The Spirit of French Capitalism

Economic Theology in the Age of Enlightenment

The Spirit of French Capitalism
Charly Coleman
RRP:
NZ$ 66.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 55.27
Paperback
h229 x 152mm - 392pg
16 Mar 2021 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9781503614826
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
How did the economy become bound up with faith in infinite wealth creation and obsessive consumption? Drawing on the economic writings of eighteenth-century French theologians, historian Charly Coleman uncovers the surprising influence of the Catholic Church on the development of capitalism. Even during the Enlightenment, a sense of the miraculous did not wither under the cold light of calculation. Scarcity, long regarded as the inescapable fate of a fallen world, gradually gave way to a new belief in heavenly as well as worldly affluence. Animating this spiritual imperative of the French economy was a distinctly Catholic ethic that-in contrast to Weber' s famous "Protestant ethic"-privileged the marvelous over the mundane, consumption over production, and the pleasures of enjoyment over the rigors of delayed gratification. By viewing money, luxury, and debt through the lens of sacramental theory, Coleman demonstrates that the modern economy casts far beyond rational action and disenchanted designs, and in ways that we have yet to apprehend fully.
"The Spirit of French Capitalism is a brilliant, provocative book that deserves a wide readership. Charly Coleman compellingly argues that to understand the genesis of modern capitalism, we need to understand how economic visions of unlimited consumption and plenitude arose out of the ' economic theology' of the Catholic Reformation. Delving deep into theological debates of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Coleman traces surprising connections to the period' s economic thought-and economic practice as well. " -- David A. Bell * Princeton University * "With deft analysis and compelling exposition, Charly Coleman unearths the neglected yet highly significant contributions of French Catholic theology to the growth and development of capitalism. He helps us grasp why, amid supposed disenchantment and the brute materiality of modernity, commodities continue to hold such sway and consumption still promises us salvation. " -- Devin Singh * Dartmouth College *
Charly Coleman is Associate Professor of History at Columbia University. He is the author of The Virtues of Abandon: An Anti-Individualist History of the French Enlightenment (Stanford, 2014), which was awarded the 2016 Laurence Wylie Prize in French Cultural Studies.
Status: No local stock, title imported to order
ISBN-13: 9781503614826
Published: 16 Mar 2021
Published In: United States
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Format: Paperback
Height: 229mm
Width: 152mm
Pages: 392

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information