Jesus and Socialism

"Their prophet says 'submit.' Jesus says 'decide.'"
--Sybilla (Kingdom of Heaven)

Occasionally I see bumper stickers or other media that read "Jesus was a socialist." People who claim this either do not understand the definition of socialism or have not studied the life of Christ.

Socialism is public ownership and control of production. Stated differently, it is public ownership of property. There are no individual rights. Because life and liberty are linked to property, socialist systems are systems are anti-freedom and pro-authoritarian. Central authorities decide what gets produced, who does the production, and who gets the production. Socialism opposes natural law and its axioms. It is a system of force and aggression.

If Jesus was a socialist, then he would have advocated central planning and forceful submission. Imagine, for example, Christ ordering the Apostles to draw their swords and confiscate loaves and fishes from the crowd for his discretionary redistribution.

Jesus lived a life of non-aggression and volunteerism. He told people that following in his footsteps would be difficult, but people would not be forced to do so. This difficult choice was up to each individual.

Cooperate with each other, he said. Do not force others to do your will.

His death and resurrection were ultimate demonstrations of freedom over force. As Paul wrote:

"For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery."--Galations 5:1

Anti-freedom systems such as socialism are anti-Christ.