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Did Jesus Oppose Capitalism, as Moore Argues?
Would Jesus Christ - the founder of the largest religion in the world, unequivocally recognized as a messenger of peace and love - support capitalism?
Michael Moore, director of Capitalism: A Love Story, says you can’t be a religious Christian and a capitalist. (Chris Pizzello / AP)ndre It's one of the questions filmmaker Michael Moore, the well-known creator of documentaries such as Bowling for Columbine and Sicko, asks in his latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story.
In Capitalism, the filmmaker wonders whether Christ would support a system that, as the filmmaker stated, "has allowed the richest one per cent to have more financial wealth than the 95 per cent under them combined."
Moore, a Roman Catholic, argues that Jesus' commandments to care for others and feed the poor and hungry go against the love of money and greed that make up capitalism. He argues that one cannot be a religious Christian and a capitalist.
Clement Mehlman, a Lutheran chaplain at Dalhousie University, agrees.
"Jesus was a Jewish peasant, coming from an underprivileged tradition Himself, so He would have been what we would call a communist or a socialist," he says. "And there are elements of communism in descriptions of early Christian communities. They pooled their resources. There was not independent wealth, there was communal wealth."
The idea that Christ preached a socialist message would probably scare some conservative believers, but Mehlman has no problem with that.
"Jesus says to follow Him, you have to give everything you own to the poor," he says with a wry smile. "How many Christians do you see doing that? It's a text that should be thrown at the wealthy fat cats."
While Mehlman does not see capitalism as being compatible with the Christian faith, Rev. Gary Thorne, an Anglican minister and chaplain with Dalhousie and the Canadian Forces Reserves, thinks Christians should take a second look at the system.
"There's nothing wrong with the free market system in itself," he says. "It's how it's used. I don't think there's anything inherently evil in the free market system, in supply and demand and the exchanging of goods."
He argues that the problem is not capitalism, but what people bring to it - in particular, greed and desire for wealth.
The intent of the heart is crucial in any system, Thorne says. For him, Jesus' message is not about the market system, but about the people who make up the market.
"If the poor are those who are opposed, marginalized, persecuted and forgotten, then clearly Jesus would have us look at these people, really look them in the eye, and be with them, not just write them a cheque."
He also draws upon church history, and the beliefs of the church's most important figures, in making his argument.
"Martin Luther, John Calvin, they were really clear. They were entirely in favour of a free market system."
He says leaders like Luther viewed it as motivation to work hard, both to earn an income and to please God.
But the most important part about acquiring wealth is the willingness to share it, Thorne says. And part of that sharing comes through paying taxes.
"Any Christian who says that we pay too much in taxes is just bonkers," he says. "They should want to give more of their money to taxes, so the government can use the money to take care of the poor."
Thorne believes the core of capitalism is working hard to acquire wealth, but that one should be willing to use the wealth to help others.
"If you acquire a great deal of wealth, you should be happy to be taxed at 75 per cent because you can live comfortably with the 25 per cent you keep."
While Mehlman thinks Jesus would question capitalism, and believes that the government cannot do the work of the church, Thorne sees no problem with a free market, but is in favour of the government raising taxes to fulfill the command to feed the poor.
Is there middle ground between the two?
Russell Daye, a minister at St. Andrew's United Church in Halifax, thinks so.
"I don't think Jesus was flat out opposed to capitalism," he says. "He lived in what can best be described as a free market, and He contributed to it. Economies back then worked with small pools of capital, which is literally what capitalism is. But what capitalism has become now is a system filled with greed that has proven it can't maintain itself."
Daye says that capitalism fails when greed takes precedence over compassion.
"Look at globalization. What we've seen with rampant, unchecked globalization is First World countries hurting the Second and Third Worlds, through child labour, destroying the environment and taking away land."
Daye says Jesus would never approve of that.
Then how should Christians respond to a system that is rampant with greed and lust for money?
