Abstract
The relationship between the Reformation and economic ethics was famously explored by Max Weber and his name appears frequently in this slender volume. However, none of the four essays here is a particular investigation of Weber’s Protestant ethic thesis. Weber contended that the origins of modern capitalism could be traced back to the Reformation: specifically to Luther’s expansion of the notion of “calling” and to Calvin’s Doctrine of Predestination. Instead, the four authors address the question of the Reformation’s impact on today’s economic ethics.
Werner Plumpe observed that during the late nineteenth century capitalism was mostly regarded as a positive thing but the economic crisis of 2008 has caused many people to consider it in a less than favorable light. He maintained that the earlier belief in the “invisible hand” and the notion of a “fair price” have been replaced by questions revolving around the lack of interest in the common good and the minimal consideration for the poor and the sick. Capitalism can no longer be considered as being indifferent to ethical concerns. Cardinal Reinhard Marx brings the Catholic viewpoint to the question of ethics and capitalism. He reminds us that the church’s “social doctrine” has argued consistently against the problems associated with capitalism and communism. He emphasized that the proper approach is a combination of freedom and responsibility. Wolfgang Huber points to Luther’s threefold contribution to the development of capitalism: his defense of lending, his insistence on overcoming poverty and begging, and his changing of the notion of “calling” into the concept of the “worldly service for God” (“weltliche Gottesdienst”). Di Fabio raises the issue of whether Luther and Calvin were catalysts for capitalism or whether they themselves were already children of the modern age. He takes issue with the notion that Luther single-handedly caused the old order to collapse and ushered in capitalism and insists such “heroic tales” belong in children’s books (67). What Luther did introduce was the importance of the individual and daily life. This small book contains many big ideas and much food for thought about the Reformation and ethics in economics.