This book analyses the bearing of global monotheistic faiths towards the philosophy and practice of record keeping and accounting throughout history. The author offers a comprehensive discussion of the literal and figurative processes of taking account and ascribing accountability that link religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Chapters address theology and accounting in tandem with social behaviours to demonstrate how auditing and calculating customs permeate practising religions. This book first highlights how the four monotheisms have viewed and incorporated accounting historically, and then looks forward to the accounting debates, technologies and traditions in today’s world that derive from these religious customs. Drawing heavily on the writings of Max Weber and Werner Sombart, the author demonstrates that accounting and capitalism have religious roots far beyond the Protestant ethic.
In one of the true classics of twentieth-century political economy, R. H. Tawney addresses the question of how religion has affected social and economic practices. He tracks the influence of religious thought on capitalist economy and ideology since the Middle Ages, shedding light on the question of why Christianity continues to exert a unique role in the marketplace. In so doing, the book offers an incisive analysis of the morals and mores of contemporary Western culture. "Religion and the Rise of Capitalism" is more pertinent now than ever, as today the dividing line between the spheres of religion and secular business is shifting, blending ethical considerations with the motivations of the marketplace.
This book addresses from a socio-scientific standpoint the interaction of religions and forms of contemporary capitalism. Contributors explore a wide range of interactions between economic systems and their socio-cultural contexts.
In one of the truly great classics of twentieth-century political economy, R. H. Tawney addresses the question of how religion has affected social and economic practices. He does this by a relentless tracking of the influence of religious thought on capitalist economy and ideology since the Middle Ages. In so doing he sheds light on why Christianity continues to exert a unique role in the marketplace. In so doing, the book offers an incisive analysis of the historical background of present morals and mores in Western culture.Religion and the Rise of Capitalism is even more pertinent now than when it first was published; for today it is clearer that the dividing line between spheres of religion and secular business is shifting, that economic interests and ethical considerations are no longer safely locked in separate compartments. By examining that period which saw the transition from medieval to modern theories of social organization, Tawney clarifies the most pressing problems of the end of the century. In tough, muscular, richly varied prose, he tells an absorbing and meaningful story. And in his new introduction, which may well be a classic in its own right, Adam Seligman details Tawney's entire background, the current status of social science thought on these large issues, and a comparative analysis of Tawney with Max Weber that will at once delight and inform readers of all kinds.
The development of religious thought, and specifically how it relates to business concerns, is discussed in this classic work by R. H. Tawney. During the Middle Ages the church doctrine, notwithstanding numerous examples of inconsistencies and outright hypocrisy, viewed material wealth as a potential sign of greed, and therefore with heavy skepticism. This view permeated into discussions of economic affairs. In particular, gains coming from payment for production were viewed as acceptable, and gains from trade necessary, but gains coming from purely financial transactions (for example the charging of interest) were explicitly equated with greed, and therefore not ethically permissible and potentially punishable by excommunication. Tawney contends that this view began evolving around the time of the Reformation. He shows how the religious movements expounded by Luther and Calvin began by recognizing the legitimacy of charging interest in a limited set of circumstances. The reformed churches still initially maintained their right to comment on and criticize business practices. Charging of usurious amounts of interest, especially to people who could not afford it, was still considered a sin and something squarely within the ecclesiastical domain. With the rise of Puritanism in England, however, this view gradually faded away. Puritanism encouraged a greater reliance on individualism in spiritualism, and was less interested in policing economic transactions. This in turn led eventually to new system of values, “in which the traditional scheme of Christian virtues was almost exactly reversed,” helping to pave the way for the rise of financial capitalism and an ethical justification for extreme wealth inequality and perpetual material, instead of spiritual, growth. Even though Tawney ends his analysis at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, it isn’t difficult to see the relevance to the modern world. Much of the language today surrounding wealth (and poverty) in particular hold an unmistakable, if not explicit, debt to Christian thought. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.
This Handbook explores how accounting, accountability and governance are interconnected, and demonstrates that they must operate effectively together in establishing good personal and organizational behaviour in entities of all types around the globe. It will be crucial for academic researchers working within the fields of accounting, economics, corporate governance, accountability, management and business and be beneficial for accounting, economics and management professionals seeking to clarify and expand upon their knowledge for effective application.
This book addresses from a socio-scientific standpoint the interaction of religions and forms of contemporary capitalism. Contributors explore a wide range of interactions between economic systems and their socio-cultural contexts.
