Do Today's Sociologists Really Appreciate Weber's Essay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism?

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Protestant Ethic ◽  
Apparent Contradiction ◽  
High Regard ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism ◽  
Iconic Status

It is noted that Max Weber is held in very high regard by the majority of contemporary sociologists, while his essay, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, is generally considered his most important as well as his most famous work. However attention is drawn to the marked contradiction between the practice of today's sociologists in routinely heaping praise on this essay and the fact that their own self-confessed theoretical statements constitute a direct rejection of Weber's approach. This contradiction is illustrated by demonstrating that although The Protestant Ethic is essentially an examination of the role of motives in human action the concept of motive is effectively missing from contemporary sociology. A possible explanation for this apparent contradiction is then considered in the form of the claim that those theoretical positions favoured by contemporary sociologists could be considered as ‘developed out of’ or ‘descended from’ Weber's theory of ‘motivational understanding'. This however is shown to be an untenable claim, given that the vocabulary of motives perspective, the treatment of motives as reasons, and rational choice theory all represent straightforward rejections of Weber's position. Consequently it is concluded that there remains an unresolved and largely unrecognised contradiction between the iconic status accorded to Weber's essay by contemporary sociologists and their own very obvious rejection of his theoretical approach.

scholarly journals Religion as a factor of political culture and economic development

2005 ◽  
pp. 145-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Ristic
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
The Other ◽  
Protestant Ethic ◽  
Philosophical Basis ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Social And Economic Development ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism

In his essay ?The Protestant Ethic? Max Weber explains the specific economic development and the foundation of capitalism in Western Europe due to the appearance of protestant sects and the ?spirit of capitalism?. By doing so, Weber assigns religion a significant place among the factors of social and economic development. Taking Weber?s theory and argumentation as a starting point, this article drafts a thesis on ?orthodox ethic? and determines its role in the development of the ?spirit of capitalism? in orthodox countries. For that purpose this article compares political-historical circumstances on the territory of the Western and Eastern Church on one, and pictures the theological-philosophical basis of both Protestantism and Orthodoxy on the other side.

The Building and Breaking of Peace

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly M. Melin
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Bargaining Process ◽  
Peace And Conflict ◽  
Government Capacity ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Corporate Actions ◽  
The Cost

The Building and Breaking of Peace considers the role of corporate firms in building peaceful societies. Examining the corporate motives for peacebuilding and then the implications of these activities for preventing violence and conflict resolution creates a holistic picture of the peace and conflict process. The book examines variation in corporate engagement as a product of corporate culture and shifts in government capacity, as well as threats to the ability to conduct business. Corporations engage in peacebuilding when there is a gap in the state’s capacity to enforce laws creating the demand for engagement but when there is stability that enables firms to supply peacebuilding. The book then considers the implications of corporate engagement for preventing and ending violence. Building on the rational choice theory of civil war and drawing from business research, The Building and Breaking of Peace examines the role of corporate firms in building peaceful societies. While firms are uniquely situated in their ability to raise the cost of violence, an active private sector acts as an additional veto player in the bargaining process, making it significantly harder to reach an agreement. The findings suggest that corporations help to prevent violence but not resolve it. These arguments are tested on original cross-national data of peacebuilding efforts by firms in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa from 2000 to 2018 and in-depth case analyses of corporate actions and outcomes in Colombia, Northern Ireland, and Tunisia.

A dangerous liaison? Harnessing Weber to illuminate the relationship of democracy and charisma in the Philippines and India

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 691-709
Author(s):  
Walden Flores Bello
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Class Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Charismatic Authority ◽  
Democratic Elections ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Democratic elections in the Philippines and India in 2019 yielded a paradoxical result: the strengthening of the political hegemony of personalities partial to authoritarian rule. An examination of economic, social, and political conditions prior to the elections shows that the usual paradigms used to explain voters’ choices – class theory, rational choice theory, and patron–client theory – fail to account for the sweeping victories of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A more useful framework is that of charismatic authority derived from Max Weber. Employing this paradigm, the article discusses the origins of charismatic authority in the two polities, the differences in charismatic appeal, the social construction of charisma, charisma and the creation of the Other, and the democratic dialectic at the heart of charismatic authoritarianism.

