I largely subscribe to Patrick Wyman's theory that Luther was an indispensable element between the interactions of a latent reformist tendency and the printing press

Luther's decision to write in colloquial German, his doubling down at any challenge, his genuine skill at fiery rhetoric and sense of popular humor, his protection by the Prince-elector of Saxony, these are just too contingent and situational for us to make a claim of a locked-in historical outcome

The Printing Press absolutely made Luther, but he gave the reformation it's absolutist and totalizing nature and while a religious rupture in early modern Europe was inevitable, the shape, scale and nature it took definitely was not

[–] Collatz_problem@hexbear.net 19 points 2 days ago

We can compare Protestant to Old Believers in Russian Orthodox Church, who shared a lot of similarities, but lost (and remaining Old Believers were later at the same time pro-capitalist and pro-Bolshevik).

[–] purpleworm@hexbear.net 13 points 2 days ago

It's still ultimately true that any dominant religious ideology is going to be downstream of the interests of the ruling class, and the bourgeoisie were always going to overtake feudalism. Perhaps we would have gotten Catholic Work Ethic ideology instead or something, but regardless I don't think it's right to think he's meaningfully responsible for pro-capitalist ideology proliferating, it was the class struggle of the bourgeoisie that did that.