New film promotes entrepreneurship as divine
Tell us what you think about The Call of the Entrepreneur, the Acton Institute's new pro-business documentary.
From Matt, Walnut Creek, CA Regardless of how one feels about the Acton Institute, the think tank has at least articulated their core principles on their website for the fair critic to review. It is clear from comments on this page that most contributors are offering preconceived prejudices without first seeking to be informed. This is not to imply that one needs to agree with the Institute, only that criticism should be leveled at positions they truly take.
Simply put the Acton Institute seems to put forth two ideas: 1) That entrepreneurs rather than collectives are the creators of wealth and jobs; and 2) Sustainable wealth and prosperity that benefits the largest number of people can only be achieved in a social environment that promotes human goodness and discourages human badness.
That social environment includes limited roles for individuals, human institutions and transcendent faith, and yes even secularist exhibit transcendent faith. The key word here though is “limited” because Lord Acton, from whom the Institute gains its name, said so well that, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
From Yadgyu, Harkeyville, TX Owning a business is a gift from God.
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From DENNIS N.,CRANSTON ,RI JESUS TAUGHT AND TALKED MORE ABOUT MONEY AND HELL THAN HE DID ABOUT HEAVEN,CHECK OUT THOSE NUMBERS.
YET HE ALSO TAUGHT ABOUT PEOPLE THAT WERE WEALTHY AND OF A GREATER REQUIREMENT OF THEM THAN OF OTHERS .
SODOM AND GOMMORAH WERE FRIED BECAUSE OF SELFISHNESS IN WHAT THEY HAD.
GOD WANTS GETTERS TO BECOME GIVERS.
AMEN
From Jane, South Bend, IN Which Bible and which Jesus did they discover to create this propaganda of greed? They need to "get real" and read and study who the real Jesus was and what he taught and preached.
Shame on these writers and producers.
From Grand Rapids, MI Malika Worrell’s review of The Call of the Entrepreneur is a perfect storm of distorting prejudice, muddle, and simple factual errors. First, she says, “Much of Call's 58-minute runtime is taken up with talking heads, most of whom are affiliated with the Acton Institute, affirming the film's ideology that unfettered capitalism is inherently righteous.”
This is incorrect, and I told her it was incorrect in our interview. The majority of interviewees in the film, from Brad Morgan to George Gilder, Michael Novak, Jimmy Lai, and Peter Boettke, are not affiliated with Acton. Moreover, her description of the film’s “ideology” (why not say “argument”?) seems to be describing some other film. What little was said about the free market and capitalism in our film focused on the importance not of “unfettered capitalism” but of private property and rule of law. Such government-enforced “fetters” are preconditions for a successful capitalism. These are the lessons of economic history, not the deliverances of some kind of irrational faith, which Worrell suggests.
She also comments, “The film’s single-minded focus on the virtues of the free market is accompanied by a Calvinist streak. The entrepreneurial impulse contains elements “of God’s original creative act.” This is a quote from the film by Samuel Gregg, a Roman Catholic. The film is based on a book by a Roman Catholic priest, Robert Sirico, which Worrell elsewhere notes. Catholics aren’t Calvinists. Moreover, the idea that human beings are created in God’s image to be creators is a broadly Judeo-Christian idea, one shared even by deists like Thomas Jefferson.
On several occasions, Worrell criticizes the film because, apparently, it isn’t the film she thought we should have made: “Viewers hoping to learn more about the businesses Call's featured entrepreneurs created will come away frustrated; the film is more interested in ideology than the actual logistics of entrepreneurship.” Again, she prefers the prejudicial word “ideology” to describe a perspective she simply disagrees with. In any case, this isn’t a valid criticism. The film is a response to the ubiquitous stereotype of business entrepreneurs as greedy misers that persists in both the entertainment and news media. It’s not a training film for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Jay W. Richards
Director, Acton Media and
Executive Producer, The Call of the Entrepreneur
Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty
From Alex Gomez, Rutherford NJ I find a documentary on entrepreneurship in and of itself motivating and a catalyst for me to continue to start more businesses in search of great wealth. To tie this documentary to some ideological doctrine and not the natural human drive to better ones lot in life, is just bulls**t.
Then they'll say "Now that you've agreed to the doctrine on the business standpoint, with this feel-good documentary, why don't you rethink your position on abortion, comdoms, divorce, tithe etc.
Either way I would love to see it as I have a pretty good Bulls**t filter.
A. Gomez
Rutherford NJ
From Boris, Danville, CA Somebody needs to inform the filmmakers about certain obscure cases of corporate evil that might be inconvenient to their thesis. Examples such as Enron, Goldman Sachs, or Blackwater spring to mind without much effort at all; I'm sure hundreds more can be dredged up with a bit of research. For example, what was that company Erin Brockovich famously fought? What were those diamond mines our blessed capitalistic Pat Robertson had been funding with the donations of his suck… I mean listeners? How about blood diamonds, international narco-trafficking, "free markets" in weapons and nuclear secrets, the human traffickers and smugglers of the world — all great, wonderful, inspirational examples of entrepreneurial spirit at work. If only they were left unregulated… then they'd really be able to spread their wings! Just think of the wondrous improvement such freedom would usher onto us all.
