Jesus said that we are to share the world in common but there aren’t probably two Christians in the world who believe it. Instead, we try to fit his teachings within our more fundamental belief in property and the right of our nation to dominate others.

The problems we face in the world are truly insurmountable until we understand two things. First, that we cannot organize our world based on violence. And, second, that amassing personal property demands that we commit acts of violence to protect it.

A world delineated by property rights means that some are born into wealth and others outside of it. We cannot build a just world on this foundation of privilege for some and poverty for others. The violence we celebrate on July 4th is not unrelated to the toys we celebrate at Christmas. As long as our economy is based on property rights instead of human rights, we will drift to war for reasons invisible to us. These days Cain does not need to kill Abel, but simply trust the market to do it for him.