Breaking the Ties

In Vol. 116 No. 2 of Annals Australasia (March 2005) on p. 42, there is a quote from The Fear of Freedom by Eric Fromm (1961):

In contrast with the feudal system of the Middle Ages under which everybody had a fixed place in an ordered and transparent social system, capitalistic economy put the individual entirely on his own feet. What he did, how he did it, whether he suceeded or whether he failed, was entirely his own affair. That this principle furthered the process of individualism is obvious and is always mentioned as an important item on the credit side of modern culture. But in furthering 'freedom from', this principle helped to sever all ties between one individual and the other and thereby isolated and separated the individual from his fellow men. This development had been prepared by the teaching of the Reformation. In the Catholic Church, the relationship of the individual to God had been based on membership in the church. The Church was the link between him and God, thus on the one hand restricting his individuality, but on the other hand letting him face as an integral part of the group. Protestantism made the individual face God alone. Faith in Luther's sense was an entirely subjective experience and with Calvin the conviction of salvation also had this same subjective quality. The individual facing God's might alone could not help feeling crushed and seeking salvation in complete submission. Psychologically this spiritual individualism is not too different from the economic individualism. In both instances the individual is completely alone and in his isolation faces the superior power, be it of God, of competitors, or of impersonal economic forces. The individualistic relationship to God was the psychological preparation for the individualistic character of man's secular activities.

Emphasis Mine

Here Dr. Fromm is postulating that the religious realignment under the Reformation enabled the economic revolution under Capitalism. My opinion is that the Reformation and Capitalism needed each other and therefore grew together. Other than that, I agree with the rest of the quote.

A more rigid Marxist approach would postulate that the changes in the economic relationships between people necessitated changes in the ideological superstructure that justified the existing relationships between people. In other words, people needed justification for oppressing other people in different ways.

The corporate and hierachical nature of the Catholic Church mirrored the corporate and hierachical nature of the feudal system. This is the main reason that the Catholic Church has lost relevence in the modern world. It is looking backwards towards a vanishing past. Feudalism cannot compete with Capitalism: militarially, economically, ideologically, psychologicallly, or technologically. The power unleashed by individual entrepreneurship is enormous.

The ideological warfare within Capitalism is centred around Individualism. The Liberals are defending the untrammeled rights of individuals to make decisions for themselves, and their opponents want to restrict that freedom to comply with whatever strictures they wish to impose. Restricting Individualism restricts Capitalism. One is bound up with the other.

This warfare reflects the shifting balance of power within Capitalist societies. The large corporations are becoming stale and hidebound. They fear the small business people who remain the powerhouse of Capitalism.

These positions within the economic sphere are not reflected in the ideological sphere. The large capitalists and the labour aristocracy remain committed to the liberal ideas and, in particular, the Theory of Evolution because it justifies their position in society as being achieved through the survival of the fittest. In contrast, the petite bourgeois are being attracted to the Fundamentalist sects and their emphasis on Creationism and Intelligent Design. I think that the petite bourgeois is using these ideologies to break the logjam on their upward mobility by destroying the justification for the existing society rather than for their ideological content.

For the Catholic Church to adapt to the changing economic realities, I think it needs to stop pining for the days of Feudalism and challenge the rampant Individualism by expanding on the corporate nature of its social. This means jestioning the hierarchical nature of the Catholic Church and introducing democracy. The current leadership structure of the Catholic Church cannot do this as they are quite happy with the existing arrangement. The change, as always, must be come from those without power.

Yes, I am proposing a democratic revolution within the Catholic Church.

My previous rant on similar subjects is at More on Islamic Reformation.