BIBLICAL VIEW ON SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ECONOMICS:
- Social justice is defined by right relationships (with ourselves, others, God, and creation)
- God has a vision for society that is aspirational and beyond meeting the rules set out in the law and is only fulfilled through Jesus
- The prophets tended to rebuke Israel/Judah for their idolatry and social injustices. This shows that social justice is important to God
- Possessions should be structured in a way that they serve relationships, rather than the other way around, or in a way that hinders relationships

CRITIQUE OF CURRENT ECONOMIC SYSTEM:
- There is an important distinction between markets, which are fine with appropriate boundaries and where people have the right heart, and capitalism, which is a moral vision for society. An example on boundaries for markets is the law in Israel which restricted the sale of land and had rules to ensure equitable leasing arrangements.
- Definition of capitalism: everyone is better with unrestricted free choice for meeting their needs and wants
- Capitalism has its roots in utilitarianism, which posits that overall happiness is of utmost importance and that the means justify the ends. According to utilitarianism, the reason why or motivation is of no inherent usefulness.
- Problems with capitalism:
o Consumerism: people buying what they don’t need and buying the lie that they need to consume to give themselves worth
o Reduction of relationships into contractual arrangements: Forgetting that those in contractual arrangements are still people and should be viewed as those in the image of God, rather than solely producers of goods and services
- We need to have trust in God so that we don’t have to hoard wealth, or over-consume

WHAT TO DO WITH CAPITALISM?
- Restrict the accumulation of capital, which leads to inequality
- Limit the separation of ownership and management of capital (e.g. having shares in a listed company which is run by managers who don’t own it)