The Destiny of Modern Societies: The Calvinist Predestination of a New Society

Contents......Page 6
Introduction......Page 12
The "First New Nation" and European Calvinism......Page 18
Calvinism via Puritanism......Page 21
Calvinism—The Genesis and "Destiny" of America?......Page 24
Calvinist Predestination via the Puritan "Destiny" of America......Page 30
"All in the Extended Calvinist Family"......Page 37
From Total Mastery to "Holistic Destiny"......Page 40
"Holism" in Societal Predestination: Varieties......Page 42
Appendix: America's "Destiny" and Tocqueville, Weber, and Marx......Page 47
Calvinism Retrieved from the (Theocratic) "Golden Past"......Page 52
Calvinist Theocracy—America's "Destiny"?......Page 59
Calvinist "Destiny" of Tocqueville's America......Page 61
Theocratic "Paradise Lost and Found"......Page 68
The Calvinist Theocratic Genesis and Evolution......Page 71
The Calvinist Theocratic Destiny and Heritage......Page 77
The Calvinist Design and System of Theocracy Reconsidered......Page 81
Calvinist Theocracy as "Divinely Ordained"......Page 82
Calvinist Theocracy and Despotism via Puritan Theocratic Tyranny......Page 89
Calvinism, Puritanism, and Moral Fascism......Page 95
Calvinist Theocracy as a Total Social System: Theocratic Subsystems......Page 101
From Total Mastery of the World to a Totalitarian Social System......Page 107
From the Mastery of Society to a Master-Servant Economy and Back......Page 112
Calvinist Vision and Reality of a Master-Servant Economy......Page 115
Theocratic Economic Logic and Structure......Page 120
A Master-Servant Economy versus the Weberian Elective Affi  nity of Calvinism and Capitalism......Page 125
The Master-Servant Economy—America's Calvinist Economic "Destiny"?......Page 131
Elements and Subtypes of the Calvinist Pure Master-Servant Economy......Page 133
Pure Calvinist Theocracy and Economic Slavery......Page 135
The Calvinist "Rational Choice": Extermination or Enslavement?......Page 140
Composite Economic Slavery......Page 143
Calvinist Feudal Servitude......Page 147
Calvinist Theocracy and Feudalism......Page 148
Calvinist Feudalism Déjà Vu......Page 151
Calvinist Neo-Feudalism......Page 153
Calvinist New Bibliocracy and Neo-Feudalism......Page 156
Calvinist Theocracy and the Caste Economy......Page 158
Calvinist Caste Exclusion versus Total Extermination......Page 160
Forms and Meanings of the Calvinist Caste System......Page 164
Elements of the Calvinist Diluted Master-Servant Economy......Page 167
Diluted Calvinist Theocracy and the Master-Servant Economy......Page 168
Attributes of the Calvinist Diluted Master-Servant Economy......Page 170
Calvinist Predatory Capitalism......Page 174
From Rapacious Theocracy to Predatory Capitalism—and Back......Page 176
"Mafi a Capitalism"......Page 178
The Calvinist Spirit cum "Ghost" of Capitalism......Page 182
Calvinist Master-Servant Capitalism: Specifi cation......Page 187
Economic "Autocracy" versus Democracy......Page 188
"One-Party" Economic System......Page 191
Extreme Economic Anti-Egalitarianism......Page 192
Extreme Economic Anti-Humanism......Page 197
"Free Enterprise" Epilogue: Anti-Labor Economy— America's Calvinist Economic "Destiny"?......Page 203
Theocratic Polity......Page 204
Theocratic Polity: Formal Terms......Page 209
Legal-Institutional Fusion between Politics and Religion......Page 210
Legal-Institutional Fusion of Secular and Sacred Powers......Page 217
Subverted Institutional Separation of Sacred and Secular Power......Page 220
Factual Societal Fusion between Religion and Politics......Page 224
Factual Societal Fusion of Sacred and Secular Power......Page 232
