Economy of the City. Genesis 34:20-21.

Everybody’s got to eat. And find shelter. And pay bills. The fact is, you need money. Even if you don’t want money, you need it.

How does one amass wealth? By selling something for which people will pay. This is true whether you live in a culture based on barter and trade, or whether you live in a modern, cash-based society. People create value. Human labor creates value. Ideas, creativity, and effort create value.

And if people create value, then more people should create more value. And bigger cities, bigger nations should create greater value–a stronger economy–than smaller communities. This is not a new concept. People have understood this for as long as they have understood simple addition: more people equals more money.

“And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the city gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, ‘These men are peaceable with us. Therefore, let them dwell in the land, and trade therein. For the land, behold it is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters … Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours?'” Genesis 34:20-21.

When Jacob and his twelve sons arrived in Shechem, the locals saw the arrival of the prosperous family as a chance to increase their own wealth. They told the city fathers to welcome the newcomers knowing that soon they would be able to share in Jacob’s property.

Unfortunately, the men of Shechem made an error in judgment. Humans bring value. But humans also destroy value. We are capable not only of towering achievements but also of appalling destruction. In 1931, Americans built the Empire State Building during the Great Depression (and completed the project ahead-of-schedule and under-budget). A few years later, Americans used only two bombs to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing an estimated 200,000 people. Towering achievements and appalling destruction.

Perhaps it is ironic that the men of Shechem did not consider the Problem of Evil. Or rather, they did consider it, but concluded that Jacob’s people “are peaceable with us.” That was a bit naive, considering that Shechem had raped Jacob’s daughter, Dinah. The sons of Jacob were already plotting their vengeance and soon killed all the men in the city, stole their animals, crops, and wealth, and captured their wives and children, Genesis 34:25.

Markets and economies are not as complicated as those who favor government control would have you believe. A healthy market allows free people to freely trade for goods and services. Currency (cash money) and investment products (stocks) increase the efficiency of markets, allowing greater wealth for everyone. But we must never lose sight of human evil. We must be shrewd.

Caveat Emptor is the rule–the Buyer Must Always Beware.

“’It’s no good, it’s no good!’ says the buyer— then goes off and boasts about the purchase” Proverbs 20:14.

Is that not the way it works? The buyer argues a product is terrible, the seller argues it is amazing, the two agree on a price, and each one tells himself he got the better deal.

The truth to remember is that skepticism is warranted. Humans create value. But humans also destroy things. More people means more value. But sometimes more people means more risk of total annihilation.

Caveat Emptor. Buyer Beware.

AΩ.

*I do not disagree with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not only did the bombings save the lives of countless American and Allied soldiers, but the Allies did all they could to warn the people of Japan, dropping flyers all over the cities. Sadly, the Japanese had proven ruthless in their attempt to seize control of the entire world, and they were savage in their treatment of Allied prisoners (not to mention Japan’s own soldiers and citizens). After five years of fighting, Japan had done nothing to indicate it would stop the destruction. Only the overwhelming force of the atomic bomb finally brought them to the table for peace talks. Finally, I do not consider myself a qualified apologist for the use of the atomic bomb, nor am I claiming a Biblical basis for its use.