Conflict Of Interests

It seems some of our cultural values (religion included) are at odds with both our democratic ideals (representative government) and the basis on which our "free market" economy (if the term "free" still applies)  is founded and maintained.

The single most collectively shared cultural characteristic of people living in America is religion, specifically the Christian religion. Granted there are various sects or denominations of the Christian faith, but Americans of all political persuasions would probably agree that Christianity is our most dominant shared cultural characteristic. Neither does this indicate that all Christians from all denominations and geographic regions of our country  share identical lists of "Christian living" principles or priorities. However, one thing all Christians do believe is that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the quintessential eye witness testimonies to the teachings and preachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

Those New Testament stories describe how Jesus fought stridently to demonstrate and teach  the virtues of loving thy neighbor, shared responsibility (we), doing unto others..., peace (the lion lying with the lamb), lifting the poor, and he even chastised the rich by suggesting that it may be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the "Kingdom of Heaven".

From that I present this:

Point 1: The Richest!
A very large percentage of  our elected representatives are millionaires or multimillionaires. It is rationalized and justified or argued (especially by those in office) that voters prefer "successful" individuals to represent their interests. This implies that wealth is a fundamental determinant of success. Of course we know that success is demonstrated in many other ways but none of them are so easily quantified.

Point 2: Our Nation's Economy!
Also at conflict with some principles of Jesus' teachings is our economic bedrock of unfettered, unregulated free market capitalism.  Advocates of such a system will reference  Adam Smith's "On The Wealth Of Nations". Smith's argumentative  summation of economic behavior, according to his thesis, is that men will always behave (act) in their own self interest. Here again I see a contradiction with the before  mentioned shared cultural values. The reality of "trickle down" economics("voodoo economics" as it was once described by George H. W. Bush) is that there is no "trickle down". A greater and greater burden is carried on the backs of the lower 80%  of Americans while the highest 2% quintuple their wealth comparably.

Therefore we have a quandary, a contradiction you could say. The teachings of the founder of our Christian religion (most shared cultural variable) vs. our government by plutocracy (the richest among us)and a theory of economics (unrestrained capitalism) that puts the individual above the whole. That's a conflict of interests if ever there was one.

What do you think?