Martin Henry"You shall not covet"; but, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things". So says the Christian Holy Book.
From one of its recent Editors' Forums, this newspaper is reporting that 'Churches praise investment schemes'. Good that the plural 'churches' is used in the headline since it is some, not all, in a very plural church environment. There is a great diversity of church views on investment - and on money - as there is on the major ethical issues of the time, such as abortion and homosexuality.
But "Some church leaders have acknowledged [in the Gleaner Editor's Forum] that investment schemes have provided a useful source of financing for their social programmes."
surviving in tough times
Earlier, in a fighting, pro-alternative investment schemes letter to The Daily Observer, prominent churchman and social activist, Rev Al Miller, declared that, "The reality is that thousands of people have invested in what can be termed investment programmes or alternative investments and earn good returns on investments, helping them survive in these tough economic times."
In light of recent action against the alternative investment schemes by both the Financial Services Commission [FSC] and mainstream banks, Miller says "The public is left to wonder whether this is another case of the strong opposing the weak, or these are scams."
for societal upliftment
He wants those who have gained wealth from these programmes to "remember this should not merely be for self-gratification, but must be used to benefit the poor, upliftment of the society and the advancement of the kingdom of God".
Rev Miller preaches, "I am for any programme that gives a better deal to the poor and working class, provided it is moral and legitimate, and I will resist all who will oppress or hinder their development."
While legal legitimation is the business of the Government, it is to their religious organisation that people must look for moral guidance. And there hasn't been a lot of that with respect to alternative investment schemes. As Christians fighting against the legalisation of abortion and homosexuality will keenly attest, not everything which is legal is moral.
tithes insufficient
A blunt utilitarianism emerged from the clergy representatives in the Editors' Forum. The executive chairman of the Church of God in Jamaica, Rev Lenworth Anglin, told the forum, in all innocence, that "Tithes and offerings are insufficient to operate the numerous welfare ministries operated by the churches." Hence the need to turn to high-yield alternative investment schemes. Churches have already turned to 'acceptable' gaming on the same grounds while railing against 'unacceptable' casino gaming. And the end justifies the means.
Rev Dr Peter Garth, the president of the Jamaica Association of Evangelicals, mothballed his moral scruples to announce that he supported the move for the church to earn money through legal investment opportunities. Some of his fellow clergy would have difficulties taking this to investments in the liquor and tobacco industries, or in owning racehorses - or abortion clinics and houses of prostitution in places where these are legal.
Strictly speaking, alternative investment schemes, or, as the FSC prefers to call them, unregulated financial organisations (UFOs), are extra-legal, not illegal, despite the arresting difficulties of Cash Plus. They have simply found themselves outside the regulatory framework of law. Notice Olint's vigorous ongoing defence of its rights to operate. And the UFOs may not have any greater moral challenges than the official banks, which are allegedly ripping off savers with inequitable spreads of interest rates and foreign exchange trading rates. Old and entrenched sins are usually more palatable than new ones.
moral rebellion
Barring the outright pyramid schemes powered by covetousness, deception and fraud, some of the UFOs say they are able to offer their spectacular rates of returns because of foreign exchange trading, a business in which the banks engage with very high profitability, but to themselves, not their customers. Many people, like Al Miller, feel that supporting the alternative investment schemes is an act of moral rebellion akin to the American Revolution against the sins of the British Colonial Government, or the Protestant Reformation against the sins of the Mediaeval Church.
But foreign exchange trading is one of the most dangerous businesses for the health of the global economy and of individual national economies and has a huge moral dimension to it. It is more dangerous in its potential consequences than the drugs trade or the arms trade.
threat to world stability
No, I am not mad. Not yet. The commodification of money as a thing to be traded, not merely the means of exchange for the trading of other goods, coupled with its digitisation away from a tangible object, allowing speed of light transactions over telecommunications networks, poses significant threats to the stability of the world financial system. And every banker knows this.
High-speed speculative trading of currencies, not very unlike gaming, is what allows the high interest rates to happen. And may, indeed, involve coveting - and robbing - one's neighbour.
As chaos and complexity theories are so elegantly demonstrating, a minor hiccup in a complex, dynamic, rapid change system can escalate into catastrophic system breakdown unpredictably and very quickly. Chaos theory first emerged in meteorology and, as they are fond of saying, the flap of a butterfly's wing in the Amazon may set off a tornado in Texas. It is only a matter of time before a blip in currency trading somewhere, perhaps in a little Jamaican UFO, sets off a category five hurricane in the global financial system.
So, should nice, God-fearing people run their church programmes and rescue their personal lives from 'poverty' through activities with vast catastrophic potential? Others will be doing it anyway, with a certain inevitability of results. And then so many other 'normal' activities and businesses threaten the environment and the social order and place our neighbours at risk. ("You shall love your neighbour as yourself"). A traditional role of clergy is to provide the moral guidance needed for life in a complex - and sinful - world.
Martin Henry is a communication consultant. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.
