Summary Of The Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism

Work ethic is one of the biggest factors of American economy, is he support system of out country. Many have different opinions about this broad concept, Jonathan Klemen mentions in his essay “The protestant work ethic: just another “urban legend”” that work ethic is personalized by those who have found their passion and who have found work that provides social and personal satisfaction. He also believes that in order to achieve success you only have to work hard and concentrate in he principals of the protestant work ethic ideologies. Therefore I disagree with Klemen's conservative claims about the American work ethic because his expectations and presumptions are no where near as attainable as in he past,which effects the probability for certain social groups of people to achieve success.

In the article "Moral Criticisms of the Market," Ken Ewert composed an educational article on the economic system of capitalism to address the moral issues that the “Christian Left” critics had raised. Christian socialists reprimand the system of the free market for its morals or lack thereof, as well as the system inherently created an environment where selfishness and impersonal and individual relations is encouraged, and economic oppression and exploitation of the weak thrives (Ewert, 1989).

It is important to understand that Weber believed capitalism was fuelled by ideas, such as Protestantism, specifically Calvinism. His belief was that Protestants were very different to Catholics, spending more time focusing on their community rather than purely focusing on their own individual families. They worked towards a common goal, to ensure they worked to their full potential. Weber claimed that Protestants experienced feelings of guilt and directed these negative emotions into their work which Weber called “The Protestant Work

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

This dramatic increase resulted in great periods of growth and invention (Hatzifotis, 2017). Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism looked at the relationship between Protestantism and the emergence of modern capitalism. He discussed how Protestant’s involvement in business and profiting was

He attributes the existence of this work ethic in such an entitlement based society to the translation of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in the 1930s. He attributes the book, written by Max Weber, to starting America’s love affair with the work ethic. This work ethic, he claims, led to the dominance of American enterprise and world leadership.

Moreover, the author explains how the Americans work ethics have some of the values from the Protestant work ethics, such as hard-working and dedication toward works. Klemens used Max Weber’s statement as an example

I believe that Max Weber’s most acclaimed work ‘The Protestant Work Ethic and The Spirit of

During the period of time that Samuel and his wife begin to follow Miller and his movement, Powers most clearly shows Samuel’s Calvinistic mindset. When arguing over the question of whether or not the Clare’s pursuit of profit was moral, Samuel gives the reader their biggest glimpse into his views related to predestination and God’s gifts to his chosen followers: “If they had been committing some wrong, Samuel assured her, they could not have stayed in the business so long. Prosperity only proved how fully they satisfied the wishes of both God and men” (89). Weber believed that through their pursuit of eternal life, the Calvinists created a business model of hard work and moral superiority, all things that Samuel brings to J. Clare and Sons.

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"

Max Weber believed Protestants compared to Catholics were more likely to hold business occupations based on the observation; that the capitalist structure rose alongside with Protestant reformation. This meant there was a direct positive correlation between capitalism and Protestantism. Because Protestants believe working hard here on Earth will secure them a position in Heaven; this leads to capitalism. I can see the connection Weber made, because religion is usually central to one’s life, it would be a primary motivator for working hard because of the idea of life after death. So I, for example, will work hard and strive to be the best person I can be, in order to be allowed entrance into heaven. The protestant reformation lead to new innovations such as the printing press. Religion could be seen as a factor that pushed this technological advancement because Protestants were now able to build an interpersonal relationship with God while also being able to interpret the bible for themselves.

For Weber, the idea of rationalism rational thought based on societal efficiency and productivity, runs through his works particularly The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. In this seminal work, Weber argues that the idea of Protestantism contributes to history and economics in that piety and the chance for a better life after death cause humans to strive for economic gain in certain ways, whereas that is not always using work as an expression of self - it is work, as Marx might say, for the ends justifying the means, rather than the means justifying what work is being done. Authority, then, rather than being solely economic, does have at its

Both Karl Marx and Max Weber assert that capitalism is the dominion of abstractions and the irrational accumulation of abstract wealth for the sake of wealth. For Marx, the state of capitalism is entrenched in the social classes to which people have bben assigned. Capitalism, according to Marx, is a result of the bourgeoisie 's ascent to economic and political power. This fuels the manifestation of a system that exploits the labour power of the lower socioeconomic classes for the gain of the higher socioeconomic classes. Weber understands the state of capitalism to be the end product of the work ethic of the Protestant branches of Christianity and the secularization of Protestant puritanism, which helped fuel rationalism. Capitalism, according to Weber, is to be understood as the relations and methods of production and commodities, now rationalized. Ultimately, Marx ascribes the ascent of capitalism to the exploitation of people and power, while stressing that such a system can be overcome by a communist revolution, whereas Weber states that such a system is the result of cultural choices and is not as convinced that capitalism can be overcome.

According to Marx, religion can be seen as the opiate of the people (Engels, Marx 1955, p.41). Here, Marx is suggesting that just like opium, religion is trying to relieve people of the pain and suffering in their lives. Marx also puts forward the idea that religion is used by its oppressors in order to make people feel better about their lives. Thus, it can be seen that Marx chooses to adopt a negative view of religion. Max Weber can be seen as the only sociologist to place so much scope and emphasis on the subject of religion (Nisbet, p.250). Biographical and textual evidence suggests that biblical religion played a part in shaping and influencing Weber's life and the context of his sociology. Weber's main concern was to attempt to demonstrate that religious ideologies were not mechanically connected to the economic structure of society, however it does shape individuals behavior and actions in everyday life (Swingewood 1984, p.152). Weber also came to several conclusions regarding the remarkable relationship between capitalism and Protestant. According to Weber, the more capitalism had a free hand to alter social distribution, the larger the relationship between capitalism and protestant (1930, p.4). Overall, it can be seen that the three main sociology theorists differ greatly when it comes to ideas regarding to religion.