Capitalism as Religion

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Capitalism as Religion

Cover of the first edition, Volume VI of Collected Works (1985)
Author	Walter Benjamin
Original title	Kapitalismus als Religion
Language	German
Genre	Philosophy of history Sociology Political philosophy
Publisher	Suhrkamp
Publication date	1985

"Capitalism as Religion" is Walter Benjamin's (1892—1940) unfinished work, written in 1921. It was published in 1985 and forms part of Benjamin's early sketches on social and political theory, religion, and the theory of history.

In this fragment,^{[Note 1]} Benjamin argues that capitalism should be considered a religion. This thesis refutes Max Weber's famous idea of the Protestant work ethic as a condition for the emergence of capitalism. Benjamin does not give precise definitions, but highlights the main features of capitalist religion: its radicality as a pure cult without dogma, its permanent duration, and its focus on the imposition of guilt rather than atonement. In a polemic with Weber, Benjamin characterizes the relationship between capitalism and Christianity as "parasitic".

The author uses allegories and metaphors; central to the fragment is the figurative concept of Schuld, interpreted in different contexts as guilt or debt. The capitalist cult initiates an irreversible movement of increasing guilt, blaming even "God himself," leading to hopelessness and angst, and ultimately to the destruction of the world. Benjamin criticizes Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud for reproducing in their theories the logic of the movement of capitalism. It is not clear from the text whether the author envisions the possibility of overcoming capitalism and escaping the total system of guilt.

"Capitalism as Religion" provides the first theological interpretation of capitalist modernity in Benjamin's work, and outlines future explorations of its mythological dimension in "Passages" and other later works.^[1][2] The Fragment attracted scholarly attention in the early 21st century due to a growing interest in Benjamin's legacy in the general historical and political context of the post-secular age. The fragment's ideas about capitalism as a religious formation are developed by the famous Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben.

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