Religion and the Rise of Capitalism

Religion and the Rise of Capitalism

By R. H. Tawney.

Table of Contents

1. Titlepage
2. Imprint
3. Dedication
4. Introduction
5. Epigraph
6. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism
   1. I: The Medieval Background
      1. I: The Social Organism
      2. II: The Sin of Avarice
      3. III: The Ideal and the Reality
   2. II: The Continental Reformers
      1. II: The Economic Revolution
      2. II: Luther
      3. III: Calvin
   3. III: The Church of England
      1. I: The Land Question
      2. II: Religious and Social Policy
      3. III: The Growth of Individualism
   4. IV: The Puritan Movement
      1. I: Puritanism and Society
      2. II: A Godly Discipline Versus the Religion of Trade
      3. III: The Triumph of Economic Virtues
      4. IV: The New Medicine for Poverty
   5. V: Conclusion
7. Endnotes
8. Colophon
9. Uncopyright

Imprint

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To
Dr. Charles Gore
with
affection and gratitude

Introduction

The object of this book is to trace some strands in the development of religious thought on social and economic questions in the period which saw the transition from medieval to modern theories of social organization. It does not carry the subject beyond the beginning of the eighteenth century, and it makes no pretense of dealing with the history either of economic theory or of economic practice, except in so far as theory and practice were related to changes in religious opinion. In reality, however, the connection between them was intimate and vital. The revolutions, at once religious, political and social, which herald the transition from the medieval to the modern world, were hardly less decisive for the economic character of the new civilization than for its ecclesiastical organization and religious doctrines. The economic categories of modern society have their roots in the economic expansion and social convulsions which accompanied the age of the Renaissance and the Reformation.

The history of religious thought on questions of social ethics is a topic which has been treated in England by the late Dr. Cunningham, by Sir William Ashley, whose essay on The Canonist Doctrine first interested me in the subject, by Mr. G. G. Coulton, Mr. H. G. Wood, and Mr. G. O’Brien. But it is no reflection on their work to say that the most important contributions of recent years have come from continental students, in particular Troeltsch, Choisy, Sombart, Brentano, Levy and, above all, Max Weber, whose celebrated essay on Die Protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus gave a new turn to the discussion. No one can work, on however humble a scale, in the same field, without being conscious of the heavy obligation under which these scholars have laid him. While I have not always been able to accept their conclusions, I am glad to have this opportunity of expressing my indebtedness to them. I regret that Mr. Coulton’s The Medieval Village appeared too late for me to make use of its abundant stores of learning and insight.

It only remains for me to thank the friends whose assistance has enabled me to make this book somewhat less imperfect than it would otherwise have been. Mr. J. L. Hammond, Dr. E. Power, and Mr. A. P. Wadsworth have been kind enough to read, and to improve, the manuscript. Professor J. E. Neale, in addition to reading the proofs, has helped me most generously throughout with advice and criticism. I am deeply indebted both to Miss Bulkley, who has undertaken the thankless task of correcting the proofs and making an index, and to the London School of Economics and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund for enabling me to make use of her services. My obligation to the help given by my wife is beyond acknowledgment.

R. H. Tawney.

“Whatever the world thinks, he who hath not much meditated upon God, the human mind, and the summum bonum, may possibly make a thriving earthworm, but will most indubitably make a sorry patriot and a sorry statesman.”

Bishop Berkeley, Siris, 350

Religion and the Rise of Capitalism

A Historical Study

I

The Medieval Background

“La miséricorde de Dieu est infinie: elle sauvera même un riche.”

Anatole France, Le Puits de Sainte Claire

“Que pourrions-nous gagner,” once wrote a celebrated economist, “à recueillir des opinions absurdes, des doctrines décriées, et qui méritent de l’être? Il serait à la fois inutile et fastidieux de les exhumer.”1 One who studies the development of social theory can hardly hope to avoid the criticism which is brought against those who disturb the dust in forgotten lumber-rooms. If he seeks an excuse beyond his own curiosity, he may find it, perhaps, in