CapitalismasReligion WalterBenjaminTranslatedbyChadKautzer [Fragment74]l One can behold in capitalism a religion, that is to say, capitalism essentially serves to satisfy thesameworries,anguish,and

,and disquietformerlyansweredbysocalledreligion,TheproofofcapitalismsreligiousstructureasnotonlyaMJ"""4 uev_nu11ULUlllydreligiouslyconditionedconstruction,asWeberthought,butasan essentiallyreligiousphenomenonstilltodaymisleadsonetoaboundless,universalpolemic.Wecannotdrawclosethenetin whichwestand.AcommandingViewwill,however,laterbecomepossible..I Threecharacteristicsofthereligiousstructureofcapitalismare,however,recognizableatpresent.First,capitalismisapure religiouscult,perhapsthemostextremethereeverwas.Withiniteverythingonlyhasmeaningindirectrelationtothecult:it knowsnospecialdogma,notheology.Fromthisstandpoint,utilitarianismgainsitsreligiouscoloring.Thisconcretizationofthe cultconnectswithasecondcharacteristicofcapitalism:thepermanentduration0fthecult.Capitalismisthecelebrationofthe cultsansrveetsansmerci'.2Herethereisnoweekday,nodaythatwouldnotbeaholidayintheIawfulsenseofexhibitingall sacredpomptheextremeexertionofworship.Third,thisisacultthatengendersblame.Capitalismispresumablythefirstcaseof ablaming,rnflvlrHmana.1" A , _ ww v1 u Uxallllll) rather than arepentingcult.Hereinstandsthisreligious system in the fall of a tremendous movement. An enormous feeling of guilt not itselfknowinghow torepent,grasps atthecult, not in order to repent for this guilt, but to make ituniversal,tohammer itintoconsciousnessandfinally andabove all toinclude Godhimselfinthisguilt,inordertofinallyinteresthiminrepentance.This 259 [repentance]isthusnottobeexpectedinthecultitself,norinthereformationofthisreligionwhichVmustholdontosomething certainwithinitnoryetinthedenialofit.Intheessenceofthisreligiousmovementthatiscapitalismliesbearinguntiltheend, untilthefinallycompleteinfusionofblameinton1.1A.YLJAMm,JammuaunnlvhnnpdFmYThereinliestheGodthe attainmentofaworldofdespairstillonlyhopedfor.Thereinliesthehistoricalenormityofcapitalism:religionisnolongerthe reformofbeing,butratheritsobliteration.FromthisexpansionofdespairinthereligiousstateoftheWorld,healingisexpected. Godstranscendencehasfallen,butheisnot Y.__dead.Heisdrawnintothefateofrnan.Thispassageofplanetaryman [PlanetenMensch]throughthehouseofdespairis,intheabsolutelonelinessofhispath,theethosNietzschedescribes.Thisman isthebermensch,thewhoknowinglybeginstorealizethecapitalistreligion.Thefourthcharacteristic[ofthe .._cimneamimmfbecomeconcealedandreligiousstructureofcapitalism]isthatitsGodmustbecomeconcealedan mayonlybespokenofinthezenithofhisculpability.Thecultbecomescele bratcdbeforeanimmaturedeity,[While]everyimage,everyideaofitinjures ecretofitsmaturity.thesecretofitsmaturity. Freudean theory also belongs to the priestly rule of thiscult.lt is thoroughlycapitalisticin thought.Therepressed,thesinful imagination,is,atbottom,stillanilluminatinganalogytocapitaltowhichthehelloftheunconsciouspays interest. Thistypeofcapitalist,religiousthinkingmagnicentlyreconcilesitselfinNietzschesphilosophy.Thethoughtofthe bermenschlosestheapocalyptic "rVLAM_leapnotbychangingitsways,atonement,purification,[or] penitence,butintheapparentlycontinuous,butintheend,rupturing,discontinuousintensification.ThatisWhyintensification andevolutionareincompatibleinthesenseof

