# The Social Organism explained — Religion and the Rise of Capitalism > Chapter companion for Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by R. H. Tawney. ## What happens This chapter establishes the historical and theoretical background for the study of economic ethics in the sixteenth century. It argues that the collision between the new economic environment and the accepted social theory of the Middle Ages is central to understanding the period. The chapter examines the diversity of medieval economic life and social thought, rejecting a monolithic view of the Middle Ages. It outlines four possible attitudes of religious opinion toward economic relations: ascetic aloofness, indifferentism, agitation for reform, and a critical acceptance that seeks to spiritualize all activities. The chapter emphasizes that the first generation of reformers were not innovators in social theory but drew on the traditional moral tradition of Christendom, leading to a conflict between established doctrine and changing economic realities. ## Themes in this chapter ### Conflict Between Ethics and Economics The central theme of the chapter: the collision between the changed economic environment of the sixteenth century and the accepted moral and social theory inherited from the Middle Ages. ### Transformation of Social Ethics The chapter discusses how religious and moral doctrines had to be modified as the new economic environment became established, leading to a transformation of social ethics. ### The Role of the Church in Society The chapter examines the various attitudes religious opinion could adopt toward economic relations, from ascetic aloofness to critical acceptance, reflecting the Church's role in shaping social theory. ## Character check-ins ### St. Antonino Cited as an example of a medieval Schoolman whose economic teaching in the fifteenth century was more complex and realistic than that of St. Thomas in the thirteenth, illustrating the development of medieval social theory. ### Thomas Aquinas Mentioned as a representative of thirteenth-century Scholastic economic teaching, contrasted with the later, more developed views of St. Antonino. ### Martin Luther Listed among the reformers whose social theories are rooted in medieval thought, alongside Latimer, Bucer, Bullinger, and others. ### Hugh Latimer Mentioned as a reformer whose social theories are part of the legacy of medieval social doctrine. ### Martin Bucer Included in the list of reformers whose social theories derive from medieval thought. ### Henry Bullinger Referenced as a reformer whose social theories are connected to medieval social doctrine. ### John Wyclif Quoted for his criticism of craft gilds as conspiratorial and divisive, and his teaching that the 'just man is already lord of all' is presented as an example of indifferentism. ### St. Francis of Assisi Mentioned in the context of monastic movements for reform that preached a return to evangelical poverty. ## Key lines > Speculation does not develop in vacuo . It echoes, however radical it is, the established order. Ideas, even revolutionary ones, are shaped by the existing social and economic conditions. _This emphasizes the connection between social theory and its material context._ > A religious philosophy, unless it is frankly to abandon nine-tenths of conduct to the powers of darkness, cannot admit the doctrine of a world of business and economic relations self-sufficient and divorced from ethics and religion. A religious worldview cannot accept that economic life operates independently of moral and religious principles without abandoning most of human behavior to immorality. _This articulates the fundamental tension between religious ethics and the emerging autonomous economic sphere._ > To suggest that anything like a majority of medieval workers were ever members of a craft gild is extravagant. It is an exaggeration to claim that most medieval workers belonged to a craft guild. _The author corrects a common misconception about the prevalence of guild membership._ > To invest the craft gilds with a halo of economic chivalry is not less inappropriate. It is equally wrong to romanticize craft guilds as noble or chivalric institutions. _The author warns against idealizing medieval economic institutions._ > The new economic world was not accepted without a struggle. The emerging capitalist economy faced significant resistance and criticism. _This introduces the central conflict of the chapter._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/i-the-social-organism - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters