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In God We Don't Trust  /  Chapter 14: Navigation Restraints and Expensive Molasses  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 8
The chapter says the Molasses Act benefited the English West Indies “at the expense of all British citizens,” and Bercot shrugs, “welcome to the world of politics,” comparing it to modern subsidies (ethanol, sugar); how does that comparison push against the idea that the American colonial grievance was uniquely righteous, and what does it reveal about God’s expectations for His people living under imperfect political systems?
Another way to ask: How does comparing the Molasses Act to modern subsidies challenge the idea that the colonists’ complaint was uniquely righteous? What might this say about what God expects from His people under unfair political systems?

Direct Answer By comparing the Molasses Act to modern subsidies that help a small group while costing everyone else, Bercot challenges the idea that colonial complaints were uniquely holy or uniquely victimized. The transcript implies God’s people should recognize political unfairness as a recurring reality and respond without exaggeration or self-righteous mythmaking.

Support from Transcript:

  • He says textbooks claim it benefited the West Indies “at the expense of the American colonists,” but calls that “only partly true.”
  • “The full truth is that it benefited the English West Indies at the expense of all British citizens around the world.”
  • He comments: “welcome to the world of politics,” calling it long-standing “trade protectionism.”
  • Modern analogy: U.S. ethanol subsidies “about $6 billion annually,” benefiting corn farmers/ethanol industry “at the expense of everyone else.”
  • Another: sugar subsidies “about $1.5 billion annually… only about 50,000 such growers,” so “a few farmers benefit at the expense of everyone else.”
  • He summarizes: “Fairly or unfairly, that’s how the political process works.”
Discussion Follow-ups If unfair policies are common across eras, how should Christians keep perspective and avoid moral grandstanding? What would a godly response look like when you’re not the only group being disadvantaged?

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