Rev. Brad Close, a Christian Reformed minister, says they should try to avoid supporting it as much as possible.
"If someone wants to follow Christ, they have to realize where the money they spend is going," he says.
He encourages Christians to boycott large corporations that exploit workers or the environment, and suggests buying fairly traded products instead.
Those who claim to want to follow the teachings of Christ, but wilfully profit from an unjust system, need to realize the harm they are causing to community, he says.
"You need to come to a point where you realize what you're doing is wrong. In that case, change it from the inside, or get out. Those are the only two choices."
Ultimately, despite some disagreement among theologians, Moore's argument that Jesus opposed capitalism - at least, the money worshipping form of capitalism that has grown in his country - has found much support within the Christian community.
Even Pope Benedict XVI, in his most recent encyclical, condemned the greed-driven, free market systems that helped to cause the economic collapse. He also said people's attitudes towards money must change.
It appears that the ultra-progressive Moore may have finally found an opinion with which Christians agree.
129 Comments so far
Show AllThese days, according to the media, anybody to the left of Hitler is way out there in left land.
By definition, Geezus was a Democratic Socialist in the way he lived, taught, and preached.
Jesus was neither a capitalist, Commie or whatever. He taught and showed the potential that is locked inside each human being. And, by the way, I'm not a Christian but certainly do love and revere Christ.
Does that mean that if I go in and bust up the moneylenders' place I can plead neutrality?
Yes. But it also follows that you'll be crucified for it.
Last year, a minister from Texas (I forget his name) gave a speech in which he said: "when I say we need to help the poor, they call me a Christian. But when I start to help the poor, they call me a Socialist."
Anyone who claims to be a Christian but does not act as one is a hypocrite. How many are there in today's society? Can anyone count that high?
That minister was (perhaps unwittingly) paraphrasing a famous comment by the late Archbishop Hector Camara of Recife, Brasil: "When I give food to the poor, I'm called a saint. But when I ask why the poor have no food, I'm called a communist". (Dom Hector was sacked by Pope JP2 and replaced by a rightwinger)
Yes, the closest thing to Christ's gospels in practice was liberation theology of Latin America in the 1980's.
Pope JP2 successfully crushed it, although it still lives to some extent in the lay political activities of the defrocked priests, like Miguel D'Escoto's 2008 UN General Assembly Presidency, and Fernando Lugo's current Presidency of Paraguay.
I always think of Eugene Debs version of Christs Sermon on the Mount, delivered upon his sentencing for sedition in 1918:
"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."
The good socialist Kurt Vonnegut used to deliver this quote from fellow Hoosier Debs to his audiences in his later years. The younger audiences would find it incomprehensible and think it was some kind of joke, and laugh and laugh. Very sad.
Well said.
"so it goes"
Just a minor point, Dom Helder Camara.
You're right of course, and thanks. I wrote from (obviously fallible!!) memory.
All those commentaries quoted just go to show that not too many people have anything even resembling an independent (read: accurate) understanding of Capitalism!
Which shouldn't be surprising, I suppose, but it is all the same especially in god-botherers who damned well should Know Your Enemy. If Satan were real, Capitalism would for sure be his chief manifestation in the mundane world.
It is the money changers. They are the ones that got tossed by Christ. Usery is the evil. It means that you have to make more to pay back any loans. Good Christians and Muslims back in the good old days knew this. Even the Jewish people did not charge each other interest, only outsiders.
The Federal Reserve is not reserved.
Do you have any evidence that the 'money changers' who were actually money lenders charged interest? What was the function of the money lenders? To lend money to families who could not afford to buy a lamb that was to be slaughtered in the temple. It is my opinion that this act (overturning the tables), which may not have happened as described, was an expression of disgust at what was essentially a vile pagan rite: the slaughter of innocent animals. It is my view that Jesus-the-overturner proclaimed: "kill me, not innocent animals" which is exactly what happened a few days later.
