A SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT NATION THAT HAS LOST ITS SOUL
Wednesday 4 November, 2009
Economy
UK
Photo: The 16th century Geneva Bible which inspired the Pilgrim Fathers to build America on Christian principles
Dr Clifford Hill asks why we are still in recession and whether a change of economic policy can fix broken Britain.
Max Weber, arguably the most revered of the 19th century patriarchs of sociology, in his magnum opus The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, sees the pursuit of profit as an end in itself being an essential characteristic of capitalism. But this was importantly modified by the Protestant Ethic whereby all wealth was seen as a gift of God.
This was particularly the case in Luther’s theology where wealth involved ‘stewardship’ rather than ‘ownership’. He taught that everyone would have to give an account to God for their use of material resources which countered drives towards self-indulgence.
Thus in the early years of the Industrial Revolution in 18th and 19th century Britain the pursuit of wealth was controlled by a spirit of asceticism that prevented individuals indulging in the excessive consumption of wealth. Profits were ploughed back into business which stimulated investment, entrepreneurship and the expansion of industry. Wealth was not regarded as a means for the gratification of self-interest – for basking on the beach in Barbados – but for the multiplication of wealth-generating resources.
The new industrialists of the 18th century acquired their wealth at the same time as the Wesleyan revival was impacting the working classes and the new evangelicalism of the Clapham Group was spreading among the middle and upper classes. The Protestant work ethic was influential among all sectors of society and led to a new spirit of altruism and concern for improving social conditions. The new industrialists, whose lives had been impacted by the Christian gospel, began to use their wealth for the good of society, building libraries, public baths, parks and other amenities that changed the social landscape.
This not only improved social conditions but also began to change the political landscape and eventually led to the rise of the Labour movement as a kind of working-class revivalism that was especially strong in the industrial areas of South Wales. Historically, this did not lead to the kind of partnership in industry that would have secured the long-term prosperity of the nation.
Instead, it led to an ever-widening gulf between workers and management that still bedevils British industry and can be seen today in the bitter struggle within Royal Mail. If the principles underlying the Protestant ethic had been applied by all parties, justice would have been seen to have been done, workers would have received fair wages and excessive profits would not have gone into the pockets of investors and top management.
Today, the bankers’ bonuses epitomise the plight of Britain where the spirit of capitalism has been divorced from the Protestant Ethic. Without the moral values that were derived from the Protestant ethic and which laid a good foundation for industrial society in Britain, the unrestrained greed of human nature takes over and drives towards the limitless acquisition of wealth. That is what is happening today.
Despite public outrage at the huge bonuses paid by the banks, especially to traders who gamble with money derived from government bailouts, there is still the intention of paying out large bonuses at the end of this year. It would appear that the banks have learned nothing from the crises and scandals of the past 18 months. They are still driven by a spirit of greed and avarice rather than a desire to seek the common good and to pursue policies that will lead the nation out of recession into prosperity.
Our economic problems are rooted in the loss of the Protestant Ethic. Britain has lost its soul. We have lost the vision of working for the good of the nation. It is everyone for themselves. Work is seen as a necessary evil, essential for providing the means for enjoying the real things of life like holidays in the sun and early retirement. The creativity that inspired inventors and entrepreneurs and generated the Industrial Revolution has largely disappeared; swept away in a tsunami of self-indulgence that has left us with the naked forces of the ‘Spirit of Capitalism’ unregulated by the Protestant Ethic.
Today it is not only the entrepreneurs and the Labour movement that have lost their spiritual roots and become divorced from biblical values but the ‘God dimension’ has also largely disappeared from the nation. Just as the prophet Ezekiel, before the destruction of Jerusalem some 2,500 years ago, saw a vision of the glory of the Lord departing from the City, so the God dimension, and with it the values of the Protestant Ethic, have departed from the City of London – the heart of our nation.
The reason Britain is still in recession is because of the blindness of our leaders and the stubborn refusal of our political masters to recognise that the root of our problems lie in the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the nation. Changes in economic policy will not change the situation; neither will a change of government. Only a change in our moral, spiritual and social values will bring about the kind of radical change that is needed to turn the nation around into times of prosperity.
Based at Moggerhanger Park in Bedfordshire, Dr Clifford Hill is an author, sociologist and theologian who heads up several important ministries aimed at impacting the nation with spiritual values.
Muriel Anderson wrote:
It’s interesting to think that Mike Maybury seems to know all the ways of getting us out of recession, feeding the world and achieving world peace. How arrogant to think that he knows better than everyone else.
Mike Maybury wrote:
Margaret Manning-
If you will read my comment again, I hope that you will see that I condemn and take no part in organised war. What many countries do is to organise a ‘war machine’, which, like many enterprises, must be kept in business. $1 trillion spent worldwide in this way each year might be far better spent in reducing conflict, and solving problems between groups and countries. This would lead to saving many more lives, and improving others than happens through warfare.
How would you recommend that the inhabitants of Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan protect their families in the violent situation in which they find themselves? Arming themselves would be the very action that would get themselves and families killed, surely?
My own adult life of over 50 years has so far never left me with the only option of using arms, or even punches, to protect myself or friends. I have had cause to go to the aid of people under attack, and on all occasions so far, the violence stopped. One cannot always forecast the outcome, but threatening violence to an armed person is most likely to invite severe retaliation, in my opinion.
Looking to the case of Northern Ireland, it was decided that talking to the opponents was the only way forward. If that had been done 30 years earlier, how many lives and cripples might have been saved?
Margaret Manning wrote:
Mike Maybury - I would seriously question whether the people who attack for greed etc are in fact Christians. Some politicians say they are for political reasons - because they want our votes. However a war in self defence is another matter. If you were at home and had a person come and threaten to attack your wife and children would you just stand there? An ideal world of course would have no war at all but we do not live in such a world so we have to live in the one we have and face reality!
Alex Woods. wrote:
Excellent article. Puts the finger right on the real problem.
Mike Maybury wrote:
The capitalist system nearly collapsed. It may still.
Before the current crisis, most of the world was suffering, while those of us in the West consumed more than our fair share. 3 world’s worth for Europeans. 5 world’s worth for inhabitants of the USA.
The cold war against communism, and reaching for the moon, as well as other excesses and McCarthyism in the USA, are all results of the so called christian ideas that we exported to the USA hundreds of years ago.
The protestant ethic, in which I was educated, threatened me with the cane and other punishments as a young boy. It did nothing to tell me that I did not need to participate in war or could subsist on a healthy vegetarian diet, thus avoiding most of the western diseases. It did not tell me that I billion people live without essential clean water, and that 2 billion people lack basic sanitation and hygiene.I needed to become a conscious HUMAN to understand these things. Christians and other religious adherents seem too worried about future lives and unseen forces and gods to care enough about other humans. Who, for example, sanctions soldiers going to war, bombing civilians etc. normally the church, in the west. They even, on the whole, support nuclear arms, missiles and submarine systems, aimed at our enemies.
What was that about turning your enemies into friends? A few Christians, like Quakers, Mennonites and the Bruderhof keep to such principles but the majority are happy to train and become soldiers, manufacture and trade in armaments and do most of the nasty things in the world.
Save us from Christians!
Margaret Manning wrote:
TOO TRUE !
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