Ynonfacitsalturn.3Thebrmenschistheonewhowithoutchanging,arrived, whostreakedthroughtheheavenshistoricalman.whostreakedthroughtheneavensnlsroncaiman. Nietzsche prejudged [preached] that [in] this breaking open of the heavens through increased humanization [Menschhaftigkeit], the religious (also for Nietzsche) blame is and remains. And similarly [with] Marx: the noninverting[nicht umkehrende] capitalism becomes socialism with interest and compound interest, which [are the] functions of blame (note the demonicambiguityofthisconcept). Capitalismisapurelyculticreligion,withoutdogma.CapitalismitselfdevelopedparasiticallyonChristianityinthWestnot inCalvinismalone,butalso,asmustbeshown,intheremainingorthodoxChristianmovementsinsuchaWaythat,intheend,its historyisessentiallythehistoryofitsparasites,ofcapitalism.Comparetheholyiconography[Heiligenbldernlofvarious religionsontheonehandwiththebanknotesofVariouscountriesontheother:Thespiritthatspeaksfromtheornamentationof banknotes.f Capitalismandlaw[RechtlPagancharacteroflaw.SorelRflexionssurlaviolencep.262.5 Overcomingofcapitalismthroughjourneying[Wanderung].UngerPolitikundMetaphysicS446 Fuchs:StrukturderkapitalistischenGesellschaft MaXWeber:Ges.AufstzezurReligionssoziologe2Bd1919/208 ErnstTroeltsch:DieSoziallehrenderchr.KirchenundGruppen(Ges.W.I.1912)9 SeeabovealltheSchnbergeanbibliographyunderII. Landauer:AufufzumSozialismusp.14410 Theworries:amentalillness,whichsuitsthecapitalistepoch.Spiritual(notmaterial)hopelessnessinpoverty, vagabondismbeggingmonasticism.Aconditionthatissohopelessitisculpable[verschuldend].Theworriesaretheindexof thisguiltyconscienceofhopelessness:Worriesoriginatinginthefearofhopelessnessthatiscommunitybased,not individualmaterial. ChristianityinthetimeoftheReformationdidnotencouragetheemergenceofcapitalism,butratherchangeditselfinto capitalism. Methodologically[it]wouldbe[productive]tofirstexaminewhatassociaitionsmoneyhasadoptedwithmythinthecourse ofhistory_untilitcoulddrawfromChristianityenoughmythicalelementsinordertoconstituteitsownmyth. Wergildu/Thesaurusofgoodworks/Thesalarythatisowedtothepriest.PlutoasGodoftherich. AdamMller:RedenbrdieBeredsamkeit121816SSff. Connectionofthedogmaofthenatureofknowledgewhich,initsqualityofresolving[aulsenden],is,tous,atthesarnetime aliberatingandkillingwithcapitalism.Theendresultisaliberatingandruining[erledigende]knowledge. It contributes to the knowledge of capitalism as a religion to imagine vthat the original paganism certainly and most proximatelygraspedreligion notasahigher moralinterest, butasthe mostimmediatelypracticalthatithadwith otherwords been aware ofits ideal or transcendentnature,justastodays capitalismis,butsawintheirreligiousorindividualofdifferent faith an infallible member of its community, in precisely the same sense the modern bourgeoisie [sees] its nonearning members [nichterwerbendenAngehrigen]. Notes 1.CapitalismasReligionisatranslationofFragment74,entitledKapitalismusalsReli gion,fromVolumeVIofBenjaminsGesammelteSchriften,editedbyRolfTiedemannandHermannSchweppenhuser (Suhrkamp),10003.Inthenotesofthatvolume(pp.69091),theeditorshavecitedthetextsBenjaminreferencesinhis manuscriptintheeditionsthathewouldhavereadatthetime.Theseareprovidedwithslightemendationsinthefollowing footnotes,alongwithcorrespondingavailableEnglishtranslations.Bracketed Englishwordsinthetextareaddedmerelytoalssistthereaderincompletingfragmentrysentences.A11footnotesarethoseof thetranslator

