The corona virus hit Western society like a Biblical plague — almost. Biblical plagues were actually much more devastating. Still, as Peter Leithart describes the present situation, it is a judgment from God, because the disease itself together with our political solutions brought about a social situation that fits Deuteronomy’s picture of covenantal judgment.1 Leithart’s article goes through the Ten Commandments showing that there is indeed good reason for God’s covenantal judgment. Abortion especially stands out. If we love the death of unborn children so much, maybe we deserve to experience death in exaggerated numbers.
In the midst of this plague, there is much discussion of love to our neighbor. This is not wrong. After all, the law of Moses required Israelites to build a parapet (fence) around their flat roofs so that no one should fall, which would bring “blood guilt” upon the family (Deuteronomy 22:8). We are our brother’s keeper.
But this also invites the question that the pharisee asked Jesus: who is my brother? In the provincially-minded prosperous West, my brother might be thought to be people in my neighborhood or even the whole population of my little city. This is all good as far as it goes. We should love our brother and take steps to protect his life as we can. In the context of our Corona Plague, perhaps this means keeping “social distance” — except at Walmart — and perhaps it also means wearing masks.
But there are other concerns.
In the wealthy West, we seem to be unaware of how much the poorer nations are dependent upon our prosperity. There has been, in the last 30 years or so, a trickle down blessing that has changed the world for the poor in many nations.2 We all know the proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.” Something like that is the basis for international trade bringing food and prosperity to the poorest of the poor all over the world.
The law of Moses not only requires Israelites to build a parapet on their rooftops to prevent accidental falls, it repeatedly commands — with emphasis — Israelites to leave the corners of their fields unharvested so that the poor and the sojourners can find food (Leviticus 19:9-10; 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19-21). Other laws, too, are concerned with providing for the poor. In the present crisis, we need to consider what love for our neighbor means with reference to the poorer nations of the world, nations that cannot afford the luxury of a lockdown — even though their leaders, under pressure from the wealthy West, or just in imitation, have imposed lockdowns.
In an article that suggests the worldwide lockdown might be “the greatest mistake in history” — an overstatement in my opinion, but perhaps not by much — Dennis Prager points to the tragic results of the lockdown for the poor.
“The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) states that by the end of the year, more than 260 million people will face starvation — double last year’s figures. According to WFP Director David Beasley on April 21: ‘We could be looking at famine in about three-dozen countries … There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself‘ (italics added).”3
World poverty, which also means world starvation, has been steadily decreasing in the last 30 years. Why? Not because of worldwide welfare programs, but because of the benefits of economic growth, worldwide. Now, because of shutting down the economies of the most prosperous nations, the poor in our prosperous nations and even more the poorer nations of the world will face extremes of poverty and starvation.
“From 1990 until last year the number of extremely poor people—those who subsist on less than $1.90 per day—fell from 2bn, or 36% of the world’s population, to around 630m, or just 8%. Now, for the first time since 1998, that number is rising—very fast. The big questions are: how many millions will slip back into penury? And will they quickly escape again when the pandemic is past, or will its effects be long-lasting, or even permanent?”4
American prosperity, especially American agriculture — actually the whole economy is such a complex integrated system that no one can analyze it and decide which parts are essential — is not “selfish.” The average American man or woman works hard to feed his or her family. It is love, not greed that makes the economy vibrant. But it seldom occurs to us that a strong economy in the prosperous nations has the effect of lifting millions of people in poorer nations out of extreme poverty.
The lockdown of our economy may be compassion for our immediate neighbors — a debatable issue — but it almost certainly will cause famine, starvation and death in the poorer nations. Should we not love our neighbors in the poorest parts of the world by maintaining our economy and providing the economic support and stimulus that has lifted untold millions out of the direst poverty?
Ralph Smith is pastor of Mitaka Evangelical Church.
- https://theopolisinstitute.com/leithart_post/is-this-a-judgment/ ↩︎
- https://fee.org/articles/extreme-poverty-rates-plummet-under-capitalism/
https://www.cato.org/blog/capitalism-global-trade-reduction-poverty-inequality ↩︎ - https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/columnist/315249/the-worldwide-lockdown-may-be-the-greatest-mistake-in-history/ ↩︎
- https://www.economist.com/international/2020/05/23/covid-19-is-undoing-years-of-progress-in-curbing-global-poverty ↩︎