But I'm sure people intelligent and educated enough to call themselves members of a "Think Tank" would already know all about such inconsequential pesky little counter-examples. When your IQ is high enough, I suppose you'd be foolish to let reality distract you from ideology. So just like the cancer-denying tobacco businessmen, the mountain-destroying and river-polluting coal entrepreneurs, the dictator-bribing oil operatives, the anti-environmentalist car makers (bless them), and in general just like the free enterprising pirates of the high seas, these Calvinist geniuses would rather prefer to obtain, keep, and expound the God-given and God-sanctioned freedom to rob and murder the world starting with your neighbor (I'm sure I've read about this somewhere in the Bible…)
I understand. We all understand, and sympathize. Don't we?
From Tony, Gilbert, Arizona Yeah, keep government out of my business, but lets make sure they enforce my moral code.
These people are sick and, in my opinion, dangerous, and the enemies of people everywhere.
To them, everything that God created is a commodity to be bought and sold. And that is a sickness.
From Curtis, Madison, WI To me, and not having seen the film, it seems like the purpose of this thing is to try to stitch back together the christian moral values voters to the capitalist core of the republican party. The two have traditionally been strange bedfellows but the neoconservatives have proven to be mostly interested in capital and power and not in imposing a particular moral position on the country at large. What seemed like a good fit to the moral majority, has turned out to be anything but, as the war, constant scandal and the inability or refusal of the Bush administration to enact any REAL legislation in accordance with the desires of the values voters has proven the promises to be lip service. The republican pro-business core NEEDS the christians though (there are only so many 6 figure salary voters) and this is one effort to win back a flock that is beginning to stray. Strange how twisted such a simple and good message can become.
From beverly chang While not necessarily supporting, "Call of the Entrpeneurs" as I have not seen it, I would like to rebut those who believe Christians should not enter the business world. To deny that a Christian can and should be an entrepeneur belittles and degrades Christ and His creation. He created us with brains and ambition as and to worship. The LOVE of money is evil, running a business honestly for your money is not. If a Christian has a service or product that he can sell, what is the sin in doing so?Like the article said, doctors and teachers can be just as greedy. As the "Jesus Inc." article, wrote Jesus clearly uses a business metaphor- a servant and his master's talents- to represent productivity. The camel and eye of a needle verse is too commonly misquoted without the context of the rest of the Bible. Being an honest entrepeneur is a test of integrity as any other career would be.
Companies who sell apostle action figures are another story. What their motive is, I don't know. Is it really to further childrens' faiths or to fatten their wallets is another story.
From Benedict, Portland, Oregon I used to joke with people that the 'free market' was becoming a religion in this country… I guess I better be careful what I say. I suppose some people will be stupid enough to go for this — there IS one born every minute — but the dynamics of greed, as any real Christian (or any other honestly spiritual person) will tell you, is self-destructive. Adam Smith wasn't Jesus, folks…
From Aussie Jim It amazes me that so many intelligent Yanks this day and age still believe in Jewish/Christian fairy stories. Far more so, that you wish to ram it down the throat of free thinkers
From XRay, Spartanburg, S.C. There are a lot of ignorant and uneducated people on both sides who have to be spoon fed what they should believe. Of course, the film will find an audience – because propoganda trumps evidence and judgement that relies on ones own circumstances and experience.
From Philip Card But you all agree that Gore's propaganda "documentary" on global warming is fine; and Michael Moore's trash are great documentaries??
Get real.
From Leslie F. Smith, Rockville, MD As I understand it, Jesus made several statements to the effect that the pursuit of financial gain was evil, the parable about the rich man going to heaven being more difficult than the camel going throught the eye of the needle. So, this is another perversion of Christianity's true message of love and compassion for humanity to justify greed and the quest for material wealth.
From Terry, Columbia, SC Staight from the land of John Calvin, and believe me, these Amway wannabees have been preaching the religion of money for a very long time. If you know the territory, this is nothing new. This was a stronghold of the Moral Majority back in Falwell's day, and nothing has changed – strictly Huckabee and Romney territory and my money is on Romney given the Michigan history. As a former Michigan resident, these Reformed Christian (Calvinist) guys were never my cup of tea and some things never change.
On the other hand, George Romney wasn't a bad governor either. Go figure!!
From Terry, Columbia, Coming from Grand Rapids, the home of Amway and rampant Calvinism, what exactly would anyone expect?? Them that gets, gains heaven – so sayeth John Calvin. You'd have to look far and wide to find that infamous
'eye of the needle' that biblical money men need to squeeze through in order to get to heaven. Here we have a hoola hoop instead. The hypocrisy really reeks, if you don't mind my saying so. Thanks -
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I enjoyed the film and it affirmed my belief that trade and commerces is a gift from God to advance and protect humanity. It meets the needs of people and life that is way beyond the desire to accumalate money. It is the gift of seek out the needs of others and meeting them with a solution.