Al Franken also pointed this out a while back --
That the Beatitudes read like the Commie Manifesto . . .
think I have that right/?
Jesus is a commie! Love it!
The right wing know the difference between right and wrong --
that's why they use their vile propaganda to confuse the
public about what they're doing -- from racism to destroying
public education, from corrupting government to their agenda
for a "third world America" they certainly know what they
are doing and their goals are not ours. They are goals
intended to benefit the few.
Was recently reviewing some of the Nixon/Watergate material/
tapes and the discussions about CASH, CASH, CASH way back
at that time -- huge amounts of CASH --
And, how easily and quickly they could get their
hands on $1 million more in CASH to pay off and keep the Watergate
burglars quiet gives us a glimpse at how corrupted the system was back
at that time by GOP and a wake up call for where we might be now!
Btw, if you recall, right wing fascists in Greece were going
to be the source of that emergency $1 million CASH Nixon needed!!
Wake up America!!
"According to all myth, the female - not the male -- gives life"
Let's also remember that the Vatican invented capitalism ...
when Feudalism was no longer sufficient to run their
Papal States!!
"According to all myth, the female - not the male -- gives life"
Hooyaa! Chief!
I don't think that's really true, though I'd be very interested in reading your argument.
It seems to me that land-feudalists (kings and similar) created Capitalism by supporting merchants and taxing them. The kings wanted more money, and they were already squeezing the tenantry for every bawbee, plack, and groat they could get to stick to their greedy fingers. But the new merchant class was making a lot of money that wasn't tied to land at all. They wanted good roads, protection for travelers, and a stable currency. So the kings provided that in exchange for being able to tax their trade *as though* it were land.
Actually, it has been posited that Protestantism arose because of the incompatibilities of Catholicism with Capitalism, notably, it's prohibition of usury, and it's emphasis in charity and other physical works rather than "grace" (whatever that is) as the means of salvation.
Protestantism reached it's ultimate capitalist nadir in the Puritains and their belief in "predestination", where if you were one of the "elect", you could employ 100 starving poeple in indentured servitude, drive 1000's of Irish off their land to starvation in Connaught, or kill 1000's Pequots, and still go to heaven.
Fuck the Protestants.
There have been many arguments as to why Protestantism arose. The authority of the clergy over the laity, Church teachings vs personal reading / interpretation of the bible, latin vs vernacular languages, etc.
The key part of your argument that you are leaving out is that the Catholic church could hardly oppose material greed when it was one of the greediest and richest institutions in the western world. As for charity and physical works, instead of "grace", one word for you: indulgences. Indulgences were the "grace" that came from the Roman Catholic church, in return for charity to the Church.
Also, it was the Roman Catholic church how started the driving of the (pagan) Irish of their lands, far far before anyone even thought of Protestantism.
It other words, words are nice and dandy, but acts are what matter. The RC church might make good rhetoric about greed and profits, but just like the Obama admin, it's deeds give the lie to the pretty words.
That's an interesting theory.
I'm not sure how to fit in the anti-clerical literature of the 1300s. It's terrifically interesting to read in the orginal--the anger, disillusionment, and contempt for the venal, self-interested clergy of the day comes through loud and clear.
Someone like the Marian priest John Ball, who might have been excommunicated for his pro-working-people theology (it's not clear--he certainly spent time in prison, and was turfed out of his pastorate) stands in such marked contrast to the general run of the clergy reflected in the political poetry.
"It appears that the ultra-progressive Moore may have finally found an opinion with which Christians agree."
Geeeeeeeeeez!!! Bigoted, biased and ludicrously bad journalism is so tiresome!!!
Truth to power: Michael Moore has consistently produced film art that critiques the inherent violence in US culture (Bowling for Columbine,) the inherent injustice of the US profit-driven insurance industry (Sicko,) the inherent malevolence and violence of capitalism (Capitalism, a Love Story,) and the dysfunctiion of our economically stratified economy (Roger and Me.)
