The roots of capitalism
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The roots of capitalism
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[post_content] => Practice Passage (Question 1-6)
*This passage is the property of Khan Academy and has been reformatted into an AAMC-style interface in their entirety by MedLife Mastery. MedLife Mastery does not endorse and is not an affiliate of Khan Academy.
The most important opponent with which the spirit of capitalism has historically had to struggle was traditional views on wealth during the time of Catholic Feudalism. A man does not “by nature” wish to earn more and more money, and historically simply wished to live as he was accustomed to live and to earn as much as is necessary for survival. Whenever modern capitalism began its work of increasing the productivity of human labour by increasing its intensity, it encountered the immensely stubborn resistance of this leading trait of pre-capitalistic labour. The emergence of new religious forces, specifically Protestantism, and the ethical ideas of duty based upon them, have in the past always been among the most important formative influences on the formation of rational economic conduct. In this case, we are dealing with the connection of the spirit of modern economic capitalism with the rational ethics of ascetic Protestantism. The spirit of capitalism was born out of the Protestant reformation of the Catholic Church.
In order to understand the connection between the fundamental religious ideas of ascetic Protestantism and its maxims for everyday economic conduct, it is necessary to understand the religious teachings of English Puritanism, which were derived from the Calvinist reformation of the Catholic church. Waste of time was the first and deadliest of sins. Loss of time through sociability, idle talk, luxury, even more sleep than is necessary for health is worthy of absolute moral condemnation. It did not yet hold, as modern ethos has it, that time is money, although the proposition was true in a spiritual sense. Time was infinitely valuable because every hour lost was lost to labor for the glory of God. Wealth was thus bad ethically only in so far as it was a temptation to idleness and sinful enjoyment of life, and its acquisition was bad only when it was with the purpose of later living merrily and without care. The emphasis on ascetic importance of a fixed “calling” provided an ethical justification of the modern specialized division of labour. Worldly Protestant asceticism acted powerfully against the spontaneous enjoyment of possessions; it restricted consumption, especially of luxuries. On the other hand, it had the psychological effect of maximizing the acquisition of goods from the inhibitions of traditionalistic Catholic ethics. It broke the bonds of the impulse of acquisition in that it looked upon it as directly willed by God. The campaign against the temptations of the flesh, and the dependence on external things, was not a struggle against rational acquisition, but against irrational use of wealth. Over against the glitter and ostentation of Catholic feudal magnificence which, resting on an unsound economic basis, prefers a sordid elegance to sober simplicity, they set the clean and solid comfort of the middle-class home as an ideal.
When the limitation of consumption in asceticism is combined with a release of acquisitive activity, the inevitable practical result is obvious: accumulation of capital through ascetic compulsion to save. Asceticism condemned the pursuit of riches for their own sake; but the attainment of it as a fruit of labour in a calling was a sign of God’s blessing. The greater simplicity of life, in combination with great wealth, led to an excessive propensity to accumulation. As far as the influence of the Puritan outlook extended, it favored the development of a rational bourgeois economic life; it was the most important and consistent influence in the development of that life. It stood at the cradle of modern economic man.
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[question] => Which of the following statements best expresses the passage author’s central message?
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 1
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
The question is asking you to choose the option that best captures the author’s central message. The author says that “The emergence of new religious forces, specifically Protestantism, and the ethical ideas of duty based upon them, have in the past always been among the most important formative influences on the formation of rational economic conduct”, which is most consistent with option 1. Option 2 reverses the direction of the author’s argument to suggest that economic systems cause changes in religions. Option 3 describes one characteristic of asceticism, but this is not the author’s central message in this passage, which is more centrally about the development of capitalism. Finally, while the author mentions in paragraph 1 that certain forms of traditionalism had to be overcome, the author’s central message is not that such traditionalism slowed the development of capitalism (option 4). The author spends a lot more time talking about how Protestant/Puritan belief systems played a role in creating the capitalist motivation to work extremely hard and accumulate wealth.
Option 1 is correct.
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[answers] => Array
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. Certain religious ideas greatly guided the development of modern day capitalism.
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[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. Economic systems play an important role in shaping religious traditions.
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. The teachings of acetic Protestantism condone and condemn materialism simultaneously.
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[3] => Array
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[each_answer] => D. Religious traditions ultimately slowed the creation of a capitalist social system.
)
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[1] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3873426850
[question] => Which of the following is not part of the author’s chain of argument about how the spirit of capitalism was born out of the Protestant reformation of the Catholic Church?
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Within the Text” question, which means that it directs your attention to an argument, claim, or theme presented in the passage, and tests your ability to analyze and evaluate the strength of evidentiary relationships among component parts of an argument.
Here, you are asked to identify which of these ideas is not part of the author’s chain of reasoning about how the spirit of capitalism was born out of the Protestant reformation of the Catholic Church. The passage begins by talking about some key aspects of Catholic traditionalism that were an impediment to capitalism, including discouraging the desire “to earn more and more money”. So option 2 is part of the chain. Then, most of the remainder of the passage talks about values in Protestant Asceticism, including that idleness is sinful and that wealth obtained via hard labor was considered a blessing (option 3). These values resulted in people working hard and earning more money, but saving it and accumulating capital rather than spending it on luxury goods (option 1). Although the author asserts in passing at the end of the second paragraph that “the glitter and ostentation of Catholic feudal magnificence” rested “on an unsound economic basis”, this is not connected to the author’s argument of the emergence of capitalism (option 4).
