The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of CapitalismMain article: The Protestant
Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Cover of the original German edition of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
CapitalismWeber's essay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Die
protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus) is his most famous
work.[18] 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
put forward the thesis that Calvinist ethic and ideas influenced the
development of capitalism. In this work, he relied on a great deal of
statistics from the era, which indicated the predominance of Protestants among
the wealthy, industrial, and technical classes relative to Catholics. He also
noted the shift of Europe's economic center after the Reformation away from
Catholic countries such as France, Spain and Italy, and toward Protestant
countries such as the Netherlands, England, Scotland and Germany. This theory
is often viewed as a reversal of Marx's thesis that the economic "base" of
society determines all other aspects of it.[31] Christian religious devotion
had historically been accompanied by rejection of mundane affairs, including
economic pursuit.[37] Why was that not the case with Protestantism? Weber
addressed that paradox in his essay.According to Weber, one of the universal
tendencies that Christians had historically fought against, was the desire to
profit. After defining the spirit of capitalism, Weber argued that there were
many reasons to look for the origins of modern capitalism in the religious
ideas of the Reformation. Many observers, such as William Petty, Montesquieu,
Henry Thomas Buckle, John Keats, and others had commented on the affinity
between Protestantism and the development of the commercial spirit.[38]Weber
showed that certain types of Protestantism – notably Calvinism – favored
rational pursuit of economic gain and worldly activities which had been given
positive spiritual and moral meaning.[31] 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. A common illustration is in
the cobbler, hunched over his work, who devotes his entire effort to the praise
of God. In addition, the Reformation view "calling" dignified even the most
mundane professions as being those that added to the common good and were
blessed by God, as much as any "sacred" calling could. This Reformation view,
that all the spheres of life were sacred when dedicated to God and His purposes
of nurturing and furthering life, profoundly affected the view of work.To
illustrate and provide an example, Weber quoted the ethical writings of
Benjamin Franklin:Remember, that time is money. He that can earn ten shillings
a day by his labor, and goes abroad, or sits idle, one half of that day, though
he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon
that the only expense; he has really spent, or rather thrown away, five
shillings besides. ... Remember, that money is the prolific, generating nature.
Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more, and so on. Five
shillings turned is six, turned again is seven and threepence, and so on, till
it becomes a hundred pounds. The more there is of it, the more it produces
every turning, so that the profits rise quicker and quicker. He that kills a
breeding sow, destroys all her offspring to the thousandth generation. He that
murders a crown, destroys all that it might have produced, even scores of
pounds.(Italics in the original)Weber noted that this is not a philosophy of
mere greed, but a statement laden with moral language. Indeed, Franklin claimed
that God revealed to him the usefulness of virtue.[39]To emphasize the work
ethic in Protestantism relative to Catholicism, Weber noted a common problem
that industrialists faced when employing precapitalist laborers: agricultural
entrepreneurs would try to encourage time spent harvesting by offering a higher
wage, with the expectation that laborers would see time spent working as more
valuable and so engage it longer. However, in precapitalist societies similar
attempts often resulted in laborers spending less time harvesting. Laborers
judged that they could earn the same amount as previously, while spending less
time working and having more leisure. Weber also noted that societies having
more Protestants were those that have a more developed capitalist
economy.[40]It was particularly advantageous in technical occupations for
workers to be extremely devoted to their craft. To view the craft as an end in
itself, or as a "calling" would serve this need well. This attitude was
well-noted in certain classes which have endured religious education,
especially of a Pietist background.[41]Weber stated that he abandoned research
into Protestantism because his colleague Ernst Troeltsch, a professional
theologian, had initiated work on the book The Social Teachings of the
Christian Churches and Sects. Another reason for Weber's decision was that the
essay had already provided the perspective for a broad comparison of religion
and society, which he continued in his later works.[42] The phrase "work ethic"
used in modern commentary is a derivative of the "Protestant ethic" discussed
by Weber. It was adopted when the idea of the Protestant ethic was generalised
to apply to the Japanese people, Jews and other non-Christians.
dmb adds:
There was this idea in Calvinism that said being rich was a sign of
righteousness, a sign that you were one of God's favorites. This "prosperity
theology" has been secularized but the basic attitude hasn't changed. You see
it in the doctrines of social Darwinism, where the poor and down-trodden are
NOT the victims of an unjust economic system, they're just losers. They are
poor, this reasoning goes, because they're inferior. Similarly, those guys down
on Wall Street tend to think that money is the best way to keep score. Their
big bank accounts, they tell themselves, prove that they're superior. Everybody
else, they figure, is just too stupid or lazy to get what they have.
Personally, I think that if this doesn't bother you, if you don't think social
justice is more important than a buck, you're not a moral person.
Sorry, but that's how I see it.
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