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| 5.7. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Weber begins The Protestant Ethic by noting an apparent association between certain religious affiliations (particularly Protestantism) and business success, and suggests that this association might indicate a causal connection between the two. He shows that the origin of the “spirit of capitalism” has a connection with the ideals of Benjamin Franklin (Weber 1905). At the core of the spirit of capitalism was a work ethic that said: “Any time spent not actually making money is wasted time.” Weber identifies Franklin’s approach, not as form of business practice, but as an ethical concept. It is this ethic, according to Weber, that specifically empowered the modern western capitalism, and it was based on Luther’s idea of the religious calling or vocation. Popularization of the idea of the calling drew religious life out of the monastery and planted it in “the world of economic.” Business advances (in, for example, bookkeeping) had laid the groundwork for the technical aspects of capitalism. Weber finds this motivation in the Calvinist doctrine of predestination (Gerth and Mills 1946). These doctrine states that (a) the elect are saved and everyone else is damned, (b) God has selected the chosen even before their birth and humanity has no way of knowing who will be saved, and (c) salvation cannot be earned, for if it could be, that humanity would have a kind of power over God. At the core of Weber’s argument is the sense of helplessness and loneliness that he claims the Calvinists must have felt, and looked for a sign of being among the elect. Such a sign might include worldly success, and worldly success, of course, involved ascetic, rational regulation of one’s life conduct. Weber ties these Calvinist strategies to the Lutheran devotion to one’s life calling (which could also take place in the business world) and claims that this combination of worldliness and ascetic discipline was pivotal for the development of modern capitalism. Since the Calvinists were not allowed to [spend their wealth on profligate living, reinvestment made the most sense. Over time, this led to increasing accumulation of capital, minimization of consumption, and ultimately the continuous economic growth and industrial energy of modern capitalism (Weber 1905).] Gerth And Mills (1946). Max Weber: Essays In Sociology, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Weber, Max (1905). The Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism, Translated By Talcott Parsons, 2005. Published In The Taylor & Francis E-Library. |
Weber begins The Protestant Ethic by noting an apparent association between certain religious affiliations (particularly Protestantism) and business success, and suggests that this association might indicate a causal connection between the two. He then goes on to characterize the “spirit of capitalism” by quoting a number of passages from Benjamin Franklin’s writing that he considers exemplary of this spirit in its purest, ideal-typical form. At the core of the spirit of capitalism is a work ethic in which any time spent not actually making money is wasted time. Franklin champions the pursuit of profit for its own sake, and by the most systematic and rational means possible. Weber identifies Franklin’s approach, not as form of business practice, but as an ethos (or, as Weber describes it, an ethic). It is this ethic, claims Weber, that is specific to modern western capitalism, and it is based on Luther’s idea of the calling or vocation.
At this historical point in Weber’s story, most of the key precursors to modern capitalism are in place. Popularization of the idea of the calling has drawn religious life out of the monastery and planted it in “the world.” Business advances (in, for example, bookkeeping) have laid the groundwork for the technical aspects of capitalism. And, if Franklin is to be believed, the right kind of work ethic is in place. What remains to be added, according to Weber, is the motivation for strenuous capitalist development that involves reinvesting the fruits of one’s labor. Weber finds this motivation in the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. This doctrine states that (a) the elect are saved and everyone else is damned, (b) God has selected the chosen even before their birth and humanity has no way of knowing who will be saved, and (c) salvation cannot be earned, for if it could be, humanity would have a kind of power over God. At the core of Weber’s argument is the sense of helplessness and loneliness that he claims the Calvinist must have felt. The Calvinist, thinks Weber, would have found this worry psychologically unbearable, and would have needed to find a way of knowing that he[2] was saved. Fortunately, it was possible to look for a sign of being among the elect. Such a sign might include worldly success, and worldly success, of course, involved ascetic, rational regulation of one’s life conduct. One could thus prove oneself before God, not to earn salvation (which was impossible) but to assure oneself that one already had it. Weber ties this Calvinist strategy to the Lutheran devotion to one’s life calling (which could take place in the business world) and claims that this combination of worldliness and ascetic discipline was pivotal for the development of modern capitalism. Since the Calvinists were not allowed to spend their wealth on profligate living, reinvestment made the most sense. Over time, this led to increasing accumulation of capital, minimization of consumption, and ultimately the continuous economic growth and industrial energy of modern capitalism. [2] Weber only appears to have been discussing men, thus my use of the term “he.” |
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