Gavin R. Putland, BE PhD
| Friday, August 17, 2012 | (Comment) |
Render to Caesar... (Neoclassical Version)
And there came unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And they said unto him, “Master, is it lawful to pay taxes unto Caesar, or not?”
And he said, “A certain man bought for himself a dwelling-place. And immediately, within a bow shot thereof, Caesar decreed that there should be schools, and streets, and chariot-stops, and a marketplace, and a surgery. Therefore the dwelling-place increased greatly in value, and the man sold it for much gain. Now tell me: Whose doing was this?”
And they said, “Caesar's.”
And he said, “And how much tax did the man pay on account thereof?”
And they said, “Little or none.”
Then he said, “Every day for a year, the same man laboured from the rising of the sun till the stars appeared. Whose doing was this?”
And they said, “His own.”
And he said, “And how much tax did he pay on account thereof.”
And they said, “About the third part of his wages.”
Then he said, “Thereafter the man became a travelling merchant, buying goods where they were plentiful and selling the same where they were scarce. Whose doing was this?”
And they said, “His own.”
And he said, “And how much tax did he pay on account thereof.”
And they said, “About the third part of his profit.”
Then Jesus answered, “Therefore do ye every one likewise: Keep for thyself the things that are Caesar's, and render to Caesar the third part of all that is thine.”
And they marvelled at him.
— Mark 12:13–17, Neoclassical Economists'
Version
[first published April 17, 2002].
Labels: Satire
Tweet
|
 
Return to Contents
|