Religion and the Rise of Capitalism

By: Benjamin M. Friedman

Narrated by: Paul Bellantoni

From one of the nation's preeminent experts on economic policy, a major reassessment of the foundations of modern economic thinking that explores the profound influence of an until-now unrecognized force—religion.

"Friedman has given us an original and brilliant new perspective on the terrifying divisions of our own times. No book could be more important.” —George A. Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics

Critics of contemporary economics complain that belief in free markets—among economists as well as many ordinary citizens—is a form of religion. And, it turns out, that in a deeper, more historically grounded sense there is something to that idea.

Contrary to the conventional historical view of economics as an entirely secular product of the Enlightenment, Benjamin M. Friedman demonstrates that religion exerted a powerful influence from the outset. Friedman makes clear how the foundational transition in thinking about what we now call economics, beginning in the eighteenth century, was decisively shaped by the hotly contended lines of religious thought within the English-speaking Protestant world. Beliefs about God-given human character, about the after-life, and about the purpose of our existence, were all under scrutiny in the world in which Adam Smith and his contemporaries lived.

Friedman explores how those debates go far in explaining the puzzling behavior of so many of our fellow citizens whose views about economic policies—and whose voting behavior—seems sharply at odds with what would be to their own economic benefit. Illuminating the origins of the relationship between religious thinking and economic thinking, together with its ongoing consequences, Friedman provides invaluable insights into our current economic policy debates and demonstrates ways to shape more functional policies for all citizens.

Sorta Conventional Wisdom

The only danger of a book written by a Harvard academic is that it is generally a well articulated and reasoned version of conventional wisdom - at least East Coast liberal conventional wisdom.

interesting piece of work

this book is voluminous because it is trying to show the history of economic thought as it pertains to religious influence. from Smith to Malthus to Keynes and Hayek.

meh

I feel as though this book covered a lot of stuff that doesn't really relate to the topic at hand. But then again, I also feel as though I didn't understand much of it and I can't tell if that's because I was bored, it was poorly written, or something else. 😹

Excellent.

This is an excellent exposition of the history of religious thought blending with modern economics.

All American's are Presbyterian naturalists

All American's are, at least, Presbyterian naturalists via their political economy. Friedman's work begins with origins in the Scottish Enlightenment of the ideas lying around which led to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. His and other philosophical works then & the two centuries since live on in the western world as modern political economy. The birth of economics and its fusion with religion are explained in a compellingly told history of both US Christianity and its two-party system.

Consider two other recent titles also written without intent to proselytize that explain Christianity's effect on shaping today. Joe Henrich's WEIRDest People in the World examines shared western psychology & the cultural evolution from cult of family to individualism stemming from religious prohibitions. Tom Holland's Dominion details the through-line from Enlightenment ideas to today's culturally shared Western values and societal structures.