Abstract

A remarkable discussion of the ethics of the capitalistic market economy took place in Denmark in the 1870s. The main contributors were Bishop H.L. Martensen and Bishop D.G. Monrad, two of the most prominent figures in the ecclesiastical history of Denmark. Martensen published a small pamphlet entitled “Socialism and Christianity” in 1874, in which he argued against capitalism, individualism and liberalism. He included the text almost unchanged in his major work “Christian Ethics” of 1878. Bishop Monrad replied in his book “The reply of Liberalism to Bishop Martensen”. Even today this debate remains relevant as perhaps the most serious Danish analysis ever of the ethics of the market economy.