Capitalism as religion: a bolstered defense

• Main Author: Felipe G. A. Moreira
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) 2021-06-01
• Series: O Que Nos Faz Pensar
• Online Access: http://www.oquenosfazpensar.fil.puc-rio.br/index.php/oqnfp/article/view/788

Under the influence of Max Weber, Walter Benjamin and Giorgio Agamben argue for (CiR): the claim that capitalism is identical to a religion. Yet, these defenses of (CiR) seem quite easily refutable. This is insofar as it is not clear whether they:(i) rely on a plausible use of the terms “capitalism” and “religion”; (ii) spell out the justificatory resource that backs up belief in (CiR); and (iii) show the pertinence of revising ordinary use of language in calling “religious people”, apparently non-religious people who supposedly would follow the religion of capitalism. It is this essay’s aim, then, to bolster Benjamin’s and Agamben’s defense of (CiR) by articulating a new defense of this claim that accomplishes (i) to (iii) and reads Donald Trump as a “reverend” of the religion of capitalism.