The Morality Of Owning Wealth

If one's primary concern about how wealth might influence someone is whether it will lead them to selfishness, they will be concerned simply about a person's individual priorities and motivations.  The distinction between wealth and materialism can be fully understood.  For those who equate wealth with selfishness, contrarily, there is nothing other than arbitrary lines and blind assertions that can be appealed to.  Wealth is conflated with arrogance in this position, and a person is regarded as evil and egoistic to the extent that they are wealthy.  Only one point needs to be established to topple this idea completely.

How much money is immoral to have?  One million dollars?  Two million?  Two and a half million?  Three million?  One billion?  What about other assets?  There is no specific amount of money or extended wealth (in the sense of other kinds of property) that pushes someone to selfishness or materialism.  This addresses the fact that wealth itself does not corrupt anyone, but it does not prove that there is nothing immoral about owning a certain amount of money or other indicators of material prosperity.  Having more than a specific threshold of wealth could still be morally wrong for other reasons.

However, there are no reasons to object to the holding of any specific kind or amount of wealth other than emotionalistic outrage or blind assumptions.  If a person obtained their wealth through unjust means, then there is not only a basis for opposing them, but also an obligation.  There are those who act as if it is not just wealth gathered by theft, abusive behaviors, and illicit manipulation that is evil.  They characterize any possession of wealth above an arbitrary line to signify deep moral flaws.  Wealth itself, or at least wealth that surpasses that of some other group, is regarded as problematic.

As a result of either these anti-wealth assumptions or reactions to them, many people think of either capitalism or socialism in a very hostile manner, as if one or the other is inherently oppressive.  These people begin voting in ways that reflect their asinine beliefs and petty assumptions, and the effects of their stupidity are multiplied.  Societies are shaped by their fallacious worldviews and emotionalistic impulses.  Although economics is hardly one of the most important aspects of human life in a philosophical sense, it is still important to understand the true nature of various economic systems and refute the widespread misrepresentations of them if a culture is to be founded on rationality.

Within the Christian worldview, no amount of wealth is sinful, and only someone who misrepresents the Bible insists otherwise (Deuteronomy 4:2).  There are sinful ways to acquire wealth, sinful motives behind its acquisition, sinful ways to use it, and sinful ways to regard those of any economic status, but money and material possessions are entirely amoral on their own.  It is asinine for Christians to pretend like wealth is either a mark of God's favor or something to be demonized as merely a tool of oppressors or materialistic priorities.