Diluted Societal Diff erentiation between Religion and Politics......Page 235
Theocratic cum Anti-Liberal Polity......Page 245
Calvinist Political Anti-Liberalism versus Democracy......Page 246
From the 16th Century French Calvinist Synod to 21st Century American Evangelicalism......Page 255
Theocratic Polity as a Non-Democratic Government......Page 260
From Fundamentalist Anti-Liberalism to Theocratic Totalitarianism......Page 263
"Godly Politics" versus Liberal-Secular Democracy......Page 268
From the Aristocracy of Heaven to the Aristocracy of Society......Page 271
Theocratic Oligarchy......Page 277
The (Predestination) Doctrine of "Heavenly" Oligarchy......Page 278
The Sociological "Law" of Calvinism and Political Oligarchy......Page 286
Theocratic Plutocracy......Page 295
Political and Social Closure and Exclusion......Page 300
Appendix: Catholic and Neo-Calvinist Theocratic Tendencies......Page 307
Puritan Moralistic Tyranny......Page 308
Rediscovering and Redefi ning Moral Fascism......Page 314
Denial and Suppression of Individual Moral Freedom......Page 322
Equation of Pleasures, Sins, and Crimes......Page 330
Anti-Humanism......Page 334
Coercive Imposition of Puritanical Morality......Page 343
"Draconianism"......Page 351
Sadism and Masochism......Page 369
The Vice-Police State......Page 373
Puritan and Islamic Vice-Police States Compared......Page 380
From a Free Private Sphere to a Coercive Monastic Order......Page 395
Global Moral Fascism—Pan-American "Manifest Destiny"?......Page 401
Culture as Theocratic Religion......Page 408
Anti-Aesthetic Culture......Page 411
Anti-Rationalistic Culture......Page 413
Secular Culture versus Theocratic Religion......Page 415
The Puritan "Culture of Death"?......Page 421
Indicators ("Symptoms") of the Puritan "Culture of Death"......Page 423
The Anti-Renaissance and Anti-Humanism......Page 435
The Anti-Renaissance and Anti-Humanism Initiated......Page 439
The Anti-Renaissance Generalized and Perpetuated......Page 444
Indicators of Puritan Anti-Artistic Antagonism......Page 447
The Counter-Enlightenment......Page 452
The Counter-Enlightenment as the Dark Middle Ages Déjà Vu......Page 456
Counter-Enlightenment in Religious and Cultural Intolerance......Page 464
Counter-Enlightenment in Intolerance in Comparative Perspective......Page 471
Instances of Religious Tolerance and Freedom in Calvinist Societies—Despite Calvinism......Page 476
Counter-Enlightenment in Cultural Anti-Rationalism......Page 482
Counter-Enlightenment in Anti-Scientifi c Nihilism......Page 496
Reconsidering Calvinism......Page 508
From Calvinism to Puritanism and Back......Page 509
Calvinism's Genesis Revisited......Page 515
The Dual Story of Calvinism: From an Abysmal Failure in the "Old World" to a Fateful Triumph in the "New Nation"......Page 520
Summary of Calvinism's Path: The Birth, Decline, and Rebirth......Page 532
The Spirit and Heritage of Calvinism Reconsidered......Page 536
Orthodox, Conservative Protestantism......Page 537
Extreme, Radical Protestantism......Page 548
Disciplinarian, Repressive, and Hyper-Ascetic Protestantism......Page 557
Calvinism Reinvented and Reinforced: Reenter Puritanism......Page 569
Appendix: "Diff erences" between Calvinism and Puritanism Revisited......Page 573
"Destinies" of Human Societies......Page 586
The "Wealth and Destiny of Nations"......Page 596
The Calvinist-Capitalist Elective Affi  nity in the "New Nation": Theocratic Capitalism?......Page 602
The Supreme Historical Irony? The Calvinist "French Connection" to America......Page 605
References......Page 612
Index......Page 626