At a Glance
The world is witnessing a revolt against elitism, with growing resistance to big government, media, banks, and institutions. But what comes after these “bogeymen” are toppled? Is opposing corruption, bias, and cronyism enough, or is there a deeper issue at play?
In this episode, leading financial advisor and author David Bahnsen discusses the crisis of responsibility in a culture increasingly defined by blame and victimhood. He argues that true prosperity requires a return to personal accountability and virtue, with a focus on creating institutions that foster responsibility, rather than relying on external solutions.
Drawing on creational insights, Bahnsen explores the concept of imago Dei and its implications for human dignity and societal well-being. He critiques victim mentality, cultural Marxism, and calls for principled leadership over and above anti-elitism. This episode is a call to action for cultivating a society led by responsible, empowered individuals.
SPECIAL GUEST
David L. Bahnsen is the Founder, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of The Bahnsen Group, a national private wealth management firm with offices in Newport Beach, New York City, Bend, Nashville, Minneapolis, Austin and Phoenix, managing over $6.5 billion in client assets. David is consistently named one of the top financial advisors in America by Barron’s, Forbes and the Financial Times. A frequent guest on Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC and Bloomberg, he is also a regular contributor to National Review and World and appears weekly on The World and Everything in It podcast, where he discusses the week’s economic and market news. David is a founding trustee for Pacifica Christian High School of Orange County and serves on the Board of Directors for National Review. Passionate about the integration of faith and economics, he has lectured and written for years about a theology of wealth and the marketplace. His late father, Dr. Greg Bahnsen, was a renowned Christian apologist and is David’s personal hero and mentor. David is the author of several best-selling books including Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It (2018) and There’s No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths (2021).
What You'll Hear
Using the link above, you can read the transcript or listen along while highlighted text follows the podcast audio.
“So the more irresponsible individuals, families and communities are, the more big government we get; and the more big government we get, the more irresponsible people, families and communities will be.”
David Bahnsen (30:05)
Quotes
Go Deeper
Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It
By David L. Bahnsen
The left and right have gone to great lengths to blame the problems plaguing our society but neither Washington DC, Wall Street, Mexico, China, the Feds, nor the media are the cause of our problems—nor are they the cure.
Across the globe a “revolt” of sorts is taking place against elitism. No more will big government, big media, big banks, big bureaucracy, and biginstitutions hold the secret nuggets of truth and dictate our lives and fortunes. Financial markets, political punditry, and cultural leaders are all scrambling to react to the rise of the often disenfranchised.
But what happens after all the bogeymen have been vanquished? What if opposing the incompetence of the European Union, the biases of the American media, the corruption of crony capitalism, the arrogance of political power brokers, and allegedly unfair global trade deals is not enough?
The key to American prosperity in this new era of populism is for moral people to make responsibility matter again by renewing personal virtue and form lasting, mediating institutions that will trump the elitist bogeymen and scapegoats for generations to come.
If we fail as individual Americans to address this core crisis of responsibility, we have only ourselves to blame for what happens next.
Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life
By David L. Bahnsen
We were created to work, and our work provides unique meaning and purpose in our lives. Yet today we are living in a crisis of apathy and ignorance regarding work’s theological and existential nature.
There is no shortage of books pleading with people to work less, to find “balance,” to think less of career and more of the things that bring them “happiness.” Likewise, there is no shortage of books making the case that work matters a great deal—that good things come from fruitful labor. This book belongs in neither of those categories.
In Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, David Bahnsen makes the case that our understanding of work and its role in our lives is deeply flawed—we are unmoored from what he calls “created purpose.” He argues that the time has come to stop tip-toeing around the issues that matter, that separating one’s identity from what they do is demonstrably false, and that this era of alienation is for many a direct result of a low view of work. It is in work—effort, service, striving—of every kind that we discover our meaning and purpose; a significant and successful life is one rooted in full-time productivity and cultivation of God’s created world.
This book is not your normal “defense of work” book. Whether you are a leader, a follower, a boss, an employee, in a white collar or blue collar job, highly paid or “just getting by,” this book is for you. A life of meaning is right under your nose, and with it the joy and peace of a life well-lived.
The Gospel at Work: The Implications of the Gospel in Your Vocation and Work
This study was developed to equip young adults to see the work they do as an act of worship and central to the divine purposes of God.
The developers have synthesized some of the best teaching on “work” produced by Disciple Nations Alliance and added their own unique insights to create a rich collection of thought and application. The study inspires you to think in new ways about the work you do whether it’s your 8-5 vocation, decorating your home, or even mowing the lawn.
By Darrow L. Miller
We’ve lost the framework in which it is understood that our lives and work are in relationship – in relationship to God through worship, to others through service, and to creation through stewardship. Our lives and work have largely been separated from their mission, and this ultimately stems from a loss of the biblical worldview.
LifeWork lays out the thought background for each of us to establish a meaningful, integrated understanding of our life and work. Whatever our work or vocation, God calls each of us to a new way of living – fully in His presence.
The Monday Church Course
The Church is not a building or a Sunday-morning activity; it is the Body of Christ on mission in every sphere of society, every day of the week.
The Monday Church course explores the greatest tool God has given you to impact the world: your work. God intends for your daily work to be for the service of man, the blessing of the nations, and the glory of God.
Monday Church provides a biblical framework for each of us to establish a meaningful, integrated understanding of our life and work. Whatever your work or vocation, God calls you to a new way of living – fully in His presence and for His glory. Also available in Spanish and Arabic!
Get started now with our completely free Monday Church course!
