worth working for. PMC
Pilgrim Praxis
The genocide in apartheid and settler colonial Palestine urgently calls for urgent discernment and action. Could the ongoing rounds of blood letting and destruction finally end to begin a journey toward truth, and justice-based peace? I hope so for the sake of all who dwell in this (un)Holy Land.