Predestined to profit? Reformed Protestantism and economic expansion in the Dutch golden age
Alexander Sarbinski
‘If we intend to have the trade of the world, we must emulate the Dutch, who make the worst as well as the best of all manufactures, so that we may be in a capacity of serving all markets and all humours’. 1 So declared the Governor of the English East India Company Sir Josiah Child. His admiration of Dutch commercial prowess was by no means limited to the English mercantile community. In his essay, E. Reinert argued that not only did contemporaneous commentators view the United Provinces as a prosperous polity but they also perceived it as a model of economic development, attainable through appropriate government policies. 2 This desire to emulate Dutch success permeated the writings of, among others, Giovanni Botero and Ludwing Seckendorf. Modern economists often echo these views, referring to the Dutch Republic as the first modern economy characterized by sustained long-run economic growth. 3 Numerous explanations were proposed for the Provinces’ remarkable prosperity. One of the potentially most compelling – while also most controversial- theories pertains to the influence of Calvinism as the predominant re ligious worldview among the Republic’s citizens. The interaction of religion with economic activity was famously analysed by Max Weber, who highlighted the economic disparities between Protestant and Catholic regions in Europe. 4 He attributed this discrepancy to the impact of theological factors, most notably the Calvinist doctrine of predestination, on attitudes towards labour and entrepreneurship. 5 According to Weber’s analysis, belief in predestination encouraged assiduousness and frugality – qualities indispensable to the development of profitable business endeavours. He argued that through rejecting sacramental practices as a means to salvation, predestinarian Calvinism instilled in its adherents a peculiar form of spiritual anxiety. 6 Under such circumstances, hard work and successful business operations enabled believers to attain a state of certitudo gratis – confidence in salvation. Consequently, through engendering a distinctly modern attitude of profit-maximizing business, Calvinism contributed to economic development of the polities in which it constituted the dominant denomination. The United Provinces provide an exceptional opportunity to appraise the significance of confessional beliefs for the process of economic modernization. The onset of Dutch commercial primacy in the early 17th century coincided with a ‘shining moment’ for Reformed Protestantism. 7 The dissemination of Calvinist beliefs was accompanied by an intensive program of confessionalization whereby Reformed 1 Reinert 2016: 47. 2 Ibid. : 36. 3 De Vries van der Woude 2010: 1-2. 4 See Weber 2005: 1-12. 5 For a more detailed discussion of the relationship between Predestination and capitalism, see Weber 2005: 56- 80 6 Ibid. : 67. 7 Parker 2018: 189.
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