Capitalism is often interpreted as a religion. However, if religion is understood in terms of Religare, as something that binds, then capitalism is anything but a religion because it lacks any force to assemble, to create community…And what is essential to religion is contemplative rest, but this is the antithesis of Capital. Capital never rests. It is in its nature that it must always work and continue moving. To the extent that they lose the capacity for contemplative rest, humans conform to Capital. The distinction between the sacred and profane is also an essential characteristic of religion. The sacred unites those things and values that give validity to a community. The formation of community is its essential trait. Capitalism, by contrast, erases the distinction between the sacred and the profane by totalizing the profane. It makes everything comparable to everything else and thus equal to everything else. Capitalism brings forth
Wednesday, 26 May 2021, 9:34 am
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Capitalism is often interpreted as a religion.
However, if religion is understood in terms of Religare, as
something that binds, then capitalism is anything but a
religion because it lacks any force to assemble, to create
community…And what is essential to religion is
contemplative rest, but this is the antithesis of Capital.
Capital never rests. It is in its nature that it must always
work and continue moving. To the extent that they lose the
capacity for contemplative rest, humans conform to Capital.
The distinction between the sacred and profane is also an
essential characteristic of religion. The sacred unites