THIS book is based on a series of lectures on Religious Thought on Social Questions in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, which were delivered at King’s College, London, for the Holland Foundation in March and April 1922. It does not carry the subject beyond the latter part of the seventeenth century, and it makes no pretence of dealing with the history of either economic theory or of economic organization, except in so far as changes in theory and organization are related to changes in religious opinion. Having been prevented by circumstances from publishing the lectures immediately, I have taken advantage of the delay to re-write part of them, with the addition of some matter which could not easily be included in them in their original form. I must thank my fellow-trustees for their indulgence in allowing me to postpone publication.
The development of religious opinion on questions of social ethics is a topic which has been treated in England by the late Dr Cunningham, by Sir William Ashley, whose essay on The Canonist Doctrine first interested me in the subject, by Mr G. G. Coulton, Mr H. G. Wood, and Mr G. O’Brien. But it is no reflection on their work to say that the most important contributions of recent years have come from continental students, in particular Troeltsch, Choisy, Sombart, Brentano, Levy, and above all, Max Weber, whose celebrated articles on Die Protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus gave a new turn to the discussion. No one can work, on however humble a scale, in the same field, without being conscious of the heavy obligation under which these scholars have laid him. While I have not always been able to accept their conclusions, I am glad to have this opportunity of expressing my indebtedness to them. I regret that Mr Coulton’s The Medieval Village appeared too late for me to make use of its abundant stores of learning and insight.
It only remains for me to thank the friends whose assistance has enabled me to make this book somewhat less imperfect than it would otherwise have been. Mr J. L. Hammond, Dr E. Power, and Mr A. P. Wadsworth have been kind enough to read, and to improve, the manuscript. Professor J. E. Neale, in addition to reading the proofs, has helped me most generously throughout with advice and criticism. I am deeply indebted both to Miss Bulkley, who has undertaken the thankless task of correcting the proofs and making an index, and to the London School of Economics and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial fund for enabling me to make use of her services. My obligation to the help given by my wife is beyond acknowledgement.
R. H. TAWNEY