this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
76 points (100.0% liked)
askchapo
22748 readers
254 users here now
Ask Hexbear is the place to ask and answer ~~thought-provoking~~ questions.
Rules:
-
Posts must ask a question.
-
If the question asked is serious, answer seriously.
-
Questions where you want to learn more about socialism are allowed, but questions in bad faith are not.
-
Try !feedback@hexbear.net if you're having questions about regarding moderation, site policy, the site itself, development, volunteering or the mod team.
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Liberal idealism on hexbear, from a longstanding member of this community? You should know better than this. Early colonialism was a mercantilist crime, Cortez slaughtered the Inca for their gold, not because they were pagans. The missionary aspect was a flimsy justification after the fact. The Spanish crown didn't send fleets across the Atlantic because they were so devoutly Catholic, but because it was highly profitable for their burgeoning empire. Same for the superstructure of the British empire, or for the other imperial powers. Their mix of racism and violent missionarism was the civilized veneer for their realpolitik, not the driving force for it.
This is what seriously pisses me off about the "all our problems are due to Christianity" crowd, you become politically illiterate through this shit. "Capitalism grew out of Christianity", do you think Calvin invented industrialization and capital accumulation or what? ofc he didn't, he just gave the bourgeois a metaphysical justification for their exploitation and a tool of control for the masses. You got it completely backwards, comrade.
Bang on. I don't vibe with all of his analysis, but Weber's exploration of the intertwining of the rise of capitalism and protestant Christianity is very important to understand how they're inseparable from each other and how often one reinforces the other.
Sociology: sometimes it works, folks.