2011-10-30
Explanation
This comic imagines a follow-up conversation between Jesus and his followers about the command to "give all that you have to the poor." In the first panel, Jesus delivers the familiar biblical instruction. The comic then jumps forward five years, where a follower returns to report the unintended consequences: giving free food to the poor collapsed their domestic agriculture industry, and giving free clothes collapsed their clothing industry. Now everyone is "starving and naked, and actually, probably eating each other to live."
The follower asks Jesus if he has some miraculous way to "transmute good intentions into good results." When Jesus suggests making free fish or bread, the follower shoots that down immediately, since that is exactly what caused the problem in the first place. They need "something more sustainable." The final panel shows a biblical scroll reading: "And lo, the Lord spake, saying 'Behold! These fish shall be sold at appropriate market value.'"
The comic is a satirical take on the economic concept of how well-intentioned aid can inadvertently destroy local industries in developing regions -- a real criticism often leveled at certain forms of foreign aid and charity. By placing this modern economic critique in a biblical setting, Weinersmith highlights the tension between simple moral imperatives and the complex realities of economics. The votey panel shows the cartoonist thinking "I need more hatemail," acknowledging that mixing Jesus with economics is sure to provoke strong reactions from multiple sides.