Why is this significant? At the time that capitalism was rising in Europe, religion was the dominant cultural and institutional influence. Capitalism needed religion's blessing and Calvin played an important role in this.
In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber argued for Calvin's key role, but some contemporary scholars view this perspective as somewhat exaggerating Calvin's role.
The fundamental difference at the time of Weber was over Marx' view of capitalism as based on a shift of the primary mode of production that determines economic infrastructure and Weber's sociological view that emphasized the role of culture and institutions, especially the role of religion as a cultural and institutional phenomenon.
JSTOR Daily
John Calvin: The Religious Reformer Who Influenced Capitalism
Peter Feuerherd | professor of journalism at St. John's University in New York
JSTOR Daily
John Calvin: The Religious Reformer Who Influenced Capitalism
Peter Feuerherd | professor of journalism at St. John's University in New York
