The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber - Essay Example

What did Weber mean by the "spirit of capitalism?" What is the doctrine of "predestination?" How are Ben Franklins ideas a "perfect instance of what Weber meant by the capitalist spirit?" How did it promote behavior that led to the rise of capitalism? Max Weber’s prominent work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism examined the unconventional connection between the ethics upheld by Protestantism and the existence of modern capitalism. There was a particular religious group in Europe during Weber’s lifetime that actually practiced a religious belief that promotes capitalism. The Calvinist believed that man will attain higher salvation through profit-making. This pursuit of profit was not viewed by the Calvinists as a materialistic desire. They had believed that money is virtue. Later on, Weber regarded this religious phenomenon as the spirit of capitalism. Religion is an abstract concept which gives emphasis to the spirit while money is concrete in its capitalistic value. Spirit of capitalism then is the values attached to the quest for more and more money. The success of capitalism lies on people’s acceptance on the importance of being righteous by means of accumulating profit. Values which embody the spirit then are the driving forces toward modern capitalism. The Calvinist religious principle that reinforced the development of capitalism is the doctrine of predestination. This holy code states that people are destined to go to heaven and be rewarded or plunge to hell and be punished. This destiny or fate supported by the principle is not dependent on being righteous or being sinful while living on earth. Hard work and devotion towards one’s calling will decide where an individual should go after death. The Calvinist believes that one’s Christianity could be shown through making the best out of one’s means of subsistence; that is recognizing one’s responsibilities as a ticket to heaven. Also, spending one’s life on his/her calling will reduce the nervousness inherent in the thought of a possible residence in hell after life. Weber then concluded that religion, specifically Calvinism and the other branches of Protestantism are largely responsible for the transformation of society to capitalism (Weber as cited in Lemert 100-102). Max Weber represented the spirit of capitalism by means of using Benjamin Franklin as his mouthpiece. Weber claims that Franklin possessed an attitude that is closely related to the ethics of capitalism. Franklin advocates that value is all about the function of money. Values such as time, status, trust, and confidence can be attained through giving primacy to the monetary worth of everything that exists in the world. Yet, despite this over-dependence on the significance of money as an instrument to achieve priceless rewards in life, Franklin upheld that it is the obligation of everyone to prosper. He even wrote books containing advises on how to succeed in trade and business without disregarding the spirit of capitalism. He combined the conflict between the traditional nature of religion and the impersonality of the economic place to promote capitalism. Franklin’s ethical principles see its significance as the provider of meaning and inner value to profit-seeking attitudes. This somewhat odd and self-centered philosophy is actually seen as a form of shaping one’s own destiny after life. Franklin promoted a figure of morality that gives dominance on profit as an end itself. The emphasis on profit subsequently gave an impetus to the development of capitalism. However, Franklin believed that profit’s purchasing power should not be used. Instead, profit should encourage professionalism in one’s occupation and virtues. The power of the capitalistic spirit espoused by Franklin himself was manifested by its timing in relation to the emergence of capitalism. His capitalistic spirit materialized way before the influence of capitalism took shape in rather simple societies. Weber recognized this fact and had concluded that the “spirit” alone can be a potential force in bringing about social changes. Weber then gave more primacy to religion as an agent of social transformation than to the economy which Marx ardently argued for (Kessel para 1-7). History and Biography Spotlight of Max Weber: "Sociological Imagination" has been described as the intersection of biography and history. Write a brief essay describing the life of this major theorist. Be sure to link his experiences and ideas with important social issues during his lifetime. Provide three examples of how the social influences on his life shaped his theories. Focus your writing on his key ideas. Max Weber was a son of Germany. He was born into a family ruled by eccentric yet intelligent parents. His father was a prominent public figure in politics while his mother was a reasonable Calvinist. His parents share many differences which stirred his intellectual and social awareness. His father was a pleasure- seeker while his mother was a religiously devoted woman. Weber began to form his logical reasoning by means of observing these differences that his parents have. Yet, Weber’s fateful future depended much on her mother’s influence. Being a dutiful Calvinist, she realized that her destiny is to promote social change that will bring benefits to humanity. She concretely showed that a life focused on pleasure will never give justice to humans’ natural righteousness. Weber followed the direction of her mother’s pursuit towards intellectual pleasure and social reform but he avoided being absorbed in her religious beliefs (Weber as cited in Kivisto 50). Despite the divergence between his parents’ upheld principles, Weber grew up socially apt and scholarly credible. His father’s public position gave Weber an opportunity to meet both political and intellectual personalities in Germany during his early years. These key figures were actually regular visitors to their humble abode. Weber was granted permission to partake in the academic discussions that commence in their home as the remarkable visitors arrived. The domestic environment Weber’s grew up into furnished him with a critical and logical mind (p. 50-51). In 1882, Weber left to study at the University of Heidelberg. His studies were frequently interrupted by his military service at Strassburg. When finally he was free from the military, his father commanded him to continue his studies at the University of Berlin. He was then appointed a position at the University which opened a lot of opportunities for him. He was able to get ideas from his professorship for his doctoral and postdoctoral theses. He began to socially investigate on agrarian history because of the agrarian problems faced at that time by Germany’s most vital academic community, the Union for Social Policy. He also emphasized on the economic condition of Germany when it comes to stock exchanges and on the continuous disintegration of the Latin culture in the country. At this time of his academic writings, Weber was a member of a leftist Protestant Social Union. The social research that Weber did on agrarian issues opened up to him a realization that will eventually dominate his later works: that politics and economy are intimately interconnected (p. 51). In 1895, Weber delivered his inaugural address at Freiburg which was one of the climaxes of his ensuing academic career. In this speech, he summarized the outcome of his investigation on the agrarian predicaments of Germany and he also argued on an important political issue that time. The liberal parties were attempting to depose the ruling aristocracy by means of proclaiming that the latter’s divine privileges was invaluable in that period. Weber did not agree with the liberal parties’ desire to overthrow the aristocracy and put the workers in the position as a replacement. He ardently argued that the working class was not aptly equipped with the essential skills such as education to take the place of the aristocracy (Mayer 38-39). After World War I, Weber wasn’t able to regain his professorship at universities because of his contracted illness. This time gave him an opportunity to write and publish his most celebrated work, The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism. The agony brought about by the death of his father prompted Weber to examine the link between the moral codes of Calvinism and profit-generating mode of production that is capitalism (Schaefer 400). Works Cited Books Kivisto, Peter. Key Ideas in Sociologu. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publication, Inc. , 1998. Lemert, Charles. Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classic Readings. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2004. Mayer, J. P. Max Weber and German Politics: A Study in Political Sociology. London: Faber and Faber, 1956. Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995. Website Kessel, Van J.H.J. Benjamin Franklin: The Personification of Max Weber’s Spirit of Capitalism. viewed 20 June 2008. http://ideashistory.org.ru/pdfs/19vanKessel.pdf Read More