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Alfred M. Mthimkhulu
I gather the Big Bang which begot the universe as we know it was not a split-of-a-second event. Apparently, it took millions of years. Unfortunately for physics novices like me, the sitcom “Big Bang Theory” gives the impression that the bang and change was sudden thanks to the pace and tempo of the sitcom’s opening song as it builds to that “yay!” crescendo. Change in nature and in our civilisations has always been slow with sporadic jolts which make us realise that it is always ongoing in the background. Take for instance the current heat wave which reminds us that climate change is real. If it rains soon as we hope it will, we will forget this heat until next year when it returns.
This week marked 502 years since Martin Luther published his ninety-five theses which he sent to the Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz (Germany) for consideration. That was 31 October 1517. The ninety-five theses are what some of us today would call a Discussion Paper which solicits debate on a matter than a piece of work written for an academic qualification. He already had his doctorate.
On May 8, 1521, he was banned from the empire by Charles V rendering him a wanted man. He would have been probably burned alive or had his head chopped like other so-called heretics of the time. Fortunately, a prince gave him refuge and he continued with his ministry in safety. Today, we have numerous Lutherans in our midst and, if you and I are not Lutherans we surely owe that German thinker a lot. But what terrible things did he say about the Catholic Church to make him an outlaw we are indebted to?
He had a theological argument which in essence refuted the prevailing teaching that people had to work to earn their God’s forgiveness. We can make a date with theologians who can teach us better about Martin Luther. Here, we will reflect on his work with two topical themes in the back of our minds: institutional reform and technological innovation. Economists would know that these are essential in propelling human progress as indeed this brief reflection on Luther reminds us.
The dominant institution in his time was the Church. His argument essentially addressed corruption in the Church. Corruption had become entrenched because of the teaching that somewhat compelled congregants to buy indulgences for their sins to be forgiven. Luther’s argument was that this was wrong. His argument not only attacked the doctrine of the time but threatened the health of the church’s finances. It also gave rise to alternative churches, the Protestants of which the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, the Baptists and so on are examples.
As Protestants set out on their own, they inadvertently influenced reform in the Catholic Church which became socially friendlier than before. Furthermore, historians observe that the Reformation Age as this era is called resulted in the rise in secularism meaning that people began to bet more on their intellectual ingenuities than a resigned fear or reverence to the spiritual world.
When our high school teachers taught us about the Reformation Age, our brains were too tender to link the surge in technological innovations in those times to the thoughts propagated by the likes of Martin Luther. In fact, from the vantage point of today, we know Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the movable printing press boosted the circulation of Luther’s works thus propagating his ideas extensively. Many with his very same ideas had been butchered. The Gutenberg printing machine helped his cause.
As the seedbed of liberal thought he and others were planting in mainland Europe blossomed, innovations too numerous to list sprouted. The Dutch, for instance, decided to make a person to whom all business undertakings would be warehoused. That artificial person is the limited liability company. They came up with clubs where people would meet and share ideas and those with extra money offering it to those demonstrating capacity to earn good returns. That club is what we today call the capital markets.
The Dutch also came up with the central bank. They prospered because they reformed their institutions and launched new technologies. They, the Portuguese and others made things that helped them sail around the world and things that ensured they were able to defend themselves in the unknown — weapons and medicines. In all this, the Pope was still in charge. The kings, the queens and the princes still reigned. But, the institutional landscape within their domains was changing and in those institutions new technologies for doing things better were being unleashed. Such us reform: it tackles specifics, little specifics and such specifics are man-made. Politics is not.
It will be Martin Luther’s birthday on November 10. He would be 586 years old, much younger than Methuselah. May the fullness of his ethos inspire theologians and reformers alike.
Alfred M. Mthimkhulu — Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Business, NUST Email: [email protected] Twitter: @mthimz
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