By: Chip Stapleton on February 10, 2017
One of my favorite stories about John Calvin was relayed to me by one of my seminary professors during a class on Calvin and his writings. We were discussing Calvin’s views on the Eucharist and Dr. Achtemeier told us that Calvin was adamant that the Eucharist should be celebrated weekly during worship – but the…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on February 9, 2017
“Thus, the market system seems to have grown up after the Fall rather than having been inherent in God’s original design. As such, it can never lead to salvation. It will not, left to its own devices, usher us back to the goodness of the Garden.” [1] One thing is clear, capitalism is not a…
By: Kristin Hamilton on February 9, 2017
It seems safe to say that the Reformers were not big on balance and personal boundaries. In fact, the way Weber describes Calvin and Luther in his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, shows me these two theologians can be held responsible for the crippling fear I will not make enough money,…
By: Stu Cocanougher on February 9, 2017
. The earning of more and more money, combined with the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life, … is thought of so purely as an end in itself. (15) . Labor must, on the contrary, be performed as if it were an absolute end in itself, a calling. But such an attitude is…
By: Jim Sabella on February 9, 2017
Weber, Max, Talcott Parsons, and R.H. Tawney. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2003. Summary: Most of us have seen the commercials about the DNA testing that helps one know the origins of their family tree. One guy says, “I thought I was Italian and my test showed I…
By: Mary Walker on February 9, 2017
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:8,9 In his book, The Protestant Ethic and…
By: Geoff Lee on February 9, 2017
Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism In this work on the intersection of religion, society and economics, Weber considers the link between Protestantism and wealth and capitalism. He tries to explain how capitalism was created by looking at religion and the Protestant Reformation. The this-wordly Protestants, particularly the Calvinists, seem…
By: Katy Drage Lines on February 8, 2017
Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is considered one of the most important 20th century works on sociology.[1] Capitalism has existed in various forms and to various degrees throughout history, as has greed and wealth. But not until the sixteenth century did its modern form rise to become the dominant global…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on February 8, 2017
Each religion has the ability to shape, pressure, and influence the culture and lives of its’ followers, as well as comfort, motivate, and inspire self-sacrificing acts and generous gestures. It governs morality and gives purpose, meaning, and direction for individuals and societies. More importantly, it provides a way back to “God” and gives people the…
By: Lynda Gittens on February 8, 2017
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism – Max Weber Weber disagrees with Marx’s theory that “capitalism was the social counterpart of Calvinist Theology.” (2) He believed that “Calvinism influenced the economic prosperity on Holland.” (6) RH Tawney states that maybe “Calvinism and capitalism both had a different effect on the economics and social…
By: Chip Stapleton on February 2, 2017
Winston Churchill is credited with saying, ‘Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried’. I found myself wondering if Polanyi might have said the same, substituting capitalism for democracy. This, is in some ways, my primary take away…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on February 2, 2017
“…there was no type of background – of religious, cultural, or national tradition – that made a country immune to fascism, once the conditions for its emergence were given.“[1] I had a colleague say “History is written by those in power”. This statement is absolutely true! I am reminded of the national debate with the…
By: Stu Cocanougher on February 2, 2017
In a typical hour-long crime drama, one of the catchphrases that the witty detective has in his arsenal of axioms is “follow the money.” That phrase took new meaning for me as I read “The Great Transformation” by Karl Polanyi. Austrian economist Karl Polanyi wrote his landmark work on world economic markets during the 1940’s while living…
By: Geoff Lee on February 2, 2017
A review of “The Great Transformation” by Polanyi This book looks at how we used to live before we turned everything into something that has a price. The great transformation of the title refers to the before and after of the industrial revolution and the transition from a society based on householding (living off…
By: Jim Sabella on February 2, 2017
Summary The self-regulating market is often billed as the means of reaching utopia on earth. It is said that the market, if left to adjust itself, will solve labor, hunger, property, social issues, and the balance of power. According to Polanyi, this is a fallacy. “Such an institution could not exist for any length of…
By: Mary Walker on February 2, 2017
Socialism has been embraced by many as they look around and see the poverty and injustice in the culture. Who will take the responsibility for that? In his book, The Great Transformation, Karl Polanyi taught that democratic movements of the people along with restraints on big business would bring about the free society envisioned by…
By: Katy Drage Lines on February 1, 2017
I recognize from the outset that I am stepping far outside of my comfort zone to discuss economics and economic social history. Yet the foundational understanding for how goods are perceived and exchanged is inextricably intertwined with other aspects of our daily life—religion, politics, philosophy, etc. How, then, do we attempt to understand Karl Polanyi’s…
By: Lynda Gittens on February 1, 2017
GREAT TRANSFORMATION by POLANYI Transformation – We all experience change. The world has experienced change. We communicate, dress, worship, and shop differently from the nineteenth century due to technology. Polanyi focused in his book on the challenges of politics and economics on society from the nineteenth-century through the twentieth century according to reviewer Anne Mayhew.…
By: Kristin Hamilton on February 1, 2017
A free market society is good for everyone, right? In it, everyone has the same opportunity to succeed and make something of themselves. Or as my high school economics teacher put it, “Capitalism and free markets allow us to succeed or fail on our own efforts and merits.” That statement made total sense to a…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on February 1, 2017
When progress comes at the price of people and their well-being, we are all in danger of not living with security, freedom, and respect. My mind wandered back to my education on the Industrial Revolution in America, when Polanyi said, “pauperism and progress are inseparable”(Kindle, 2875). To this day, it still disturbs me the price…