These are ALL mainstream Christian themes, with innumerable biblical references and sources. Moore's foundation is as christian as can be. It stands as an ISLAND of the genuinely sacred amidst a SEA of the violent and the profane.
Perhaps the author of this article has confused the tripe served up by the right-wing fundamentalists with christianity.
Christ was a revolutionary. He was a socialist. That's the truth.
JUBILEE, Everyone?
Ah, come on.. Christ was a druggie.. let's face the facts! Last time I was on the east coast of Canada the religon of choice was "The Flat Earth Society" and in my view they were/are closer to the truth then Jesus ever was (of course, I haven't yet been to the Jesus theme park in Florida...can't wait!!)
Please. Can people start to use their own brains and hearts and stop needing to 'follow' anybody.
The 'following' IS the problem! Following orders, for example. That is the language of empire. Hardly of a man who was a radical. And understood humans needed to grow up.
And don't even talk about the pope who wrote to all bishops, in 2001, to hide sex abuse cases. And lives in a castle and wears robes and the Vatican that is one of the wealthiest of all corporations. And boycotted Amnesty International for not abiding by the Vatican's laws of behavior!
Spare me. Please!!!
I am wondering if Michael has decided to stop his stead fast loyalty to the
president yet?
Capitalism did not exist in ancient Rome. Just to keep the history straight.
Catholics are christians - the original ones. Protestantism is a sect of Christianity that was largely invented because of Catholic prohibitions against usury and for charitable works (just like Islam), got in the way of the advancement of Capitalism. All a Protestant needs is Faith whatever that is, and they can then pursue their greed. So, the Catholics (and Orthodox too) became the poor underclass, working in the mills, and Protestant WASPs, their consciences clear by the requirement that only faith, not action matters, became the capitalist masters.
Hence the source of "The Troubles" in Ireland.
Having said that, there are few real Christians in the USA. The few Christians we have are mostly Quakers.
Well close but in my opinion not the whole story. While it is absolutely true that wealthy Protestants were the 'ruling class' in Northern Ireland for a couple of hundred years or so owning mills, shipyard, engineering works etc .....there were in fact whole communities of poor Protestants in Belfast (where I grew up)and Derry who also worked for and paid rent to the same Protestant mill owners etc. The key element that gets left out of the equation in my view is that the mill owners etc had a vested interest in keeping a sectarian tension and discord between the communities. Thus distracting the communities from the real problems of poverty etc. and indeed if the Protestants and Catholics were allowed/encouraged to fight with each other instead of joining together to oppose the conditions imposed by the ruling class could then be left alone to make gobs of money at the workers' expense. So as in most conflicts the issues boil down to 'who has the power, who wants it and who abuses it'. For a more 'socialist' view of Ireland's class issues read James Connolly (executed in 1916) James Larkin and others. Strangely, although I was brought in one of the mainline denominations I am now a Quaker! There are many Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and non believers who are quietly living out their own 'faith' as they relate positively to their communities and the planet we share.
"Protestantism is a sect of Christianity that was largely invented because of Catholic prohibitions against usury and for charitable works (just like Islam), got in the way of the advancement of Capitalism".
Although Luther had predecessors, most serious historians consider his preaching to be the breakthrough of what eventually became known as "Protestantism". If Luther was still alive he would have called the above quotation nonsensical blabbermouthing.
one of Luther's main gripes was against the church's selling of indulgences.
talk about money for nothing!
"The Troubles" in Ireland have their source in Catholic ambition towards Ireland, in Catholic attempts to spread to (pagan) Ireland, long before protestanism.
As for the rest of your argument, you have been reading too much RC propaganda. Read up some European history. The idea that Catholics (ever) became the poor underclass because of the prohibitions against usury and for charitable works is hilarious. None of them, Catholics, and the protestant opponents, has clean hands.
