The Jews And Modern Capitalism

by Werner Sombart

n interesting study could be made of the fertilizing effect of error in the intellectual world. What a revolution has been caused in historical studies by the enormous errors of those misguided but prolific Germans, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Werner Sombart! The importance of these men is that they obliged scholars to ask new the fact that their own answers were erroneous is a secondary matter. Immediate falsities were soon exposed; ultimately a whole new science was born and more scrupulous thinkers gave exacter answers. Indirectly the new science and the exacter answers owe their existence to the first challenge. The errors of Werner Sombart were certainly heroic. Himself an economist, not a historian, erudite indeed but careless of evidence, he was suddenly inspired by Max Weber’s thesis about the relation of the Protestant ethic to capitalism to offer an alternative answer. Why, in the 16th century, had the center of economic power shifted from Southern to Northern Europe, from the Mediterranean to Antwerp, London, and Amsterdam? The discovery of America and the East Indies is no answer—is Hamburg really nearer to the Far East than Venice? Some other explanation is required. Weber had supplied one ideological Protestantism had created the capitalism of the North. In search of another, Sombart hovered briefly over a desperately insufficient understanding of history, and then, seeing it, or thinking he saw it, pounced. In 1492 the Jews had been expelled from Spain, in 1495 from Portugal, and later from some Italian cities. Whither had they gone? Some few had gone to Northern Europe. What need of further argument? The thesis is “Modern capitalism is nothing more nor less than an expression of the Jewish spirit”; it only needs to be illustrated. Sombart’s book The Jews and Modern Capitalism, which appeared in Leipzig in 1911, is the illustration of it, rich, suggestive, intellectually irresponsible, and in its political consequences ultimately disastrous. Himself a Gentile, an admirer of the Jews, he became involuntarily a Founding Father of anti-Semitism.

Genres: Economics, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Sociology, Religion, Jewish

292 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 1911

About the author

Werner Sombart was a German economist and sociologist, the head of the “Youngest Historical School” and one of the leading Continental European social scientists during the first quarter of the 20th century. Sombart's later writings reflect his personal philsophy and the anti-Semitism of the Nazi regime. In one of his last publications, A New Social Philosophy (1934), Sombart analyzed social problems “from the point of view of the national socialist [Nazi] way of thinking.”

Reviews

[Da1tonthegreat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of books discussing the Jewish Question tend to blur together. This one manages to have a distinct and fascinating approach. Werner Sombart explores the intimate association of Jewry with capitalism. The contrast between Medieval gentile capitalism and modern Semitic finance capitalism is striking. "Look through the catalogue of 'sins' laid at the door of the Jews in the 17th and 18th centuries, and you will find nothing in it that the trader of to-day does not regard as right and proper, nothing that is not taken as a matter of course in every business." Modern capitalism is the invention of the Jewish people. Whether that's a credit or a condemnation depends on your worldview.

[Milena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro bastante pertinente para entender o processo de surgimento do capitalismo, favorecido constantemente pelo espírito ético e jurídico judeu.
Desde sua relação com o desenvolvimento ou decadência das regiões europeias, até o abrigo buscado nas Américas, Sombart traz dados históricos e fontes hebraicas que justificam o comportamento de usura e ágio, pelos quais os judeus são conhecidos até hoje.
Os primeiros capítulos abordam como os judeus seriam os fundadores da "despersonalização" do dinheiro, ou "reificação" como é chamado pelo autor, através da criação de títulos de crédito. Por meio de seu modo de acumulação de capital, eles se tornam os principais financiadores das monarquias européias, porém, não sem o constante choque com a cultura cristã e a quebra de costumes provocada pela centralização da sociedade no acúmulo de capital.
O autor caracteriza as razões que propiciaram esse aumento de riqueza, encontrando como resposta o caráter empreendedor e comerciante, os quais ele trata de diferenciar. Além disso, o ambiente de subcidadania que sempre perseguiu os judeus imigrantes é especulado como gerador de resiliência e foco na busca por novas formas de ascenção financeira, tudo podendo ser corroborado e aprovado por interpretações do Talmude.
Por fim, há uma investigação antropólogica do povo judeu. Pelo livro ter sido escrito no começo do século 20, é interessante observar as especulações da época, ao passo que hoje já temos tecnologias bem precisas para rastrear e investigar a origem dos povos.
É um livro rico e imparcial, que ajuda a compreender o mundo contemporâneo. A leitura foi fluida e até rápida, portanto vale a pena.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jews And Modern Capitalism (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2017) skrevs av den tyska ekonomen och sociologen Werner Sombart (1863-1941) och gavs ut för första gången 1911. Märkligt nog innehåller våran upplaga ingen innehållsförteckning vilket försämrar bokens struktur och överblickbarhet.

