s of capital" and Protestantism (Weber 35).
Weber seeks the direct cause-and-effect relationship between the development of Protestantism and capitalistic enterprise. What he finds is that those individuals in the higher economic and social classes are the same individuals who are the most active in Protestant religious activities. He concludes that
the spirit of hard work, of progress, . . . the awakening of which one is inclined to ascribe to Protestantism, must not be understood . . . as joy of living. . . . Protestantism . . . had precious little to do with . . . progress (Weber 44-45).
Weber says we must find the explanation not in social or economic roots, but in "its purely religious characteristics" (Weber 45). He goes on to argue that the force which drives the society to engage in capitalism and gain profit is an ethical force. Engaging in the activity of capitalism and winning profits are signs
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