Catholicism, Protestantism, and Capitalism [Paperback]

Amintore Fanfani (Author), Professor Giorgio Campanini University of Parma Italy (Preface), Dr. Dr. Charles Clark (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2002

This classic work is an exhaustive philosophical, historical, and religious look at the relationship between Catholic and Protestant religious doctrine and both the historical and ideological growth of capitalism. Starting with a definition of capitalism, Fanfani examines how that definition squares with Catholic and Protestant teaching. He then looks at the historical development of the capitalistic mindset or mentality, and examines the growth of the mindset historically in light of both the Protestant and Catholic doctrine on economic life. This text will be of interest to all students of economic thought, philosophy, and Catholic or Christian studies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I deeply admire what you're doing, and look forward to reading more of your books." -- Jeff Rubin, editor, Conservative Book Club, January 28, 2004

"[L]iterary masterpieces . . . worth a college degree in economics." -- The Wanderer

"[T]ruly a service to the Catholic intellectual world that IHS Press has republished . . . this classic text." -- Dr. Peter Chojnowski, Catholic Family News, December 1, 2003

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ihs Press (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971489475
• ISBN-13: 978-0971489479
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,458,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply Penetrating, June 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Capitalism (Paperback)

For anyone who is interested in why our culture has produced the Enron's, WorldCom's and the like; or why increasingly our society is becoming one big hommage to corporate giants, have a look at this classic work of Catholic economic history.

The kind of economy existing up until the Protestant Reformation placed the economy at the service of persons, families and local communities. Today, it is the economy that is the lord of us all. We are "consumers" and "human resources." For anyone who hopes and dreams of a better way, this classic work of scholarship will give you the threads to understanding how we got to where we are and provide glimmers of what we must do to recover a person centered economy.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The posthumous edition of Amintore Fanfani's seminal study, July 9, 2004

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Capitalism (Paperback)

Catholicism, Protestantism, And Capitalism by the late Amintore Fanfani (1908-1999), is an impressively comprehensive and scholarly presentation between traditional Catholic doctrine and the spirit of economic capitalism. This posthumous edition of Amintore Fanfani's seminal and ground breaking study is enhanced for contemporary readers by an informed and informative foreword by Charles M.A. Clark (Professor of Economics, Tobin College of Business, and Senior Fellow, Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John's University, New York) and Giorgio Campanini (Professor of the History of Political Thought, University of Parma, Italy). Catholicism, Protestantism, And Capitalism is an uncomplicated read and especially commended to the attention the those of the Christian community with an interest in economics and theology.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars indispensible, May 10, 2011

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T. Kalamaras "Scrivener" (Midwest USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Capitalism (Paperback)

This book is indispensible for understanding the development of economic systems of Europe and America in the past few hundred years and some fundamental cultural distinctions between Continental Europe and the Anglo-American sphere of influence.

Few books I have ever read integrate so well religion, politics, economy, and culture into a seamless fabric of social observation. Fewer still provide as accurate of a model for understanding the development and operation of the modern linguistic conflicts and sloganeering which revolves around regulation of economic activity.

This book is a must for readers emergent from the idealistic haze of liberterianism who want to reintegrate the importance of human groups and religious belief systems into their thinking. Its also mandatory for contemporary "conservatives" and republicans who may wish to add some real social ethics into their political philsophy rather than just letting the international free trade lobby do their thinking for them.