Capitalism was not invented. It was a system put into place following the invention of among other things the plow. What once was done by each individual or family could now be done with tools at a much more efficient rate, freeing up time with which to take part in other endeavors. Early man spent this time hunting, fishing, thinking, developing languages, arts, more tools, etc. Today, we have earned more free time than ever before as a result of our technological progress. But who enjoys this free time? Certainly not the third world citizens of America, or any other geographical location. It is the top 5% who have written laws and created advantages not only to sustain their wealth but to increase it exponentially. There are only two things in the universe with any capitalistic value. Those are manhours and natural resources. Nothing would exist to trade without those two things. The problem with today's capitalism is that the elite have no more of those than they were born with but have developed ways to steal resources or exploit human beings. As a society we have accepted usury laws. We have accepted that earth and sky and ocean can be bought and sold. Air and water will be next. No man ever got wealthy without depriving another of either his resources or time.Yet we silently accept that money is more valuable than life. Therefor any end that accumulates wealth justifies the means. In short, we have substituted "earning" (read: stealing) with sharing our lives and loving one another. Our issues are so much deeper than capitalism....
We have always had the greedy with us, but it's only been in the last 30 years that they were told that they are right, and that profit is and should be the be all and end all of everything. We used to have Jimmy Carter, telling us to act like human beings, to think and feel and be fair, then came Reagan and his "it's your RIGHT to hate whoever you want" style of "leadership". We had Jimmy Carter, telling and showing us how to live responsibly, using things like solar and wind power. Then we had Reagan, removing all vestiges of responsibility from our dialog, and putting us on an unsustainable, wasteful, selfish path that we are now paying the price for. If we had followed Carter's plan, we would be free of foreign oil right now. Reagan didn't believe in energy independence, he believed in PROFIT above all.
Christ wasn't, regardless of what Phyllis Schaffley's son would tell you, a capitalist. According to this moron, 90% of Christ's parables are economic in nature. He cites ONE. He dismisses as "liberal" the statement about a rich man going to heaven being more difficult than a camel going through the eye of a needle. The right, especially, LOVES money far more than life itself. Those who make more than they will EVER need will call themselves "good Christians", but ask for some proof of that, and they have NOTHING.
It's time that profit be put in it's place. And that place should be MUCH further down the list than human life and health. Doing GOOD should take precedence over doing WELL. It's time to repeal the REAGAN tax cuts and put this country back on a path of helping PEOPLE, not helping MONEY. Money is a TOOL, not an end in itself. And you can bet that those rich people LOVE being able to buy their own politicians, to the point where they own damn near ALL of congress. Time to put an end to that, and to the goddamned worship of money that this country continues to do. It's disgusting, sick, and wrong.
I doubt it will happen any time soon, and in fact, I suspect that the rich and ultra rich will take us all right down the toilet much sooner than we would have gotten there ourselves. They live by that old adage, he who dies with the most toys wins. Unfortunately, we will ALL go when they do. They will see to it. They declared war on the rest of us after Watergate, it's time we realize that and fight back like our lives depend on it. Because they DO.
Sioux Rose
WJM: I'm with you all the way on this post. Well-done!
A sidenote, drawing a distinction between real Christians and hypocrites is like comparing how much you like or dislike Michael Jordan or George Bush. So you can be a real George Bush hater or just be an idiot. But none of this changes W or anything tangible. Its like really really likning the color blue. So fuckinggg what.
The problem with this kind of guilt approach to reducing disparities in western societies is assuming that these kinds of christians are not hypocrites. That they will care if you point out they have no clothes. If religion doesnt serve their aim to manipulate people anymore they will use something else.
As far as I know, Jesus was not the "founder of the largest religion in the world."
Jesus was a philosopher who espoused a point of view about human interactions. Many of his 'teachings' are useful and, if implemented in the way he intended, would/could help up live in a more just, supportive world.
Human beings apparently have not evolved to the point wherein we can understand and overcome our psychological shortcomings.
