Civilization in peril of dissolution. Impact of Reformation on Europe’s economic system by Hilaire Belloc

Abstract

Hilaire Belloc, prolific British writer and friend of G.K. Chesterton, was widely known for his firm Catholic faith and strong belief in the leading role of the Catholic Church in establishing the European Civilization. In combination with his interests in economy, this resulted in his consistent historic vision of the western world, with Reformation as a turning point. European society, once existing as a servile state, was transformed by Christianity into a distributist state, which was regarded by Belloc as the best possible social-economic system. But when rapid Reformation changed the common morality, then arose Capitalism, which degraded the majority of population, and threatened the society with further perils of socialism, and even the return of the servile state. In this Article the Author argues, that in spite of the popular opinion, the incontestable influence of Reformation was not a positive factor in the development of the European Civilization, but in fact it resulted in a sudden change of morality, which eventually destroyed a once tested and effective system, putting the society in danger of further perilous consequences.