The role that the “Protestant ethic” plays in Max Weber’s theory
Explain the role that the “Protestant ethic” plays in Max Weber’s theory about the development of capitalism in Western Europe.
German economist and sociologist Max Weber published the book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in 1904, laying the foundation of modern sociology. In this book, Max Weber argues that the spirit of contemporary capitalism is rooted in Christian Reformation. The reformation of the church led to the development of several denominations, such as Lutheranism, that believed salvation comes through faith alone. They are the product of Martin Luther protests against the Catholic Church in the 16th century. Another group that features prominently in the book is Calvinism that was rooted in the ideas of John Calvin. One of these faiths main idea known as predestination (the belief that God preordained individual salvation) is what led to the emergence of capitalism in Western Europe.
Max Weber argues that capitalism is not the pursuit of gain, but that of renewable profit. The people who were successful in numerous crafts were developed to their business, temperate, and reliable. Today, there is no such connection between business and religion, and when it exists, it is for negative reasons. For most people today, enterprises and profitability is an end in itself. Today, capitalism has become powerful and divorced from the religion that brought it into existence. Although capitalism required faith to overthrow old practices, it did not need it to develop a modern economic system.
Max Weber questions the perception that capitalism was a natural consequence of western civilization. He argues that it is not something fundamental to human nature. In his opinion, the “spirit” necessary to start capitalism is not natural. Striving for profit is not the only driver that can get people in profitable commercial activities. If that was the case, even the traditional system of trade was making profits. Max Weber claims that capitalism succeeds when people embrace and internalize some values. It is these values that drive capitalism to what people it to be today and not the way of life of people. As a result, Weber leaves space for the importance of culture and other ideas in the history of human development.
https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/protestantethic/section3/page/2/
Max Weber explains that in the 16th century, there were four main protestant denominations, namely Calvinism, Baptism, Methodism, and Pietism. Although they argued that they were different, only a few differences existed among them. As a result, there was similar moral conduct among all the early protestant churches existing in Western Europe during the 16th century. Max Weber claims that it is possible for several denominations to advance similar ethical practices, and that is why he suggests that the religious practices of these communities led to the emergence of the capital thought. In his opinion, the practice of religion is responsible for developing practical conduct of trade because people had a spiritual commitment to their faith and values.
Max Weber explains how the Calvinists concept of predestination shaped society in various ways. For example, he notes it is through the idea that Calvinists rejected all sensual and emotional aspects of religion and culture because they promoted superstition and were not a route to the salvation of the human soul. At the same time, the knowledge that a person is unique and has a predestined way of life led to the emergence of the individualistic nature of modernists. In Calvinist practices, the individual prayed in isolation, although they belonged to a church. Therefore, there was a social organization by the early believers of the protestant movement. During the 15th century, the concept of the afterlife was dominant in Western Europe. Therefore, Calvinists spend their time wondering if they were the elect. John Calvin was sure about his salvation and the fact that God had chosen him to spread to the Gospel to the citizens of Western Europe. They did not agree that a person could learn from the behavior of other people because that means that it was possible for people to direct God’s action. As a result, the Calvinists began to have the confidence that they were saved and saw doubts as temptations. They used worldly activities to build confidence in their salvation, hence the need to develop specific values for their work.
Calvinists had a very different from other denominations, such as Lutherans, about the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives. While the Lutherans believed that they were vessels to be filled with the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel, the Calvinists believed that God was present in their lives daily and worked through them. They were always in a state of grace, meaning that they were tools of the divine will. In this community, faith was supposed to deliver objective results. Most of them engaged in activities that would increase glory to God. Although they were aware that good deeds were not a means of gaining salvation, they used them to show that they were the chosen ones for salvation. Therefore, they became serious in their duties that eventually transformed society.
Max Weber observes that Calvinism expected its adherents to have self-control. The God of Calvinism did not demand for good works from them, but a life full of good deeds that operate in a systematic manner.
It is this concept that they call predestination that Max Weber uses to explain why religion was responsible for the growth of capitalism. The predestination ideas means that God has already determined damned and saved individuals. As Calvinism began to expand in Western Europe, the converts began to require psychological clues on their salvation, and they found them in the successes of their economic activities. Over time, the Calvinists began to value material successes and profits as signs that God was blessing them and their ventures. The Calvinists were the first group to hold this view, but the Baptist and Methodists held similar thoughts but to a lesser degree. Ma Weber believes that the emergence of this culture in Western Europe replaced the traditional economic system with modern capitalism. Once a new system began to take shape, the ethics of the Protestants were no longer relevant as capitalism took a life of its own.
Max Weber notes that the “protestant ethics” was not the only contributing factor to the collapse of traditional economic systems and replacing it with a capitalist society. Ethics was one of the contributing factors. Therefore, his work incomplete.