I think a lot of Christians tend to view economics either with a sense of indifference or repellance. Economics studies how individuals make choices among alternatives under the constraint of scarcity; in other words, we can’t do or have everything we want, so we have to decide what things we do want and what things we can do without. The bulk of these decisions concern material reality (“Do I want a sedan or an SUV?”) and so the field of economics is often looked down upon by those who value morality and interpret economics as a materialistic enterprise.
Economics is pretty much unified in recognizing the importance of economic growth or higher standards of living. There are fierce debates on how this is achieved but no economist denies that higher per capita income leads to a better life than lower. But, again, many noneconomists do deny that being richer is better, and point out numerous examples of immoral celebrities or corrupt financiers. So, again, the field of economics and its insights are disregarded as being contrary to good ethics.
But questions about economics and economic policy have enormous consequences, and the way we address these issues politically or legislatively creates incentives that can work with or against human nature.
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty have a project called “The Fall – Twenty Years After the Collapse of the U.S.S.R.” It includes great information on what life was like under a regime with a particular view of how society should be arranged. Particularly good are the videos in the “Age of Delirium” section called “God versus Lenin” and “Escape Return Escape.”
Such videos and the examples of regimes that tried to suppress both human dignity and belief in God, along with economic realities, are important reminders of the danger of a growing state. They are especially important given that more and more countries are sliding away from liberty and free markets.