The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904)

Even now, this is a profoundly interesting and detailed book, being the foundation of economic sociology, and is of considerable use today.

The main thesis is that several Christian denominations, mainly Calvinists, etc., believed that economic and social prosperity has a religious basis - that God has bestowed the gifts of success to these people, and therefore this should be imitated. Hence the Protestant Work Ethic - a religiously sanctioned form of capitalism.

As the prominence of religion waxed and waned in the centuries after reformation, and organized churches played less of a role in public life, the spirit of this work ethic still remained in many Anglo-Saxon countries. Of course, this Protestantism was not the only factor, but Weber theorizes it as the foremost factor.

It's interesting to see how parts of this doctrine have mutated into parodies of their past selves, with the 'prosperity gospel' preached by some, the link between religion and capitalism in modern America, among other outreaches.

Although some of the connections between events are rather tenuous, it is still very interesting to think about, and one crucial to modern economic, historical, and sociological debate. ( )

When feudalism broke down in the Late Middle Ages, Weber argues, the capitalism that emerged in its place was an entirely new ethos, accompanied by a peculiar Puritan ethic that dignified the accumulation of wealth as a sign of divine favor. The "spirit" of capitalism was distinct from the impulse to acquisition, which was nothing new in the 16th century. It was the pursuit of perpetually-renewed profit, for its own sake, above and beyond the satisfaction of traditional human needs. But what was driving this pursuit of perpetual profits? The religious concept of "calling," says Weber, the idea that worldly activity is morally good if it is what God has called us to do. This concept contrasted with earlier Christian renunciation of worldly affairs in favor of monastic contemplation of God.

Just as worldly wealth was a sign of God's favor, poverty became shameful, indicating rejection of God's calling. The unequal distribution of the goods of this world was ordained by God's inscrutable Providence, said Calvinists. Therefore charity became meaningless, in sharp contrast to the teachings of St. Paul, who called it the greatest of virtues. Said John Wesley, "We must exhort all Christians to gain all they can, and to save all they can; that is, in effect, to grow rich." Said Jesus, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." Is there a disconnect between Calvinist Protestantism and the teachings of Jesus? You decide.

The socio-economic preconditions for capitalism existed in other parts of the world, argues Weber; why did it arise only in the Protestant West? His thesis has long been controversial, but its relevance to current events makes it worthy of consideration. ( )

"What was condemned as covetousness, Mammonism, etc, ws the pursuit of riches for their own sake. For wealth in itself was the temptation. But here asceticism was power "which ever seeks the good but ever creates evil'" what was evil in its sense was possession and it temptations. For, in conformity with the Old Testament and its analogy to the ethical valuation of good works, asceticism looked upon the pursuit of wealth as an end in itself as highly reprehensible; but the attainment of it as a fruit of labor in a calling was a sign of God's blessing. And even more important: the religious valuation of restless, continuous, systematic work in the worldly calling, as the highest means to asceticism, and at the same time the surest and most evident proof of rebirth and genuine faith, must have been the most powerful conceivable lever for the expansion of that attitude toward life which we have here called the spirit of capitalism."

Weber starts at Ben Franklin and goes back in history to monasticism, Luther and the concept of "calling," the religious foundation of worldly asceticism found in Calvinism, Pietism, Methodism, and Baptist sects, and landing at how asceticism formed the basis for capitalism as concluded in the above quote.

It is a fascinating essay and a great education in only 125 pages! ( )

경제

Weber's position as the founder of sociology makes the work an important reading to the study of capitalism and the ideas of economics. A great number of the details and references that he provides are also worthwhile.

The bad news is that this is very much a German academic work. This means that a serious reading is really a slog through those footnotes and somewhat heavy reading. If you are less than a serious student, you might prefer one of the summaries of Weber's work, or a book about him.

Other necessary criticism is that repeated by many who believed that capitalism started earlier than his industrial revolution and their disagreement with his relying so strongly on the labor theory of value. Last but not least his conclusions about necessary social adjuncts (e. g. the Calvinist work ethic) to economic growth are denied by modern history in China (after 1980) and India (after 1991). ( )