With the failure of socialism in central Europe and the intellectual and moral bankruptcy this represents for Marxism, the current debate shifts to the moral legitimacy and practical effectiveness of the welfare state. The welfare state fails in its objectives for the same reason that socialism failed in its - a rejection of sound economic thinking. The key practical problem with the welfare state is the presupposition that it can observe all social problems and needs, and is able to regulate the necessary sectors of society in such a way as to best meet those needs. But no one group of planners, no matter how wise and sensitive to human needs they may be, can see the deepest needs of the human soul, which frequently are at the root of economic problems. Moreover, when central planning boards become active, they interfere with the free market's natural ability to uncover relevant knowledge about local circumstances to meet existing needs.
Central planning impedes the market's efficiency and productivity.
In other words, the state's pretense to knowledge hinders the necessary order that would emerge naturally, thus preventing the emergence of what would otherwise be more effective and frequently more humane alternatives. The specific problem this confusion presents to the church is that it disintegrates charity into an entitlement and collapses love into justice. Especially when viewed from a religious perspective, the disadvantages of an expansive welfare state are sadly apparent. Promoting the government as the resource of first resort lessens the incentive of people in the pews to become personally involved in needed projects and relegates the church to the role of lobbyist. To the extent that the church functions as a lobbyist, rather than itself clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and performing the other traditional acts of charity, the church loses a rich source of its own spiritual nourishment.