The following are selected quotations are from a paper dated August 9, 2016, and was delivered to the Staff of Old Salem. The title of the presentation is: Salem - The City of Peace. Not having heard the presentation I am uninformed about the identity of the presenter.
One of the distinctions of a Congregational Town was that “…the church governed the economic life of the residents through planning boards and committees. Salem was one of the few planned towns in colonial America.”
“The Moravians engaged actively in commerce and sold things for a profit, but there was no ‘free enterprise’ or economic competition in a Congregational Town. The elders determined who could operate the specific store. For example, the church regulated who could make and sell pottery, and who could manufacture beer or guns. They did not want competition to interfere with the harmony of the community, nor did they want workers to be at the mercy of employers.”
[ed. note] There were both rich and poor living in the Moravian settlements.
“There was not economic egalitarianism in the Moravian Church, but the church did provide a level of social service to people in Congregational Towns that was unparalleled at the time. This included medical care, education, job training, and even a place for widows to live if they did not have a home. In other words, when the Moravians were in charge of this part of North Carolina there was universal health care, free education, and full employment. They did this because they believed this was what Christ wanted Christians to do.”
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