religious and capitalist violence in theory

November 16, 2007 5:57 PM

Can you refer me to sophisticated discussions of violence that is driven by hybrid forms of capitalism and religion?

You may think it's odd that I'd ask this anonymously; however professionally I'm supposed to know about this, and I'm on the job market. Best, I think, to keep my ignorance under wraps.

Many books (whether you agree with them or not) discuss the propensity of capitalism to engage in violence, as a means or even an end (violence that ranges from subtle alienation effects to global wars of empire).

There are also plenty of books that discuss religious motivations towards violence.

But what books or articles discuss these both? I'm interested primarily in academic publications rather than, say, popular accounts of the subject that you might find in books such as Ben Barber's _Jihad vs. McWorld_.

I really liked Tom Frank's popular _One Market Under God_, and I'm looking for something slightly more scholarly that extends Frank's observation that postmodern neo-liberalism tends to see elements of the divine in market forces, and that discusses how theism and capitalism sometimes (or always) work together to justify violence.

Please cite particular works, rather than just saying "Marx talks about this" or etc. Books or articles that start from or mention Weber's _Protestant Ethic_ might be especially useful. Thanks very much.

posted by anonymous to Religion & Philosophy (2 answers total)

The Authoritarian Personality (by Adorno, along with a bunch of other people) might be one place to start. Also, this anthology isn't half bad. (Its main focus is media, but it might still be useful, and at the very least the works cited should be helpful.) I'm sure there are better answers to your question out there, but those are the two things that I thought of off the top of my head.
posted by Hypocrite_Lecteur at 8:23 PM on November 16, 2007

Have you thought to search JSTOR? Not only will you find articles relating to your subjects, but also lots and lots of scholarly book reviews... Unfortunately I think most of their content is subscription only (I get my access through my department) but you can search and preview content before you buy in.
posted by wfrgms at 9:53 PM on November 16, 2007