History shows that no matter what system of organization we implement within our groups/tribes, there are always at least a few (usually men) whose greed for power and control leads them to destroy whatever impedes them from feeding their selfish, narcissistic needs/goals - their own countries, their own families, and even themselves.
'm glad someone noticed that the very first line in this "journalistic effort" was false... and the ongoing article is pure mental-wanking!
Jesus and Christianity have little to do with one another today. As a follower of Christ's teachings, I see very little of what is done in his name is in the spirit of his message. That same message was given at one time or another to almost every people on earth and NO system of economics anywhere reflects it's wisdom.
Be the expression of the Highest and Best for all regardless of the mess your "leaders" claim is the "right way"!
"By their fruits..."
Live Simply So That Others May Simply Live
Amen!
I have no religion or belief in any god, but Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tsu, Ghandi, and myriad other great thinkers, philosophers and humanitarians through the ages have offered us simple and important truths.
Some day, soon I hope, we will listen.
History shows that no matter what system of organization we implement within our groups/tribes, there are always at least a few (usually men) whose greed for power and control leads them to destroy whatever impedes them from feeding their selfish, narcissistic needs/goals - their own countries, their own families, and even themselves.
------------------------------------------
So what we need to do is put in 'dead-man' safeguards - ones that operate automatically, without a human intervener.
The law put in place by Poplicola at the beginning of the Roman Republic would make a nice start: an absolute defence against the charge of murder was to show that the victim had tried to make himself king.
So some scumbag who gathered power with a view to taking over found that he had effectively made himself outlaw, where everyone's hand was against him and the first person who could get close enough could kill him and be rewarded by a grateful citizenry. Which meant that would-be kings could trust nobody, not even their hirelings. It was a very nice law, shielding the Republic for 500 years.
Hmm, this sounds a lot like the Honduran golpistas' bogus rationalization for their coup against Zelaya and his government.
Ironically, the Founders must have believed that their elegant Constitution-- apart from its shortcomings vis-à-vis evolved concepts of human rights-- would render monarchy obsolete, at least within the United States.
But this century saw the rise of an Amerikan neo-monarchy. We're now into the second administration of a Unitary Executive-- a monarchical Warlord-in-Chief.
· Yr Obd't Servant
Rhetoric aside, it's pretty much exactly the opposite, isn't it? In Honduras a properly-elected president was deposed by the army. In the RR, a usurper (or usurper-wannabe) could be killed by any citizen.
No matter the real nature of the act, the rhetoric is always on the side of the ones doing the rhetoricising, no?
[In the RR, a usurper (or usurper-wannabe) could be killed by any citizen.]
Until the first Caesar decided to call himself a dictator and rule as an emperor... Funny how that Julius guy never seemed to worry about an ordinary Roman citizen killing him...
But, yah... There is very little of Jesus in the various 'religions' of Christianity, then again, there is little of any god, goddess, spirit, being or any other 'holy' thing in any religion created by men.
Sioux Rose
SATURNALIA: I beg to differ. The angry, jealous god that seems to lend zealous enthusiasm to war among the world's peoples is a HUMAN contrivance that mirrors a hybrid composed of the war-god Mars and Saturn-Cronus, the father (time) image.
Reading down this thread I wonder if others see the metaphysical math implicit to this equation: The greater the bank account, the smaller the opening to the heart that would let in the Light of true undersanding, as in ultimate compassion based on the realization of Oneness, the fundamental inter-connectedness of all living beings?
It "shielded" the Republic to the point that reformers were repeatedly murdered, the Brothers Gracchi, Marcus Livius Drusus. It "shielded" the Republic to the point that much needed reforms could never get passed, simply because any would be reformer would be either killed, or cowed by the threat of being killed. It "shielded" the Republic to the point that the Republic became an unworkable mess, and lead to the rise of military autocrats.
If your solution is (murderous) violence, then it is inevitable that those who come to power will be those who are the most (murderously) violent.
