Second Great Awakening Capitalism Analysis

Max Weber's study was influential in the emergence of the spirit of modern capitalism and is applicable to leaders past and present. It is true Weber argues that Puritan ethics and ideas influenced the development of capitalism. The United States is seen as having a democratic capitalist political-economic system due to its economic incentives through free markets, fiscal responsibility, and its liberal moral-cultural system that encourages pluralism. In regard to the analysis of power in society, Weber again introduces a pluralistic notion (introduction to sociology, 2010).

Weber argues that religious beliefs contributed to major social change- specifically the emergence of modern capitalism in Northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Modern capitalism differs from capitalism as it is based on systematic, efficient and a rational pursuit of profit and profit for its own sake rather than consumption. Weber calls this the spirit of capitalism.

The economic “market revolution” and the religious “Second Great Awakening” shaped American society after 1815. Both of these developments affected women significantly, and contributed to their changing status both inside and outside the home. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved.

Hart describes early Christians as a group of extremists, with an unrealistic set of priorities economically, civically, socially, and even in ways religiously. Hart goes into great detail of his evidence of this by examining the position of the first Christians on the accumulation of wealth. In his findings from the original koine Greek text, Hart points out that the idea that accumulating wealth is not inherently bad as long as we don’t abuse it is not, in fact, the position the first Christians had. While he did concede that modern Christian’s have come to understand this false idea as a “truism”, he points out that the original language and attitude of the first Christians towards

The certain morality of the lawful pursuit of wealth gives businessmen both a clear conscience and the ability to employ motivated workers who themselves constantly labor for the glory of God. The businessmen’s conscience is further cleared by the thought that the unequal distribution of goods is part of God’s plan – it is God’s secret choice to bestow grace as he wishes. The workers “calling”, in contrast, is to labor regardless of the wage, striving to glorify God and secure status as the elect. The ascetic lifestyle of a poor worker is also glorified, as the worker lives as the apostles once did. The attitudes of both the businessmen and the worker in the modern economic relationship naturally flow from ascetic Protestantism.

It can be characterised as a wholesale commodification of religion, that is the selling-off of religious buildings, ideas and claims to authenticity in service to individual/ corporate profit and the promotion of a particular worldview and mode of life, namely corporate capitalism” (15). Carrette and King are making an important observation that religion has become a good that can be sold and traded through the idea that spirituality is a certain way of living. The “Prosperity Gospel” falls into this spirituality trap that Carrette and King address. The “ideas and claims” are seen when prosperity preachers tell their congregations that monetary donations will lead to an increase in personal wealth, and to better health. Meanwhile the “promotion of a particular worldview and mode of life” is apparent when prosperity preachers teach their followers that money and property are essential in God’s plan for them, and it is a sign of their spirituality when they prosper. In addition, the “selling-off of religious buildings” can be found in the numerous mega-churches and multi-million dollar mansions that prosperity preachers inhabit. The wealth of these places sell the idea that fancy buildings are signs of a healthy spiritual lifestyle being lived in God’s favor. Overall,

Under this understanding of the gospel, the promises of Christianity and capitalism are the same: hard work, whether financially or spiritually, will lead to material wealth and success. In fact, a major critique of prosperity gospel is that it takes advantage people at or below the poverty line by teaching them that prayer is the true answer to their economic woes, capitalizing on their desire for financial and spiritual help by pushing religious materials like Osteen’s books, and the donation plate toward those who are in real financial need, in order to accumulate wealth for the multibillion dollar institution. Conversely, prosperity gospel also suggests that those who are physically and financially well-off are inherently godly, according to their belief that physical and financial blessings are always a gift from God. This essentially reinforces the capitalist notion of the superiority of the upper classes, who, as a result, are not only seen as superior due to monetary wealth, but are also assumed to be morally and spiritually greater. In short, material success that Osteen promises in his prosperity gospel preaching parallels the promise of the potential for success and social mobility fostered by capitalism. Again, American values, in this case capitalism, are foundational to televangelism and embodied by Osteen through his sermons and religiously intonated self-help books. Not only that, but the material promises of prosperity gospel are also this likely to foster evangelical support of the capitalist system, an idea which is gaining traction with American religious historians19 some even attribute Trump’s success in the 2016 election to evangelical support as

Capitalism started up as a system of investing and sharing money in order to increase the value of resources in the future. Capitalism was just an economic system, but then soon turned into a complex system of ethical practices. Harari defines capitalism as, “a set of teachings about how people should behave, educate their children and even think” (Harari 314). This economic system evolved along with the people that were endorsing it. Capitalism enables the rich to get richer, while the poor continue to get poorer. There are many benefits to capitalism, but there are downfalls as well, and these downfalls tend to be masked because of the rapid speed capitalists grow at. Harari first presents a definition for capitalism, and soon goes into great detail on why capitalism, while fast paced and unforgiving, is able to stand unwavered while other productions fail.