I den här boken undersöker Sombart i vilken mån judarna är ansvariga för den moderna kapitalismens utveckling. Det är märkbart att författaren har en viss förkärlek till detta folk samt att han har ansträngt sig för att framstå som objektiv och nyanserad för att undvika att bli kallad för ett allt för välkänt, diskrediterande och effektivt invektiv.

Författaren påvisar på ett övertygande sätt hur denna grupp har spelat en avgörande roll i kapitalismens framfart i västvärlden. Sombart uppmärksammar judarnas teleologiska, abstrakta, kosmopolitiska tendenser som bottnar dels i deras religion men även i deras nomadiska rötter (ett kringvandrande ökenfolk). Författaren visar hur judarna ofta har etablerat sig i stora städer som handelsmän och utlånare av pengar samt hur det genom dessa yrken skaffat sig ett stort inflytande.

Bokens huvudtes är att det judiska sättet att bedriva handel (på ett opersonligt vis och med profit som ända motiv) förstörde det Europeiska sättet att bedriva handel (baserat på tradition, personliga relationer, gemenskap, icke-konkurrens och enbart inriktat på medel för uppehälle). Följaktligen lever vi nu under ett ekonomiskt system som är onaturligt för oss i västvärlden. Så här summerar författaren själv denna tes:

“The purest form of capitalism is that wherein abstract ideas are most clearly expressed. That they are part and parcel of the Jewish character we have already seen; there is no occasion, to labour the close kinship in this respect between capitalism and the Jew. Again, the quality of abstraction in capitalism manifests itself in the substitution of all qualitative differences by merely quantitative ones (value in exchange) Before capitalism came, exchange was a many-sided, multicolored and technical process ; now it is just one specialized act, that of the dealer: before there were many relationships between buyer and seller; there is only one now, the commercial. The tendency of capitalism has been to do away with different manners, customs, pretty local and national contrasts, and to set up in their stead the dead level of the cosmopolitan town. In short, there has been a tendency towards uniformity, and in this capitalism and Liberalism have much in common. Liberalism we have already shown to be a near relative of Judaism, and so we have the kindred trio of Capitalism, Liberalism,and Judaism.”

s.191-192

För att underbygga sin tes undersöker Sombart, bland annat, ekonomisk historia, judisk historia, den judiska religionens roll i denna utveckling samt kapitalismens olika beståndsdelar. Allt detta är kompetent gjort och väldigt väldokumenterat. Vi anser dock att författaren skulle ha kunnat varit aningen mer koncis och fortfarande fått fram sina poänger på ett bra sätt. Det här är en aningen kontroversiell men mycket intressant och informativ bok som vi varmt rekommenderar.

[noblethumos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Jews and Modern Capitalism is a book written by Werner Sombart, a German economist and sociologist. The book is a study of the role of Jews in the development of modern capitalism, and the ways in which Jewish economic practices and values have shaped the modern economic system.

In The Jews and Modern Capitalism, Sombart examines the economic history of the Jews, focusing on the ways in which they have contributed to the development of modern capitalism and the ways in which their economic practices and values have been shaped by the broader economic and social context. He also looks at the ways in which Jewish economic practices and values have been received and debated, and the ways in which they have influenced the development of modern economic thought.

