Capitalism and secularization

Abstract

This paper sets forth the thesis that Walter Benjamin’s fragment, Capitalism as religion (written in 1921), should be understood as a polemical reflection upon the notion of secularization in contrast to the traditional views proposed by Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. Benjamin sees the capitalism system, in all its components, as a new kind of religion that fulfils and at the same time surpasses its theological heritage. Capitalism, according to Benjamin, expresses its profound theological spirit through the “bank notes”. Taking these theoretical suggestions as a point of departure, this article undertakes a genealogical investigation of the origin of money as a sacramental sign. In order to do so, we discuss the ancient and medieval theory of sacramentum as the first conceptual laboratory used by Western institutions to think about the performative value of signs. Finally, we consider, in a critical way, how these philosophical and theological reflections are partially present in Karl Marx’s theory of money, which has many elements in common with Benjamin’s ideas about the same problem.

Key words: Benjamin, secularization, capitalism, sacramentum, economic theology.