Characterized by beliefs in privately owned wealth and a free market, capitalism is based on concepts of individual rights, laissez-faire government, and the rule of law.
In American society, the ideals of capitalism and Calvinism often intertwine that it's hard to imagine either philosophy flourishing without the other.
The following are three ways in which Calvinism influenced capitalist thought.
1. Success as an Indicator of Character
Although John Calvin himself emphasized that outside actions and events were not indicative of a man's status (saved or not saved), Calvin's successor, Theodore Beza, according to the
Yale University Divinity School's Reflections magazine, asserted that such events could at least partially indicate status.
VOTE NOW: Do You Support Prayer in Public Schools?
The remote nature of the John Calvin's God led Calvinists to seek signs of salvation in the economic world, thus granting legitimacy to the world of capitalistic competition. This is one of Max Weber's key ideas, expressed in "Protestantism and the Spirit of Capitalism."
However, this is a case of Calvinism influencing and complementing, rather than causing, the rise of capitalism.
2. Capitalistic Work Ethic
The Calvinistic doctrine of predestination is not based on man's ability to initiate a relationship with God. It does not depend on man's actions at all as God predestines some to salvation, and those are the ones that will attain it.
Sociologist Max Weber argued that capitalism grew out of a desire for wealthy Calvinists to justify their success at the expense of others; they wanted their success to be evidence of their predestined salvation.
ALERT: When Do You Think Christ Is Returning? Vote Now
Therefore, no wealth is too great: the greater the wealth, the greater the indicator of salvation.
Capitalism with influences from Calvinism, encourages the vast accumulation of wealth.
3. Mass Incarceration
Friends of Justice links incarceration rates with a growing economy. American prisons punish people for doing wrong, which is a key tenet of both capitalism and Calvinism: Calvinism states that men are inherently bad, and reform of these inherently bad men is impossible unless they are predestined to be saved.
Criminal activity, according to Calvinist ways of thinking, is evidence of a man's non-elect status. Both capitalist and Calvinism assert that sinful, or criminal, men need punishment rather than reform.
ALERT: Should 'One Nation Under God' Stay in the Pledge of Allegiance? Vote Now