Comparative Administrative Law and Economics

2020 ◽  
pp. 216-231
Author(s):  
Nuno Garoupa ◽  
Sofia Amaral-Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Specialized Courts ◽  
Normative Dimension ◽  
State Liability

This chapter provides a rational choice theory to explain why features of administrative law vary across jurisdictions. It relates these varying features of administrative law to economic performance (as measured by macroeconomic variables or more specific variables such as rule of law, judicial effectiveness, governance indicators, or quality of legal institutions). The chapter also reveals a normative dimension related to the inevitable question of which arrangements or institutions produce better results. To that end, it reviews the current economic models of administrative adjudication. The chapter next takes a look at some more specific topics: specialized agencies, specialized courts, and state liability. Finally, it looks at the role of the interaction between administrative and constitutional law as well as rule-making and other types of executive policy-making.

Emotions

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Elster
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Science Inquiry ◽  
Information Gathering ◽  
Belief Formation ◽  
Theory Of Action ◽  
Actor Model ◽  
Rational Actor ◽  
The Impact

This article explores the role of emotions in the explanation of behavior. It first provides an overview of complexities associated with the term ‘emotion’ before discussing the link between emotions and rationality. In particular, it considers the rational choice theory of action and the notion of emotional choice, along with the impact of emotion on substantive preferences, formal preferences, beliefs and belief formation, and information-gathering. The article argues that emotions governing action should not be deemed inaccessible to analytic social-science inquiry. Even if emotions trigger actions and reactions discontinuous with prior action streams, emotions do not make the rational-actor model fail. Emotions can determine belief and urgency-based emotions can determine outcomes.

The Decision to Vote or to Abstain

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Gidengil
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Model ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Civic Duty ◽  
Parsimonious Model

Why voters turn out on Election Day has eluded a straightforward explanation. Rational choice theorists have proposed a parsimonious model, but its logical implication is that hardly anyone would vote since their one vote is unlikely to determine the election outcome. Attempts to save the rational choice model incorporate factors like the expressive benefits of voting, yet these modifications seem to be at odds with core assumptions of rational choice theory. Still, some people do weigh the expected costs and benefits of voting and take account of the closeness of the election when deciding whether or not to vote. Many more, though, vote out of a sense of civic duty. In contrast to the calculus of voting model, the civic voluntarism model focuses on the role of resources, political engagement, and to a lesser extent, recruitment in encouraging people to vote. It pays particular attention to the sources of these factors and traces complex paths among them. There are many other theories of why people vote in elections. Intergenerational transmission and education play central roles in the civic voluntarism models. Studies that link official voting records with census data provide persuasive evidence of the influence of parental turnout. Education is one of the best individual-level predictors of voter turnout, but critics charge that it is simply a proxy for pre-adult experiences within the home. Studies using equally sophisticated designs that mimic the logic of controlled experiments have reached contradictory conclusions about the association between education and turnout. Some of the most innovative work on voter turnout is exploring the role of genetic influences and personality traits, both of which have an element of heritability. This work is in its infancy, but it is likely that many genes shape the predisposition to vote and that they interact in complex ways with environmental influences. Few clear patterns have emerged in the association between personality and turnout. Finally, scholars are beginning to recognize the importance of exploring the connection between health and turnout.

Translations of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in China

2020 ◽  
pp. 089692052092482
Author(s):  
Senlin Yu ◽  
Yujing Wang
Keyword(s):  
Max Weber ◽  
Protestant Ethic ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism

From 1968 to 2018, there are 21 Chinese versions of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism ( PESC) published in China. This essay makes a profile of the Chinese translations of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, analyzes the reasons for the retranslations, and summarizes the major problems in these translations. The authors argue that, although there are some problems in the existing Chinese versions, the Chinese translations of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism play important roles in the reception and studies of Max Weber in China, and the deepening of Max Weber studies in return inspires more and better Chinese versions of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. The Chinese translations contribute not only to the study of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, but also to the spread of Max Weber’s thoughts in China.

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