Of course someone had to bring God into this at some point. And how. Britain’s archbishops are condemning spivs and speculators for “worshipping the false god of money” and urging a further crackdown on financial markets, while the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has gone a step further to say Karl Marx was “right” to condemn capitalism.
Meanwhile Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, told the Worshipful Company of International Bankers: “Those who made £190million deliberately underselling the shares of HBOS, in spite of its very strong capital base, and drove it into the bosom of Lloyds TSB, are clearly bank robbers and asset strippers.
But lo! Wait… The Daily Mail, itself a campaigner against evil speculators, says Dr Williams’ latest outburst adds to “a series of speeches and interventions in which the Archbishop has created the growing impression of support for left-wing causes”. His “strong language about market mechanisms is an attack on right wing and classical liberal academics and politicians who admire 18th century Scottish philosopher Adam Smith, the first modern economist”.
For once, we’re almost lost for words…
As one cynical hedge fund hand observed: “If outfits like Bradford & Bingley go down, even after shorting has been banned, who will they blame then? Beelzebub?”
So read, marvel and pray….
From The Times on Thursday:
Time to curb the ‘asset strippers and robbers’ who ruin the financial markets, say archbishops
Leaders of the Church of England launched fierce attacks on the world’s stock market traders last night, condemning them as bank robbers and asset strippers and calling for a judicial review into Britain’s financial services. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York demanded stronger regulation and an end to speculation and living on debt.
Dr Williams calls for a basis of “common prosperity” to be established and suggests that other financial practices besides short-selling should also be banned. “Without a background of social stability everyone will eventually suffer.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury has also written a piece for The Spectator on the credit crisis, in which he defends Karl Marx and his anti-capitalist theories, and warns that society is running the risk of idolatry in its relationship with wealth.
And in a hard-hitting speech to bankers in London, Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu condemned traders who had profited from the crisis as “bank robbers” and said that the market had taken its rules from Alice in Wonderland.Dr Sentamu said no one was guiltless in the present crisis and that everyone had joined in worshipping the false god of money. In an interview with The Times he added that the time had come for a formal inquiry into the banking and finance industry.
At least Dr Williams said he was not arguing for “rigid Soviet-style centralised direction”, as the Daily Telegraph notes – for which we suppose God-fearing folks should be thankful. But he agreed that the ban on short-selling was right and added: “Governments should not lose their nerve as they look to identify a few more targets.”
Targets??!!
Despite the Archbishops’ criticisms of the capitalist system, the Telegraph adds, the Church of England has billions of pounds of its wealth invested in the stock market and earlier this year disclosed a record return of more than 9.4 per cent. Fancy that then….