Several years ago, “the more serious I became as a Christian and as a student of economics, however, the more I came to believe that capitalism was practically if not morally superior. But after several years of graduate school and still more struggle, I eventually discovered that capitalism could be soundly defended on both practical and moral grounds.”7 I personally believe God created us to be His co-creators. Still, every Christian worker should use God’s Word as a guiding light with those two guiding elements. “The challenge is deciding which right thing to do.”1 While a Christian worker or a leader is making the decision to build life on the Word of God and viewing the Word of God as the foundation

In order to fully understand the Catholic Church’s perspective on how capitalism in developed countries affects those in developing countries, all issues regarding the underprivileged must be observed, including the unequal, the inhumane, and the unethical manners, as well as the waste it causes. There will never be equality within capitalism if, in order for some to succeed, others must suffer. There will never be humanity within capitalism if many are treated very poorly by being given low wages, poor working conditions, long working hours, and little to no workers rights. Capitalism is unethical as the behavior associated with it is unavoidable, with things like greed, self-indulgence, and corruption. In a society where resources are not evenly distributed, there is always excess that is wasted, while many others are desperately in need of it. The Catholic Church sees capitalism as an issue that can be tackled if people work together and believe in a common purpose “to awaken in the People of God full awareness of their mission today. In this way they can further the progress of poorer nations and international social justice, as well as help less developed nations to contribute to their own development” (Paul VI, Populorum Progressio). The challenge this brings to those who seek to live an ethical life, is that they are completely unaware of what is even happening in their own lives. People do not realize the repercussions that capitalism in developed countries has on the people in developing countries. From the words of Pope Paul VI, if the people of God’s full awareness of their mission today were to be developed, it could pose as a personal, communal, and global way in which they can live ethically.

In the essay of Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), he presented his perspective about the spirit of capitalism and how the ascetic Protestantism was one of the major elective affinities associated with the rise in the Western world of market-driven capitalism . During the first and the second chapter we could appreciate two important social behaviors. First, the influence of one of the most important social structures –religion affects the social behavior of people. Second, the development of new moral standards due to the new conception well-being. The development of Protestantism, the difference of pre-capitalism and modern capitalism, and the development of new moral standards were topics that caught my attention

Economic Justice of All is a pastoral message that calls upon believers in Christ to use the Gospel to strengthen and improve the economy. It asks us to “measure…not only by what it produces, but also by how it touches human life and whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person” (EJA, vi). Throughout this reading, the authors are making the point that every economic decision has human consequences and moral content; they affect our communities, families, and land. “This letter is a personal invitation to Catholics to use the resources of our faith, the strength in our economy, and the opportunities of our democracy to shape a society that better protects (our) dignity and human rights” (EJA, vi). While they do specifically call for Christians, they later proclaim that they would be willing to accept any believer in Christ to join their mission.

In September 2013, Pope Francis publicly condemned capitalism by stating “today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized.” Some supporters of capitalism defend the trickle-down theory which suggests that wealth would eventually trickle-down to the masses over a period of time. Pope Francis states that this theory has never been supported by facts and expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power. Any economic model that exploits the poor for personal financial gain is offensive to God. Capitalism is diametrically opposed to the kingdom of God.

“What I'm saying to you this morning is communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social. And the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism, but in a higher synthesis. It is found in a higher synthesis that combines the truths of both. Now, when I say questioning the whole society, it means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation...are all tied together. These are the … evils that are interrelated.”[footnoteRef:1] …Now we realize that dislocations in the market operation of our economy and the prevalence of discrimination thrust people into ...constant or frequent unemployment against their will. [1: The Southern Christian Leadership Presidential Address by Martin Luther King Jr., 16 August 1967.]

In his novel “Père Goriot,” Honoré de Balzac depicts capitalism as inherently tragic in that it creates a society of considerable opportunity solely for individuals who become immoral in order to fulfill their desires. Utilizing the protagonist for whom the book is named, Père Goriot, Balzac is able to highlight the success of those who exploit others, both in Goriot’s own success as a merchant, and in his daughters’ success in exploiting his love for them. One of the crucial parallels here is self-absorbed desire, the culprit of both Goriot’s success and downfall. Originally, Goriot was selfish: he accumulated his wealth by capitalizing on inflated grain prices from falsified food shortages, thus exploiting people when they were dying of hunger, killing each other for bread (Balzac 79-80). As immoral as it is, this extreme form of self-centrism is necessary in capitalism, according to Balzac, who makes a point to illustrate this necessity by immediately juxtaposing the successes of Goriot’s self-serving passion for wealth with the downfalls of his altruistic passion for his daughters: “[O]ne of [Goriot’s] competitors, wanting Goriot out of the way…told him that Delphine had just been run over by a cab. […] [Goriot] was ill for several days as a reaction to the conflicting emotions aroused by this false alarm.”(81) The tragedy of this is that it was Goriot’s selflessness, rather than his selfishness,