End of a Myth: Max Weber, Capitalism, and the Medieval Order
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Samuel Gregg
Despite having been underlined as contrary to established fact, the myth that there is a causal link between Protestantism and the emergence of capitalism persists in the popuar imagination as well as the academy. This article illustrates where Max Weber’s theory contradicts all the available historical evidence concerning the emergence of free economies in the West. It shows not only where Weber’s theory is unable to account for the emergence of capitalist practices and thinking before the Reformation, but also the manner in which capitalism’s development in the post-reformation era contradicts Weber’s theory. It then turns to illustrating the ways in which medieval Catholicism contributed to the emergence of the cultural and institutional prerequisites of post- Reformation capitalism, and the manner in which post-Reformation political and religious developments contribute to the emergence of merchantilist and protectionist practices that inhibited economic liberty.Bien qu’ayant été considéré comme contraire au fait établi, le mythe selon lequel il y aurait un lien causal entre le Protestantisme et l’émergence du capitalisme persiste dans l’imagination populaire aussi bien que dans le corps académique. Cet article illustre où la théorie de Max Weber est en contradiction avec toutes les évidences historiques disponibles concernant l’émergence des économies capitalistes en Occident. Il montre non seulement où la théorie de Weber est incapable de prendre en compte l’émergence de pratiques capitalistes et des pensées avant la Réforme, mais aussi la manière dont le développement du capitalisme durant la période suivant la Réforme contredit la théorie de Weber. Il illustre ensuite les manières dont le catholicisme médiéval contribua à l’émergence des pré-requis culturels et institutionnels au capitalisme de l’ère qui suivit la Réforme, et la manière à travers laquelle les développements politiques et religieux postérieurs à la Réforme contribuèrent à l’émergence de pratiques mercantilistes et protectionnistes qui inhibèrent la liberté économique.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Introduction
- American Classical Liberalism and Religion: Religion, Reason and Economic Science
- End of a Myth: Max Weber, Capitalism, and the Medieval Order
- Liberty-Progress-Individualism. On the relationship between Christianity and Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century
- Luigi Taparelli's Natural Law Approach to Social Economics
- Austrian Economics and the Social Doctrine of the Church: A Reflection Based on the Economic Writings of Mateo Liberatore and Oswald von Nell-Breuning
- Henry George, Private Property and The American Origins of Rerum Novarum
- On the Political Economy of the Subsidiarity Principle
- Alfred Müller-Armack-Economic Policy Maker and Sociologist of Religion
- Islam, Democracy and Civil Society
- Catholic Social Teaching and Economic Law
- Catholic Social Teaching and Unionism
- Catholicism, Calvinism, and the Comparative Developement of Economic Doctrine
- An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought Vol. I and Vol. II
- Recent Publications
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Introduction
- American Classical Liberalism and Religion: Religion, Reason and Economic Science
- End of a Myth: Max Weber, Capitalism, and the Medieval Order
- Liberty-Progress-Individualism. On the relationship between Christianity and Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century
- Luigi Taparelli's Natural Law Approach to Social Economics
- Austrian Economics and the Social Doctrine of the Church: A Reflection Based on the Economic Writings of Mateo Liberatore and Oswald von Nell-Breuning
- Henry George, Private Property and The American Origins of Rerum Novarum
- On the Political Economy of the Subsidiarity Principle
- Alfred Müller-Armack-Economic Policy Maker and Sociologist of Religion
- Islam, Democracy and Civil Society
- Catholic Social Teaching and Economic Law
- Catholic Social Teaching and Unionism
- Catholicism, Calvinism, and the Comparative Developement of Economic Doctrine
- An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought Vol. I and Vol. II
- Recent Publications