If you argue that we can't do anything unless whatever it is can't be misused or corrupted, I'm not sure where that leaves us.
Those reformers were killed outside the provision of that law, I believe. No?
First off: Benedict the Whatever is actually named Ratzinger and he was the IG for the Roman Inquisition - it still exists (Like the SOA and Black Water with a new name)- give theM 30 minutes head start, they'll be burning women at the stake - AGAIN.
Second: Aquinas is still 'their boy' - "God put you down in the shit and us up here in palatial wealth power and privilege because that is how the creator of the 400 billion stars in our local neighborhood and the 40 billion galaxies in the known Universe wants it to be. So shut up, stand in line and obey and if you're 'Good', you get to go to Heaven when you die which should be soon (short lived proles-part of god's plan) - IF - however you should decide to give us any shit, challenge our Authority in any way, we will hand you over to the Jesuits, Dominicans or Franciscans and let them rip your guts out slow, then we'll draw and quarter you and burn the left overs - ITS GOD'S WILL. ITS THE NATURAL ORDER
Third: As far as I know the carpenter they refer to was short, had Black Skin, Nappy Hair, and black carious teeth - enough to get him shot in New Orleans by any white cop on the beat - that's if they don't haul his as into the basement for some "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" (aka Entertainment) - just looking at him you can tell he's a Terrorist. "My Jeeesssus ain't no nigger!"
Once the Blue-Eyed, Blond Haired, rock jawed Aryan Savior image is deleted and replaced with actuality - then you see the vicious animals snarling in the dark.
They'd never let him on Oprah. The rest is just Class Hypocrisy and social cruelty.
Ask them a different question: Will they make an equal starting place for EVERYONE at the table, will they reject war and the rights of conquest, will they let their Oligarchy DIE as a social class? Short Answer: "Fuck you, go away and die, I got mine, you go get yours, somewhere else - SEE THIS GUN? That means I RULE HERE."
That's your Xrstians. Exclusion, Exclusion, Exclusion - NOT SAVED - DOOMED.
But if Jesus was a historical figure who actually was born and raised in Palestine, then odds are he was mostly Mediterranean-Europoid, with little if any Africanoid admixture, judging by the people of the region today, the people of North Africa generally, and Egyptian art from that time period.
And he almost certainly kept his head covered!
I don't think Jesus was opposed to the mechanism of capitalism: he got paid by the homeowner to be a carpenter, not the state. He sold his fish in the market to individuals, not to the state.
But, when capitalism got to places where moneychangers were operating from inside the temple, he took action. And his views on those who hoard wealth are well-known.
Since Reagan cut taxes, the wealthiest 1% of Americans have gone from owning 20% of the country to owning almost 50% of it. As 'idle hands are the devils playground', so is 'idle wealth'. Unneeded, idle wealth starts by building a wall of fawning approval around itself, it then empowers these 'yes men' to prosletize their religion of 'greed is good' to the general population. This so infects society it leads to the faux-democracy we currently have. I believe we need to return progressive taxation levels from pre-Reagan to return this country to greatness. FDR said it (in so many words) in the 1930's (to JP Morgan, etc): "if you're not going to invest in America, I will take your money, and I WILL".
I know a man who recently installed a $2000 toilet in his remodelled bathroom. I find this symptomatic of a society with so much excess, idle wealth, some of it is now trying to convince you that you don't defecate through your bvtt like everybody else. This is a society that is ALSO charging elementary schoolchildren 75 cents for the bus ride to school every morning. Other excess, idle wealth funds rightwing disinformation campaigns like Faux News and what these have done to the public discourse can be summarized in the comment, 'Keep your Government hands off my Medicare". If you want to know why this country hasn't already taken action on Climate Change, look no further than the effect that billions of excess, idle wealth, released by the Reagan tax cuts, has on our airwaves for 30 years. Its all there, corrupting our society from within.