Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism Analysis

At the end of the eighteenth century, with the rise of the enlightenment and the industrial revolution came the development of the capitalist economy. As mercantilism faded with the developments of the industrial revolution, capitalism, a new economic system developed. Capitalism is a system in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth are controlled chiefly by private property owners who are free to seek profits in competitive conditions. Capitalism can be broken down into five functional components; self-interest, private property, division of labor, competition, and the invisible hand. Each component is an integral aspect of capitalism both at its inception and in our contemporary global economy.

Weber presented the idea of investing the money in an effort to promote the growth of capitalism. As a result; the Protestant ethic guided its followers to work, develop business, engage in commerce and ultimately accumulate wealth for investment. The Protestant ethic was therefore the driving force behind the mass action that led to the development of capitalism (the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, 2016).

The Protestant Reformation was a major 16th century European movement aimed initially at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation in western and central Europe officially began in 1517 with Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. This was a debate over the Christian religion. At the time there was a difference in power. Roman Catholicism stands with the Pope as central and appointed by God. Luther’s arguments referred to a direct relationship with God and using the local vernacular to speak to the people. Luther’s arguments remove the absolute power from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in general. The revenue from the taxes paid to the Church would be reduced with Luther’s ideas, in part because of

Capitalism distinguishes itself from the feudal and the modern systems in that its exploitation is more transparent. The exploitation of previous systems was hidden behind religion, morality, and sentiments, whilst capitalism is maintained purely on money and naked self –interest.

Weber argues that religious beliefs contributed to major social change- specifically the emergence of modern capitalism in Northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Modern capitalism differs from capitalism as it is based on systematic, efficient and a rational pursuit of profit and profit for its own sake rather than consumption. Weber calls this the spirit of capitalism.

As seen throughout the semester, the debates surrounding capitalism and its role in society are extensive and transcends generations. By virtue of the nature of debates, two broad positions on capitalism evolved in North American Protestantism – one position defends capitalism while the other protests capitalism. The defense of capitalism developed in the 19th century. Being one of the many authors to do so, Charles Sellers attributes the development of capitalism to the Market and Industrial Revolution (Sellers, 21). Consequently, the Second Great Awakening increased religious awareness and significance in the daily lives of Americans (Sellers, 202). Sellers argues it was only through religion that Americans could cope with the stresses of

The exact origin of capitalism is unknown and to precisely trace its inception is, as Joyce Appleby says, a conundrum in itself. However, speculation negating the inevitability of capitalism is an even greater feat and rather fruitless. Appleby’s research and evidence thus far, support a great part of her assumptions retracing the colorful history of capitalism, though her case against its inevitability falls short. The question at hand is whether she provides a compelling case, the answer is yes. However, compelling is not convincing and one must be convinced to provide legitimate support of their argument. Human nature is ingrained within us all and its traits inevitably materialize during the course of our growth as we mature, increase

Bertrand Russell once expressed that “advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate” (Russell). Even in a relatively capitalist society, there are always criticism regarding the capitalism and its disregard for “the unfortunate” and the tyranny the “fortunate” exert over. The foremost proponent of this antagonism would be Karl Marx, who claimed that capitalism is ultimately hurtling toward its downfall.

Capitalism can trace its roots all the way back to when Great Britain would create joint-stock companies and trusts to form an industry so that they can control the whole line of systems in which the industry was affiliated to. Capitalism helped spark the industrial revolution as well. The industrial revolution began when mass production of products emerged along with the new technological innovations. People took advantage of the expanding demand for products and created their own industries which allowed some to become the most wealthy on the planet. By the end of the twentieth century, “capitalism had become the world's dominant economic system”(Capitalism). Growing to become a dominant system shows that it works well and suit many countries’ form of

While the economic system of capitalism is a remarkably contentious subject matter in th is day and age - especially because of the widespread notion that it relentlessly encourages acquisitiveness - many fail to acknowledge that capitalism is certainly not a new phenomenon. Defined as a system in which the means of production are predominantly in private hands and the most important incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits, numerous historians assert that the origins of capitalism can actually be traced to the High Middle Ages, particularly due to the practice of lending money to others with excessively high interest rates. Referred to as usury, this was one of the most advantageous ways for a considerably small quantity

Capitalism is a term coined by German Sociologist Karl Marx and is used to describe the socioeconomic structure where the owner of a company’s needs is superior to the actual production, including the workers that enable this to occur (Naiman, 2016). In addition, capitalism has evolved through centuries and is the current model utilized today (Naiman, 2016). Prior to capitalism, the structure utilized was feudalism which was prevalent in the Middle ages of Western Europe (Naiman, 2016). Comparatively, commodity production in feudalism was restrained to production for exchanges, whereas in capitalism, the possibility of commodity production is ceaseless, anything can be a product. Therefore, the perspective in capitalism fosters the necessity to maximize profits as this established a competitive

Capitalism started up as a system of investing and sharing money in order to increase the value of resources in the future. Capitalism was just an economic system, but then soon turned into a complex system of ethical practices. Harari defines capitalism as, “a set of teachings about how people should behave, educate their children and even think” (Harari 314). This economic system evolved along with the people that were endorsing it. Capitalism enables the rich to get richer, while the poor continue to get poorer. There are many benefits to capitalism, but there are downfalls as well, and these downfalls tend to be masked because of the rapid speed capitalists grow at. Harari first presents a definition for capitalism, and soon goes into great detail on why capitalism, while fast paced and unforgiving, is able to stand unwavered while other productions fail.

In their respective sociological examinations of the forces driving capitalist society, both Max Weber and Saskia Sassen comment on the degree of social inclusion in the capitalist system. Weber, writing in 1906, argued in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism that all workers, regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof, were compelled to participate in the Protestant work ethic underlying a capitalist society (Weber 123). Conversely, Sassen argues in her 2014 book Expulsions : Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy that workers, despite a desire to engage in society, are being expelled from participation in the current Capitalist system (Sassen 29). This contrast draws to our attention a paradigm shift in the structure of capitalist society over the last century: the change from popular inclusion to exclusion in the system. Drawing on David Harvey’s idea of a shift from the economic system of Fordism to flexible accumulation provides an explanation for this transition between inclusion of communities in mass production in Weber’s time to mass expulsion from the Capitalist system in modern times. When the Fordist method of coercive systemic inclusion produced profits, all workers were included in mass production, but when increasing rigidity and competition in that system brought a decrease in profits, Capitalism transitioned to the system of flexible accumulation, leaving workers to deal with the consequences of expulsion from society on

By definition, Capitalism is an economic system controlled chiefly by individuals and private companies instead of by the government. In this system, individuals and companies own and direct most of the resources used to produce goods and services, including land and other natural resources labor, and “capital”. “Capital” includes factories and equipment and sometimes the money used in businesses (Friedman, 5).

One expects Weber to Capitalism is a result of Protestantism or to be more specific, Calvinism. Calvinism believes God has granted few with salvation whereas others have to go through damnation. This virtue isn't dependent on their good or bad actions/ deeds but because God wanted it in a certain way. This belief made believers of Calvinism worried about their salvation and made them invest more efforts into economic success. This, in turn, made them believe that they were the chosen favourites of God. Furthermore, the profits made by Calvanists were re-invested into the business for further profits rather than self-indulgence. Hence, the concept of "Protestant ethic" came into place which generally refers to desire of having enormous economic success and will of working hard. This concept of "work ethic"