Calvin's Economic and Social Thought

In this authoritative work, Swiss theologian and economist André Biéler examines the economic and social thought of the 16th-century reformer John Calvin as a turning point in western history that transformed European understanding of wealth and poverty, work and productivity, civil government and the responsibility of citizens. John Calvin, living and working in Geneva, then as now a center of trade and banking, is the reformer who thought most carefully about economic and social issues, warning that "social disorder is first and foremost disdain for the poor and oppression of the weak." Calvin's application of the teaching of the Bible to practical issues of his place and time speaks to us with continuing relevance. André Biéler examines the reformer's practical theology within the context of his proclamation of the Christian gospel and doctrine, carefully differentiating the authentic voice of Calvin from that of later Calvinists, Puritans, and such academic interpreters as Max Weber, Ernst Troeltsch, and R.H. Tawney. Biéler's monumental work, a storehouse of Calvin's own writing and teaching, has enjoyed steady sales in French since it first appeared in 1959. With this new edition, it becomes available for the first time in English translation.