“Spanish Barbarism”
Weber and Simmel on Catholicism and on Spanish Colonialism
Having grown up in Prussia during the years of the Kulturkampf, Weber initially had no appreciation for Catholicism. Moreover, Weber’s Protestant Ethic (1905) seemed to turn him a defender of the Puritan sects: neither Catholics nor Lutherans had provided the historical force that had contributed decisively to the rise of modern capitalism. Moreover, his work does not seem to reveal any significant interest in Catholicism, since he never wrote anything on that version of Christianity comparable to his volumes on Protestantism, ancient Judaism, etc. Unsurprisingly, Weber is widely seen as an “uncompromising rival of Catholicism” (Paul Honigsheim), who regarded the historical significance of this religion as negligible. On closer inspection, however, this preconception does not help us to understand Weber’s work. The author of The Protestant Ethic and the “Spirit” of Capitalism did think about Catholicism and the Iberian world. During my presentation, I will make four points: first, as a comparion between Weber and Simmel reveals, Weber knew far more about Catholicism and about the Iberian world than what was usual among educated Germans of his generation. Second, for personal and intelectual reasons, Weber became increasingly familiar with the Catholic world and his work offers us a sustained, if dispersed dialogue with Catholicism and the most representative Catholic countries. Third, the Catholic monarchies occupied a central place in Weber’s mind as he developed his concept of patrimonial domination and studied how this form of domination interacted with capitalism. Four, the Catholicism-patrimonialism duality is Weber’s springboard to his scathing critique of colonialism as a violent and particularly irrational form of capitalism. This engagement with Weber with Spain and Portugal, their colonies, and their institutions distinguihes Weber from all other “classical” sociologist.
With discussants: Natàlia Cantó, Carl Antonius Lemke & Sergio da Mata
JOIN US for an exciting discussion on April 24th at 16:00 CET. Here are the zoom details for you to join:
Time: Apr 24, 2025 16:00 Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
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https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/92157732456?pwd=NLbQdQbyDf0HndHjjam8CU3qMOofCp.1
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For this meeting, we will assume that people have read the paper in advance. You can get a pdf of the paper from the author by sending a short note to Álvaro Morcillo (MorcilloA@ceu.edu). The presenter will only offer a 10 minute summary. The name of the other discussants will be confirmed later and Stephen Turner will chair the session.
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