10. 11. 12. Theliteraltranslationofsansrveetsansmerciiswithoutdreamandwithoutmercy,butthisismostlikelytheresultofa typoorerrorinthetranscriptionofBenjaminsmanuscript.Thephraseshouldprobablyreadsanstrveetsansmerci,whichis foundinthesixthprincipleoftheMedievaldecalogueofchivalry,ascataloguedbytheinfluential19thcenturyFrenchliterary historianLeonGautier.Thesixthprinciplereferstothemedievalknightsmethodoffightingtheinfidels,andisinconcertwith Benjamin'sdescriptionofcapitalismsdevelopmentandGeorgesSorelstreatmentofChristianityandcapitalisminhisRflexions surlaviolence,whichBenjaminlatercitesinthismanuscript.SeeLeonGautier,Chivalry,TheEverydayLifeoftheMedieval Knight(NewYork:CrownPublishers1989).IwouldliketothankDevahPagerandPaulHumphreyfortheirassistanceintracing thisconnection. Benjaminsuseofnonfacitsalturnisatruncatedversionoftheevolutionaryadage,NaturanonfacitsaltumorNaturemakes noleaps,whichguredprominentlyinLeibnizsNouveauxessaissur1entendementhumainof1704(translatedasNewEssays onHumanUnderstanding(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress1996)),CharlesDarwinsOntheOriginofSpecies(London: IohnMurray1859),andAlfredMarshallsPrinciplesofEconomics(London:Macmillan1920). BenjaminisnotingtheambiguityoftheGermanwordSchuld,whichcanmeaneitherblame,guilt,ordebt. GeorgesSorel,RflexionssurlaViolence,5thedition(Paris:Marce]RivireetCie1919).TranslatedasReflectionsonViolence (NewYork:PeterSmith1941). ErichUnger,PolitikundMetaphysic.DieTheorie.VersuchezuphilosophischerPolitik,I.(Berlin:VerlagDavid1921)*l BrunoArchibaldFuchs,DerGeistderbrgerlchkapitalischenGesellschaft.EineUntersuchungberseineGrundlageand Voraussetzungen(Berlin,Mnchen1914). MaxWeber,GesammlteAufstzezurReligionssoziologie2Bd.(Tbingen:Mohr1920).ErnstTroeltsch,DieSoziallehrender christlichenKirchenundGruppen,GesammlteSchriften,Bd.I.(Tbingen:ScientiaAalen1912).TranslatedasTheSocial TeachingoftheChristianChurches(NewYork:TheMacmillanCompany1931). GustavLandauer,Sozialismus(Berlin:VerlegtbeiPaulCassirer1920). InTeutonicandOldEnglishlaw,wergild(orWergeld)isthevaluesetforahumanlifeandispaidtothefamilyorlordofthe dead. AdamMller,ZwlfRedenuberdieBeredsamkeitundderenVerfallinDeutschland(Mnchen:DreiMaskenVerlag1816). TheologicoPoliticalFragment WalterBenjaminTranslatedbyEdmundIephcott OnlytheMessiahhimselfconsummatesallhistory,inthesensethathealoneredeems,completes,createsitsrelationtothe Messianic.ForthisreasonnothinghistoricalcanrelateitselfonitsownaccounttoanythingMessianic.ThereforetheKingdomof Godisnotthetelosofthehistoricaldynamicitcannotbesetasagoal.Fromthestandpointofhistoryitisnotthegoal,butthe end.ThereforetheorderoftheprofanecannotbebuiltupontheideaoftheDivineKingdom,andthereforetheocracyhasno political,butonlyareligiousmeaning.TohaveIrepudiatedwithutmostvehemencethepoliticalsignificanceoftheocracyisthe cardinalmeritofBlochsSpiritofUtopia. The order of the profane should be erected on the idea of happiness, Therelation of thisorderto theMessianicisoneofthe essential teachings of the philosophy of history. Itis the precondition of a mystical conceptionofhistory, containinga problem thatcanberepresentedfiguratively.IfonearrowpointsALAL"" v l www to the goal toward which the profane dynamic acts, and another marks the direction of Messianic intensity, then certainly the quest of free humanity for happiness runs counter to the Messianic__direction but just as a force can,throughacting, increaseanotherthatisactingin theoppositedirection, sotheorder of the profane assists, through being profane, thecomingoftheMessianic Kingdom.The profane,therefore, although notitselfa

category of this Kingdom, is a decisive category of its quietest approach. For in happiness allthatisearthlyseeksits downfall, and only in good fortune is its downfall destined to findit.Whereas,admittedly,theimmediate Messianicintensity of theheart, ofthe