Moralizing Capitalism: Agents, Discourses and Practices of Capitalism and Anti-Capitalism in the Modern Age (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements)

This book adds a crucial focus on morality to the growing literature on the history of capitalism by exploring social and cultural perspectives on the economic order that has dominated the modern world. Taking the study beyond narrow economic confines, it traces the entanglement between moral sentiments and capitalism, examining both moral critiques and moral justifications. Company bankruptcies, systems of taxation, wealth, and the running of stock exchanges were attacked on moral grounds, while ideas of economic justice and the humanization of capitalism loomed large over moral critiques. Many movements, from antislavery to labour campaigns, were inspired by aspirations to improve capitalism and halt the moral decay that was felt to have affected large sections of society. This book questions how moral sentiments are defined and have changed over time, and how these relate to both capitalism and anti-capitalism. Covering a range of different social movements and ethical issues, the 13 chapters present a moral history of capitalism, understood not simply as an economic system but as an order that encompasses all areas of modern life. Series Editors’ Preface 6 Acknowledgements 11 Contents 13 Notes on Contributors 16 Abbreviations 21 List of Tables 23 Chapter 1 Introduction: Moralizing Capitalism: Agents, Discourses and Practices of Capitalism and Anti-capitalism in the Modern Age 24 ‘Moralizing Capitalism’? Concept and Idea 24 A New History of Capitalism? 28 Histories of Capitalism and Questions of Morality 31 ‘Moralizing Capitalism’: Concern and Structure of This Book 39 ‘Moralizing Capitalism’: A Research Programme 44 Part I History of Knowledge 50 Chapter 2 Teaching Capitalism: The Popularization of Economic Knowledge in Britain and Germany (1800–1850) 51 Education and Economy 55 Political Economy in Schools 59 Women, Children and the Economy 63 Capitalism as Providence 68 Economic Knowledge in School Instruction in Germany 71 Chapter 3 Moralizing Wealth: German Debates About Capitalism and Jews in the Early Twentieth Century 80 Introduction 80 Moralizing Wealth Around 1900: Statistics and the Public 83 Moralizing Wealth: Jews as Capitalism’s Profiteers Around 1900 90 Constructing Wealth Around 1900 96 Chapter 4 The Moral Foundation of Modern Capitalism: Towards a Historical Reconsideration of Max Weber’s ‘Protestant Ethic’ 99 Interests and Objectives 101 The Composition of the PE: A Brief Overview 102 Modern Capitalism (1): The Basic Model 106 The Moral Foundation of Modern Capitalism: Protestant Ethic 109 Early Reception of the PE (1905–1920) 113 Recent Historical Readings of the PE (After 1980) 118 Modern Capitalism (2): The Moral Dilemma of the Market 123 Coda 127 Part II Capitalism and the Political 129 Chapter 5 ‘We Only Want to Pay What Is Fair’: Capital, Morals, and Taxes in Canada 1867–1917 130 Demoralizing Capital 132 Remoralizing Capital: Local Beginnings 138 Remoralizing Capital: The Nation-State 147 Conclusion 152 Chapter 6 Humanizing Capitalism: The Educational Mission of the Ford Foundation in West Germany and the United States (1945–1960) 153 Re-educating Germans: Humanized Capitalism as a Strategy to Instil Democracy 157 Humanizing Capitalism Through Great Books: The Fund for Adult Education 165 Management Education as a Moral Gospel of Capitalism 171 Conclusion 175 Chapter 7 ‘Corporate Citizens’ at the United Nations: The 1973 GEP Hearings and the New Spirit of Multinational Business 177 Introduction 177 Four Reasons Why Multinational Corporations Became a Key Issue in International Politics 181 The ‘Group of Eminent Persons’ Hearings on Multinational Corporations 186 The Stakes of the Game for Multinational Corporations 188 Imagining Multinational Corporations in the World Economy: Four Visions 193 Conclusions 199 Part III Ethics and Merchants 202 Chapter 8 Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Commercial Honour at the New York Stock Exchange During the Progressive Era 203 Virtuous Insiders, Vicious Outsiders? Self-Regulation and the