The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a book written by Maximilian Weber, a German economist and sociologist in 1904 and 1905 as a series of essays. It was later released as a book. Note that the original edition was in German and was entitled Die protestantische Ethik und der 'Geist' des Kapitalismus. An English translation was made in 1930 and several editions have been released.

It is argued that this work should not be viewed as a detailed study of Protestantism, but rather as an introduction into Weber's later works, especially his studies of interaction between various religious ideas and economic behaviour.

In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber puts forward a thesis that Puritan ethic and ideas had influenced the development of capitalism. However religious devotion usually was accompanied by rejection of mundane affairs, including economic pursuit. Why was that not the case with Protestantism? Weber addresses that paradox in that work.

He defines spirit of capitalism as the ideas and habits that favour the rational pursuit of economic gain. Weber points out that such spirit is not limited to Western culture if one considers it as the attitude of individuals, but that such individuals - heroic entrepreneurs, as he calls them - could not by themselves establish a new economic order (capitalism). Most common tendencies were the greed for profit with minimum effort, the idea that work was a curse and burden to be avoided especially when it exceeded what was enough for modest life. As he wrote in his essays: In order that a manner of life well adapted to the peculiarities of the capitalism...could come to dominate others, it had to originate somewhere, and not in isolated individuals alone, but as a way of life common to the whole groups of man.

After defining the spirit of capitalism, Weber argues that that there are many reasons to look for its origins in the religious ideas of the Reformation. Many observers like Petty, Montesquieu, Buckle, Keats, and others have commented on the affinity between Protestantism and the development of commercial spirit.

Weber shows that certain types of Protestantism favoured rational pursuit of economic gain and worldly activities had been given positive spiritual and moral meaning. It was not the goal of those religious ideas, but rather a byproduct - the inherent logic of those doctrines and the advice based upon them both directly and indirectly encouraged planning and self-denial in the pursuit of economic gain.

It should be noted that Weber maintained that while Puritan religious ideas had had a major impact on the development of economic order in Europe and United States, they were not the only factor responsible for it (others included for example the rationalism in scientific pursuit, merging observation with mathematics, science of scholarship and jurisprudence, rational systematisation of government administration and economic enterprise). In the end, the study of Protestant ethic, according to Weber, merely explored one phase of the emancipation from magic, that disenchantment of the world that he regarded as the distinguishing peculiarity of Western culture.

Weber stated that he abandoned research into Protestantism because his colleague Ernst Troeltsch, a professional theologian, has initiated work on book The Social Teachings of the Christian Churches and Sects. Another reason for Weber's decision was that that essay has provided the perspective for a broad comparison of religion and society, which he continued in his later works (study of religion in China, India, Judaism).

From the table of content:

Part 1. The Problem

I. Religious Affiliation and Social Stratification

Occupation; Religious Regulation; Work Ethic; Economic Rationalism; Protestantism vs. Catholicism; Business Spirit; Capitalist Counties; Our Focus.

II. The Spirit of Capitalism

Historical Individuality; Benjamin Franklin; Capitalist Ethos; Modern vs. Pre-modern Capitalism; Rationalism vs. Traditionalism; Ethos and Religious Idea; Idea of Calling.

III. Luther's Conception of the Calling, Task of the Investigation

Origin of Calling; Medieval View; Luther's Traditionalism and Mysticism; Calvinism and Puritanism; Force of History.

Part 2. The Practical Ethics of the Ascetic Branches of Protestantism

IV. The Religious Foundations of Worldly Asceticism

History of Ascetic Protestantism

• A. Calvinism

Predestination; Elimination of Magic; Rationalization of the World; Certainty of Salvation; Lutheranism vs. Calvinims; Catholicism vs. Calvinism; Monasticism vs. Puritanism; Methodical Ethic; Idea of Proof.

• B. Pietism

Emotionalism; Spener; Francke; Zinzendorf; German Pietism.

• C. Methodism
• D. The Puritan Sects

Baptist and Quaker; Sect Principle; Inner Worldly Asceticism; Transformation of the World.

V. Asceticism and the Spirit of Capitalism

Richard Baxter; Meaning of Work; Justification of Profit; Jewish vs. Puritan Capitalism; Puritanism and Culture; Saving and Capital; Paradox of Asceticism and Rich; Serving Both Worlds; Citizenry Capitalistic Ethic; Iron Cage of Capitalism.

See also

The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism - Max Weber work on a related subject

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