Option 4 is correct.
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. Protestant asceticism promoted the accumulation of savings.
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[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. The Catholic tradition discouraged superfluous wealth.
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[each_answer] => C. Acquiring riches via labor was a sign of God’s blessing in Asceticism.
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[each_answer] => D. The Catholic Church rested on an unsound economic base.
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[2] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 83407773
[question] => Based on the passage, adherents of ascetic Protestantism would consider which of the following hypothetical behaviors to be the most sinful?
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
The passage says nothing about religious expression (option 1). While it may be possible to perform poorly in a job due to laziness, the quality with which one performs their job is not addressed in the passage, and there are a number of other reasons why one may not perform their best (option 2). The passage also doesn’t get into whether or not interfering with the ability of other people to work is a sin (option 4). The passage mainly focuses on individual choices. Choosing to spend more time with family represents a willful choice that detracts from time spent working. Paragraph 2 makes it clear that “Waste of time was the first and deadliest of sins.” Ascetic Protestantism makes it a sin not to spend as much time as possible working (option 3).
Option 3 is correct.
)
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[each_answer] => A. Choosing a job that forbids religious expression in the workplace
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[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. Failing to perform the best at one’s job
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. Opting to only work part-time to spend more time with family
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[each_answer] => D. Interfering with the ability of others to work
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[3] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 872728905
[question] => Which of the following assumptions does the author make?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 2
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Within the Text” question, which means that it directs your attention to an argument, claim, or theme presented in the passage, and tests your ability to analyze and evaluate the strength of evidentiary relationships among component parts of an argument.
The author writes in paragraph 1, “Worldly Protestant asceticism acted powerfully against the spontaneous enjoyment of possessions; it restricted consumption, especially of luxuries.” Then in paragraph 3, the author writes, “When the limitation of consumption in asceticism is combined with a release of acquisitive activity, the inevitable practical result is obvious: accumulation of capital through ascetic compulsion to save.” The author is arguing that Protestantism gave rise to Capitalism because it prompted people to save rather than spend the fruits of their labor. This assumes that saving is more important than spending to fuel a capitalist system (option 2). “Glitter” and “elegance” (option 1) are mentioned as aspects of Catholic feudalism, and they imply spending rather than saving. They do not imply that Catholicism yielded more total wealth (option 3) only that it was spent differently and perhaps distributed more equally. Nothing in the passage suggests that the author views Protestantism as promoting social inequality or economic inequality being central to capitalism (option 4).
Option 2 is correct.
)
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. Capitalism was fueled by people’s desire luxury, glitter, and elegance.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. Saving was more important than spending to the rise of Capitalism.
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. Catholic feudalism generated more total wealth than Protestantism.
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[3] => Array
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[each_answer] => D. Protestantism promoted social inequalities that justified the economic inequalities of Capitalism
)
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3143847772
[question] => According to the passage, which of the following was prohibited by Catholic traditionalism (paragraph 1) that obstructed development of capitalism?:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
In paragraph 1, the author states that traditional views during Catholic Feudalism were a major impediment to the development of capitalism. The author then follows the statement with a description of a “leading trait of pre-capitalistic labor” that embodies traditional attitudes toward money.
Specifically, the author writes, “A man does not “by nature” wish to earn more and more money, but simply to live as he is accustomed to live and to earn as much as is necessary for that purpose.” This suggests that it was the belief that one only needed to work as much as necessary to satisfy basic needs (option 3) that was a real impediment.
The temptation to sinful enjoyment of life (option 1), the loss of time through sociability, idle talk, and luxury (option 2), and irrational use of wealth (option 4) all refer to Puritanical rather than Catholic teachings, and the latter two are claimed to have promoted Capitalism.
Option 3 is correct.
)
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[each_answer] => A. The temptation to sinful enjoyment of life.
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[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. Loss of time through sociability, idle talk, and luxury.
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[each_answer] => C. Working more than necessary to satisfy basic needs.
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[each_answer] => D. The irrational use of personal wealth.
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3143847772
[question] => In paragraph 2, the author writes that Protestant asceticism “had the psychological effect of maximizing the acquisition of goods from the inhibitions of traditionalistic Catholic ethics.” Consider a farmer who increases the hourly pay of his workers in order to speed up the rate of harvest. Which of the following outcomes reflects what the author probably means by “traditionalistic ethics?” In response to more hourly pay, the Catholic workers will:
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 2
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
In paragraph 1, the author defines the traditionalistic Catholic attitude with the statement that, “A man does not “by nature” wish to earn more and more money, but simply to live as he is accustomed to live and to earn as much as is necessary for that purpose.” Thus, traditionalism based on this Catholic feudalism would predict that the worker would work only as much as he needs to satisfy basic needs (option 2). The author never says anything about working hard being a sin (option 1), and one may need to work hard to meet one’s basic needs. The passage says nothing to imply Catholic workers feel a particular need to show appreciation to employers for greater pay (option 3). Finally, working hard for the Glory of God (option 4) is a Protestant and capitalistic attitude, the opposite of the traditionalism referred to in the passage.
Option 2 is correct.
)
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[each_answer] => A. Work less because working hard is a sin.
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[each_answer] => B. Work less because the sufficient amount of pay needed would be earned in less time.
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[each_answer] => C. Work more to show the farmer appreciation for the increase in pay.
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[each_answer] => D. Work more because one works for the glory of God.
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