The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
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In his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber brings together material published in the form of two long articles in 1904 and 1905. In these articles, Weber tries to show the beginnings of capitalism and to relate this to the spirit of the Reformation, that period when Protestantism developed, breaking away from the control of the Catholic Church and asserting not only a religious independence but a different social view that would also have an influence in economic matters. Weber finds that there is a connection between being Protestant and being a business leader and an owner of capital--he says that statistics show this to be a fact in his own time and also to be a historical fact. Yet, Weber's work begins with an anomaly. It is usually thought that those whose lives are bound up with the pursuit of money are either indifferent to religion or openly hostile to it, since their actions are directed toward the material world and not the immaterial world of spirituality. Protestantism, however, demanded a more vigorous discipline than did Catholicism and thus extended the religious factor into all spheres of life, including the economic sphere. Weber offers an interesting analysis of this process and points to a force that prevailed in much of American history in the form of the work ethic. Weber finds that the spirit of modern capitalism is characterized by a unique combination of attitudes. On the one hand there is a dedication to amassing
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fe and is no longer subordinated as the means for the satisfaction of material needs. Weber cites several cases to show how the spirit of capitalism infuses different groups in society, such as the laborer or the entrepreneur. Capitalism is finally seen as only one form of rationalism.
Weber considers the conception of a calling as defined by Luther, meaning a task set by God. This conception is associated with Protestant peoples, and the idea dates from the Reformation. It is a moral justification of worldly activity, and it is far removed from the view of all worldly activity as something to be hated. Luther's calling is something to which man must adapt himself. Weber takes as his starting point in the investigation of the relationship between the old Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism the works of Calvin, Calvinism, and the other Puritan sects. Weber does not claim that capitalism arose because of the conditions of the Reformation or that it would not have arisen without them, but he does say they became closely associated at that time and remained so ever after.
The idea of a calling was introduced in the Reformation, as noted, and this placed the pursuit of worldly activities at center stage. Luther's
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1641
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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