There is an interesting irony in the economic and social values among those who count themselves as "genuine" conservatives in our political system: while the theories of Carles Darwin are popularly rejected by many on the right, there is no problem with applying those same theories to economic prosperity. A Darwinian approach to those who could not prosper in our economy has been invested with chilling moral authority. Their inability to keep up is framed as "voluntary."
"If they can't keep up, it's because they don't want to work." There is a great deal of talk about grandparents who came with nothing, about how nobody gave them a handout. Consequently, it is easy to turn one's back on the poor and increase the height of the wall over which one must climb not only to prosperity but also for a basic quality of life. "The poor will always be with you" is cited as a gospel mandate to take care of oneself and blame the poor for their situation. Nothing could be further from the truth. There will always be poor among us because of human nature. The biblical mandate is ripped from its old testament moorings-instead of being an excuse to ignore the poor, Scripture challenges us constantly to have an open hand willing to assist the poor, because there will constantly be genuine need. Thus, like applying Darwinian theory to social rather than biological processes, this misreading of scripture produces a conclusion opposite of its very intent and must be rejected by the faithful believer.
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