The impact of institutional change on the Methodist Book and Publishing House, 1829--1919.
Published: 2005
Language: eng
Number of pages: 537
Description: The Methodist Book and Publishing House (MB&PH) was in business in Toronto from 1829 to 1925. By the end of the nineteenth century it was the largest commercial printer and general publisher in Canada. This dissertation examines the impact of institutional and social change on the MB&PH from 1829 to 1919. It argues that the necessity to run a business enterprise at a profit when combined with those aspects of Methodism which encouraged rational economic action created a pragmatic approach to the management of the MB&PH. And it concludes that the MB&PH never abandoned its ideological commitment to spread the Word---to distribute Christian literature as widely as possible. On the other hand, the adherence of the book committee and the managing officers of the MB& PH to rational economic principles soon led to the emergence of a very substantial commercial enterprise driven by the need to make a profit and expand its markets in order to stay in business. This dissertation argues that, from 1829 to 1919, institutional change in the MB&PH did not exclusively follow the paths described by either Marx or Weber. Change and modernization of the MB&PH was driven by the same factors that were at play in Canadian society during the nineteenth century. There is significant evidence in this dissertation to show that the Methodist Church through the MB&PH was quite successful in combining "pure religion" with the objective "to gain all (it) can, and save all (it) can". There is, however, also evidence which suggests that the primacy of material interests forces all religions to "succumb in the end to the world dominion of unbrotherliness," and that the commercial interests eventually replaced the emphasis on publishing pure Christian literature.
Notes: Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

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Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-06, Section: A, page: 2389.