Vision of Commercial Morality 208 Moral Ambivalences: Fighting Bucket-Shops, Promoting Unregulated Markets 211 Regulating Business Conduct: Group Conformity Instead of Norm Conformity 213 Conclusion: Taming Mr Hyde—to Some Extent 219 Chapter 9 Bankruptcy and Morality in a Capitalist Market Economy: The Case of Mid-Nineteenth-Century France 221 Belated Debates, Belated Reactions 225 Flaws of the 1807 Napoleonic Bankruptcy Law 227 Legal Technicality Instead of High Expectations 232 Challenges of Industrialization 233 A Law of Exceptions for an Exceptional Event 234 Deficiencies of Legal Practice 238 Rhetorics and Arguments 239 Hedging the Ubiquity of Debt 243 Part IV Social Movements and Moral Concerns 246 Chapter 10 US Catholicism and Economic Justice: 1919–1929 247 Introduction 247 John A. Ryan and the 1919 ‘Bishops’ Program for Social Reconstruction’ 253 After the Wall Street Crash 258 The ‘Statement on the Present Crisis’ 261 Conclusion 263 Chapter 11 The Discourse Against ‘Shameful Profiteering’ in Greece 1914–1925: Notions of Exploitation, Anticapitalist Morality and the Concept of Moral Economy 265 Profiteering and Its Persecution in Greece in the 1910s 266 Shameful Profiteering and the Notion of Exploitation: An Alternative Interpretation 269 What to Do with the Concept of Moral Economy: Morality and Hegemony 276 Chapter 12 Dilemmas of Moral Markets: Conflicting Narratives in the West German Fair Trade Movement 281 Introduction 281 Morals and Markets: Competing Theoretical Approaches 284 The Formation of the West German Fair Trade Movement 289 Establishing Fair Trade: Early Concepts for an ‘Alternative Third World Trade’ 293 Alternative? What Alternative? Conflicting Concepts in the West German Fair Trade Movement in the 1980s 299 Conclusion: Moralizing Capitalism by Moralizing Consumers? 303 Chapter 13 Economic Boom, Workers’ Literature, and Morality in the West Germany of the 1960s and Early 1970s 307 Workers’ Literature Between Literary Aspirations and Political Practice 310 Critique of Fordist Working Conditions and the Limits of What Could Be Said 315 ‘Economic Miracle’, the Nazi Past, and the Cold War 321 Conclusion 326 Archive 328 Index 329 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxv Introduction: Moralizing Capitalism: Agents, Discourses and Practices of Capitalism and Anti-capitalism in the Modern Age (Stefan Berger, Alexandra Przyrembel)....Pages 1-26 Front Matter ....Pages 27-27 Teaching Capitalism: The Popularization of Economic Knowledge in Britain and Germany (1800–1850) (Sandra Maß)....Pages 29-57 Moralizing Wealth: German Debates About Capitalism and Jews in the Early Twentieth Century (Alexandra Przyrembel)....Pages 59-77 The Moral Foundation of Modern Capitalism: Towards a Historical Reconsideration of Max Weber’s ‘Protestant Ethic’ (Thomas Sokoll)....Pages 79-108 Front Matter ....Pages 109-109 ‘We Only Want to Pay What Is Fair’: Capital, Morals, and Taxes in Canada 1867–1917 (Elsbeth Heaman)....Pages 111-133 Humanizing Capitalism: The Educational Mission of the Ford Foundation in West Germany and the United States (1945–1960) (Wim de Jong)....Pages 135-158 ‘Corporate Citizens’ at the United Nations: The 1973 GEP Hearings and the New Spirit of Multinational Business (Christian Olaf Christiansen)....Pages 159-183 Front Matter ....Pages 185-185 Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Commercial Honour at the New York Stock Exchange During the Progressive Era (Boris Gehlen)....Pages 187-204 Bankruptcy and Morality in a Capitalist Market Economy: The Case of Mid-Nineteenth-Century France (Jürgen Finger)....Pages 205-229 Front Matter ....Pages 231-231 US Catholicism and Economic Justice: 1919–1929 (Giulia D’Alessio)....Pages 233-250 The Discourse Against ‘Shameful Profiteering’ in Greece 1914–1925: Notions of Exploitation, Anticapitalist Morality and the Concept of Moral Economy (Nikos Potamianos)....Pages 251-266 Dilemmas of Moral Markets: Conflicting Narratives in the West German Fair Trade Movement (Benjamin Möckel)....Pages 267-292 Economic Boom, Workers’ Literature, and Morality in the West Germany of the 1960s and Early 1970s (Sibylle Marti)....Pages 293-314 Back Matter ....Pages 315-329