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During the Middle Ages, guilds and economic structures were initially open but became highly constricted by the late Middle Ages, with hereditary guilds and rigid regulations. This led to a divergence in Europe, where Northwest Europe reformed these institutions while Mediterranean Europe maintained them.

In medieval Europe, decentralization of monarchical institutions allowed capitalism to evolve because small governments couldn't maintain power, leading to a balance of social authorities like the church, state, nobility, and merchant guilds.

Chris Dawson explains that the distinct legal identities of medieval European cities developed to uphold Christian morality in densely populated areas, contrasting with the rural parishes. This led to the creation of Republican institutions to maintain moral codes.

Medieval Europe's interconnected trade system, stock market, and guilds laid the groundwork for the later industrial revolution, providing economic mobility and creativity.

The Catholic Church played a pivotal role during the Dark Ages by preserving knowledge. As the Roman Empire fell, the Church acted like Asimov's 'Foundation,' maintaining and reintroducing civilization through social engineering and the preservation of classical Greco-Roman lore.

During the early modern period, governments in Catholic Europe, such as Spain and France, collaborated with noblemen to suppress the merchant classes, leading to a decline in economic prosperity compared to Northwestern Europe.

The Catholic and Protestant churches were powerful in pre-modern Europe due to the weak state, providing social organization and fostering ideals of personal responsibility and individualism.

In early modern Europe, despite rigid social structures like feudal nobilities and government monopolies, there was significant cultural and innovative output. Modern Europe lacks these structures on paper, but government involvement in the economy is much higher today.

The Catholic Church in medieval Europe allowed for a surprising amount of political discourse, providing structures for what could be agreed upon and what could not. This openness to disagreement is a notable aspect of the Church's influence at the time.

In the High Middle Ages, the Catholic Church's influence was so pervasive in Western Europe that it shaped the very identity of its people. They identified first as Christians rather than Europeans, and this religious framework influenced everything from science to ethics.