Ovviamente 5 stelle per un caposaldo del pensiero sociologico sull'ethos lavorativo. Niente da aggiungere in questa sede. ( )

In this sociology classic, Weber calls out Protestantism for making work an end in itself, dubbing it “the spirit of capitalism.” By bringing asceticism from the monasteries and sanctifying work as a way of glorifying God and his rational order to the world, Protestant sects usurped Middle Ages values against extreme profiteering and working beyond necessity. Though done with the aim of salvation, these sects’ austerity and the cult of hardwork ended up enriching them, which in turn made them more idle and enamored with the world of material things. This materialism upended the spirituality that birthed it, leading to 18th century Deism and atheism existing alongside a self-justifying duty to work as much as possible.

Part of the reason for Weber arguing this is to attacking Marx’s assertion that religion is a superstructural echo of the material, economic base, and therefore not something that causes real change in the world. I got a lot out of this book. Recommended for anyone critical of capitalism who is also interested in religion and history.
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左岸新出一個版本,由于曉等人翻譯，比較之後，還是覺得新橋版讀起來比較順。

An exemplary and easy-to-grasp analysis using Weber's not-so-simple interpretive methodology, but ultimately not as theoretically rigorous as Economy and Society.

(its got the iron cage tho) ( )

This early book was Weber's great mistake. It is an assembly of failures in method, including confusing cause and effect. It is a case study in how not to do social science. Fortunately he recovered from this early failure. ( )