Claims

Factual · Philosophy, ethics and society

“Yes, Christianity glorifies the poor: but it took seventeen centuries from “the eye of the needle” in Matthew 19:24 to the conception of organized communism and various theories of social equality.”

Nassim Taleb, essay author · November 2021 · On Christianity (foreword for Tom Holland's Dominion) (Medium/Incerto)

It took about seventeen centuries from the 'eye of the needle' passage in Matthew 19:24 to the conception of organized communism and theories of social equality.

Mixed Partly true and partly false in roughly equal measure.

What would count as true or false

Treat Matthew as dating to the 1st century AD (about 70–90 AD). Treat 'organized communism and theories of social equality' as early modern egalitarian or communist theory, roughly the 17th–19th centuries (e.g. Diggers and Levellers, Rousseau, Babeuf, Marx). True: historians date the first conception of organized communism or systematic social-equality theory to about 1600–1850 AD, which is about seventeen centuries after Matthew (allow 15–19 centuries). Mostly true: the core point holds, but the dating is somewhat looser, e.g. about 14 or 20 centuries. Mixed: credible sources disagree substantially, e.g. some point to earlier communistic movements or theories (Acts 2 communities, Mazdakism, medieval egalitarian heresies, Thomas More 1516) as the conception, while others support the early-modern dating. Mostly false: well-documented organized communistic or social-equality theories clearly existed many centuries earlier, so the gap greatly overstates the true interval. False: such theories plainly predate Matthew or arose within a few centuries of it.

Evidence

1. Mazdak and Late Antique ‘Socialism’ (Chapter 1) - The Cambridge History of Socialism Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Core) · 4 November 2022

   “During the reign of Kawād I (AD 498–531), king of Ērānšahr (Realm of the Iranians), a Zoroastrian priest by the name of Mazdak, son of Bāmdād, appears in some sources whose rulings about property and ownership have been deemed proto-socialist.”

2. Communism New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia)

   “During the Middle Ages communism was held, and in various degrees practised, by several heretical sects. In this they professed to imitate the example of the primitive Christians.”

3. Communism New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia)

   “Morelly's views were adopted by one of the French Revolutionists, F. N. Baboeuf, who was the first modern to take practical steps toward the formation of a communistic society.”

4. When Was the Gospel of Matthew Written? (Traditional & Scholarly Dates) Bart D. Ehrman (bartehrman.com) · 25 November 2024

   “In light of this combined evidence — Papias’ ambiguous testimony, Matthew’s dependence on Mark, apparent references to post-70 C.E. events, and a more developed theology — most scholars place the Gospel’s composition around 80-95 C.E.”

Reasoning

E4 dates Matthew to about 80–95 CE. E3 says Babeuf was "the first modern" to take practical steps toward a communistic society, which puts organized communism in the late 18th century, about seventeen centuries after Matthew. However, E1 describes Mazdak's rulings on property in the 5th–6th centuries as proto-socialist, and E2 records communism being held and practised by medieval heretical sects. The criteria name both of these earlier movements as grounds for a mixed verdict, so the sources support the early-modern dating only in part.

Cite this claim

Nassim Taleb, “It took about seventeen centuries from the 'eye of the needle' passage in Matthew 19:24 to the conception of organized communism and theories of social equality.” (said November 2021). Verdict: mixed. Reliability API, claim c_2fd33be9d58b, method 0.1.0+28da144b. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_2fd33be9d58b