The Sunday Sermon - The Myth Of Dominion

"This passage and others in the Bible have established a mindset that is now so ingrained in the being of the modern democratic capitalist, that it seems a function of heredity. The ancient religious doctrine of dominion, supported by modern concepts of corporate entitlement today validates approaches to resource management that have led economist Herman Daly to observe that we "…treat the earth as if it was a business in liquidation." "Since the founding of the oldest (and still surviving) corporation, the Benedictine Order of the Catholic Church, circa 529 A.D., the economics of exploitation is inextricably linked to the development of the Christian church and its relationship to Western political and economic development; indeed in many cases the church itself was the reason for the exploitation.

The Accumulation of Wealth and the Favored Of God

Controversy over the relationship between religion and capitalism dates back to the publication of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism a century ago. Weber argued that capitalism developed as a result of a religious movement, Protestantism, specifically Calvinism, a religious doctrine that arose from John Calvin's assertion in the 16th century that God eternally decreed the salvation of some and the damnation of others, not because of the good or evil deeds they would do, but simply because he willed it.

This idea of predestination forced the Calvinist to reconsider the context of personal salvation and eternal life. This reconsideration led the Calvinist (according to Weber) to seek reassurance by attempting to succeed in their economic (and other) undertakings, in the belief that God signifies his favor by giving prosperity to the undertakings of the "elect" (those predestined to spend eternity in heaven.)

Added to this religiously engendered drive for achievement was the fact that it was considered unseemly for the Calvinist to spend his money on self-indulgence. This left little option but to but reinvest wealth into the business. Employees, being Calvinists also, were instructed to see their jobs as 'callings' to be done well for small earthly reward out of religious duty. Thus was formed what Weber called the "Protestant ethic" - the drive for economic success, the will to work hard, the habit of not spending on frivolous self-indulgence. This ethic provided a spiritual base for capitalism according to Weber; the set of motivations and attitudes that led to modern capitalist approaches to enterprise.

But the larger story of the interaction between religion and the accumulation of wealth, as it relates to environmentalism, goes to events occurring in the same era as John Calvin, but originating from an entirely different religious source - the Pope."

Here is the link for the whole story: Newtopia

Note: Newtopia