Overall, The Jews and Modern Capitalism is a detailed and informative examination of the role of Jews in the development of modern capitalism, and provides important insights into the ways in which economic practices and values have shaped the modern economic system.

GPT

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's an excellent book. The author tackles the question with rationale and without hype and fear. The main premise of the book is that Capitalism is based on jewish belief. Partly because jewish had always been nomads they had to create a system based on money, which didn't belong in one place and could easily transfer or be moved. Because all other trades were supposedly prohibited the trade of money became the most important one. Author also suggests that intellectually jewish people are more creative or talented to deal with abstract questions such as money. I might add - think capitalism is destroying the world as it is. Anything that's made artificial of nature, will not work in a natural world so its not working. One can only live by the rules of Nature or one will perish.

I will put the book on my re-read shelf. Its very good.

[Fred R · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He is the born representative of a "liberal" view of life in which there are no living men and women of flesh and blood with distinct personalities, but only citizens with rights and duties. And these do not differ in different nations, but form part of mankind, which is but the sum-total of an immense number of amorphous units... It comes to this, that they behold the world not with their "soul" but with their intellect."

I wish he had talked more about the link between Puritanism and Judaism.

[Jim Aristopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Προσοχη οταν μιλαμε για ''εβραιους'' εννουμε τους μετεχοντες σε συναγωγες, σε αντιθεση με τους ''Ιουδαιους'' που ειναι γενικα φυλη και μπορει να μην μετεχουν καν στο ''εβραικο εθνος'' και την Εβραικη θρησκεια. Ενα εξαιρετο βιβλιο του Σοσιαλιστη Werner Sombart που εξηγει τοσο την εξελιξη των εβραιων και τη δημιουργια της καπιταλιστικης λογικης αλλα και ταυτοχρονα πως συνδεεται αμεσα φιλοσοφικα και ιστορικα ο εβραισμος και ο καπιταλισμος. Καθως και τον λογο για τον οποιο ολοι σχεδον ολοι οι σοσιαλιστες του 19ου αιωνα μεχρι τα μεσα του 20ου απεχθανονταν τον εβραισμο. Ο εβραισμος ειναι η ψυχη του φιλελευθερισμου!!!

[Anya Couture · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marxist Werner Sombart, the Jews, and Modern Capitalism
Sombart's "The Jews and Modern Capitalism" emphasized the role of Jews in the development of modern capitalism, arguing that their commercial skills and adaptability made them natural entrepreneurs. At the time, he was considered a philosemite. During the interwar period, he became more critical of the Jewish influence on German society. He argued that the Jews were a threat to the German nation, and that their economic success was undermining the interests of the German people.

Sombart's views diverged from both Marx and the Bolsheviks in several ways. While Sombart acknowledged the role of Jews in the development of modern capitalism, he did not share Marx's view that capitalism was inherently exploitative and that it would inevitably be replaced by socialism. Instead, Sombart saw capitalism as a natural outcome of the human desire for material progress and wealth accumulation. On a less theoretical level, he dealt with the Bolsheviks. Sombart was critical of the Bolsheviks' revolutionary methods, arguing that they were too extreme and likely to lead to chaos and violence. He believed that social and economic change should be achieved through gradual reforms, rather than through radical upheaval.

[سید محمّدمهدی · Rating 5 out of 5]

همه چیز به اندازه و خواندنی 👌🏼

[Brett Lindenfelser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting study into Jewish influence on the development of the modern economy. Also worth noting that the author doesn't come off nearly as antisemitic as his Wikipedia page suggests.

[Hagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great work on the origins of capitalism and its subsequent degeneracy. This book pairs well with Macdonald's The Culture of Critique, which is also an important read.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, old fashioned book on the relationship between Jews and Modern capitalism. A bit of an antique time piece, but good from a historical perspective.