max weber the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism

Weber hypothesized that capitalism was a product of the western mind for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the Protestant Ethic. I cannot begin to cover all of Weber's critics in the course of this paper, but I will present some representative criticisms of the theory. This paper will take a look at some of the criticisms of Weber's capitalism/protestantism theory from various points of view.

The repercussions have echoed throughout the academic world for almost 100 years and continue today. The criticisms of Weber's hypothesis have helped keep his ideas at the forefront of social theory. Immanuel Wallerstein, for instance, drew heavily on Weber for explanations of the growth of capitalism into the modern economic world-system in his classic three volume work, The Modern World-System. Many historians value its application of social theory to historical events and praise it for its attempt to explain why capitalism thrived in Europe and subsequently the United States and not as much in other places. Max Weber's theory of the part which Protestantism, specifically Calvinism, played in the development of a spirit of capitalism in western Europe has had a profound effect on the thinking of sociologists and historians since its publication in 1904.

Latest Update: September 14, of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Criticisms of Weber's ThesisĬopyright: here under Fair Use Doctrine for teaching purposes. Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace This origin is what really needs explanation.The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Criticisms of Weber's ThesisĬalifornia State University, Dominguez Hills should come to dominate others, it had to originate somewhere, and not in isolated individuals alone, but as a way of life common to whole groups of men. In order that a manner of life so well adapted to the peculiarities of capitalism could be selected at all, i.e. But here one can easily see the limits of the concept of selection as a means of historical explanation. Thus the capitalism of to-day, which has come to dominate economic life, educates and selects the economic subjects which it needs through a process of economic survival of the fittest. It forces the individual, in so far as he is involved in the system of market relationships, to conform to capitalistic rules of action, The manufacturer who in the long run acts counter to these norms, will just as inevitably be eliminated from the economic scene as the worker who cannot or will not adapt himself to them will be thrown into the streets without a job. “The capitalistic economy of the present day is an immense cosmos into which the individual is born, and which presents itself to him, at least as an individual, as an unalterable order of things in which he must live.

Max weber the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism