Traditions are honored. When one of their clients moves into his new home, the Baileys are there with a ceremony of bread and wine. And they defy the Monster of Capitalism, personified by greedy and crippled Mr. Potter. But the evils of capitalism are also depicted in a more practical and vivid way. When there is a run on the bank, George holds off what would be a takeover of the town by Mr. Potter.
People are tense, uncaring and vapid.
Instead of seeing his own grave, like Scrooge, George Bailey sees his brother's grave, the brother who drowned because George wasn't there to save him. And suddenly George wants to change the future and rescue the past. According to Chesterton, there is only one religion in which one can do that. By an angel. But Clarence the angel rescues George by having George rescue him.