An Essay on the Economic Effects of the Reformation is a masterful work of economic history by one of the 20th-century’s premier economic historians. Dr. O’Brien was for many years professor of Economics at University College Dublin, and he held for a time the Economics Chair. His Magnum Opus, The Economic History of Ireland, won him recognition as one of the greatest scholars ever of Irish economic history. In this work, Dr. O’Brien brings his knowledge of economic thought and history to bear on the difficult problem of the origins of Capitalism and Socialism, examining both of them in light of the historical episode known as the Reformation. His judgment may be shocking, but it is quite Catholic: the growth and development of both Socialism and Capitalism would not have been possible to the extent that it was without the eclipse of the Catholic way of life that followed in the wake of the Reformation. With such a surprising but nevertheless well-argued and persuasive thesis, this book is sure to challenge Catholics and all men of good will to abandon preconceptions taught by the Establishment and come to grips with the facts of economic history.
Introduction —Dr. Edward A. McPhail
I. Economic Effects of the Reformation in General.
Influence of religious on economic thought. Medieval conception of economic life. Reformation an attack on the religious basis of medieval civilization. Economic utterances of the reformers. Far-reaching effect of the reformers’ teaching. Sapped the strength of Christendom. Protestantism led to rationalism. Doctrine of justification by faith alone. Practical consequences. Separation of spiritual and secular life. Necessity of institutions. Reformation led to individualist society. Reformation led to political insubordination and social revolution.
II. Protestantism and Capitalism.
Meaning of capitalism. Explanation of the capitalistic spirit. Physiocrat theories. Adam Smith. Classical economics. Capitalist ideas characteristically Protestant. Social outlook of Calvinism. Contrast between Lutheranism and Calvinism. The Puritans. Similarity of Puritan and Jewish ideas.
III. Protestantism and Socialism.
Meaning of the term socialism. Connection between socialism and the Reformation. Socialist principles derived from classical economics. Connection between communist and heretical movements. Reformation and egalitarian ideas.
IV. Conclusion.
Capitalism and socialism have the same origin. Medieval ethical system. Disruption of Christian unity. Failure of socialism to solve social question. Socialism merely a reaction. Philosophy cannot supply the want of a religion. New social creed must be cosmopolitan.
