Liberating Planet Earth

Th Liberation of the Fami~ 79 ‘
legal possibili~ of “rags-to-riches-to-rags” is basic to the preservation
of a free society. The example of a man who pulls himself up
out of poverty, only to see his children squander his fortune, leaving
his grandchildren destitute, is neither normative nor normal
in a Christian social order. The godly do not lay up treasure for
the ungodly; the reverse is true (Proverbs 13:22). Wealth in the long
runjlows toward provident and productive citizens who exemise dominion in
tams of Biblical law. Therefore, these dual obligations, from fathers
to sons and fi-om sons to fathers, are an important aspect of the Biblical
tendency toward economic growth over many generations.
Fathers have economic incentives to expand the ‘family’s capital
base, and they also have an incentive to train up children who will
not dissipate the family% capital. The continui& of capital, under
God’s law, is promoted by the laws of inheritance-honor. This preservation
of capital is crucial for long-term economic development.
In order to preserve family capital over time, godly parents
must train their children to follow the ethical standards of the
Bible. The Biblical basis for long-term expansion of family capital
is ethical: character and competence. But this ethical foundation for
long-term family capital growth is not acceptable to anti-Biblical
cultures. They want the fruits of Christian culture without the
roots. Thus, we find that civil governments often take steps to preserve
already existing family fortunes at the expense of those productive
families that are ready and willing to make their economic
contribution to the production process. A phenomenon that is
supposed to be the product of ethics and education — the expansion
of family capital over many generations — is temporarz”ly produced
by the use of State power. This substitution of power for
ethics is characteristic of Satan’s religions — not power as the product
of Biblical ethics (“right eventually produces might”), but
power as an alternative to Biblical ethics (“might makes righ~).
Compound Economic Growth
The importance of the continuity of capital can be seen in any
example involving compound interest. Let me say from the beginning,
we’ cannot expect to see this compound interest phenome-