From Agrarian Capitalism to the ‘Spirit’ of Modern Capitalism: Max Weber's Approaches to the Protestant Ethic

Purpose This paper aims to check the presence of such relationship in the field. Certain values are at stake for the success of economic behavior. Since the genesis of modern capitalism, a set of beliefs proper of Calvinism (mainly Predestination but also Beruf, inner-worldly asceticism, role of Sects […] ) was said by Max Weber to cause an anxiety about salvation and generate a propensity to economic success as a sign of election. The author argues on the contrary that the Calvinist belief in the Perpetual Assurance of Salvation might cause a sense of self-efficacy able to favor economic success. To observe this in action today, it is crucial to consider the evolution that the Protestant ethic went through migrating first in North America and, finally, through the Protestant revival of China. Wenzhou is called “Jerusalem of China” for its large Protestant community that is also strongly involved in business. Some scholar already pointed out the presence among those entrepreneurs of this Protestant ethic (Yi Xiang, Boss-Christian […]). Design/methodology/approach The data presented in this comparative qualitative study pertain to ethnographic observations, job-shadowing and interviews done among Chinese Christian and non-Christian entrepreneurs from Wenzhou living in Milan, Italy. Findings The results show, with some adjustments, the presence of a Chinese version of the Protestant ethic overlapping with several values proper to the Chinese context (Confucianism, lineage, social network). The extension of the study to other cases must be done with caution considering the non-causal justificatory role of the belief. Originality/value Successful entrepreneurship involves specific social, cultural and even religious aspects that move beyond mere business strategies.

Download Full-text

The Weber Thesis Reexamined

Church History ◽

10.2307/3161267 ◽

1961 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 88-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Winthrop S. Hudson

Keyword(s):

Max Weber ◽

Protestant Ethic ◽

Central Issue ◽

Decisive Influence ◽

Modern Capitalism ◽

Spirit Of Capitalism

For more than fifty years the Weber thesis, which attributed to Calvinism a decisive influence in the development of modern capitalism, has been vigorously debated. In his celebrated essay, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904), Max Weber had suggested that Calvinism contributed to the rise of capitalism in various ways—by relaxing the restraints which hitherto had largely served to impede its growth; by fostering the economic virtues of diligence, frugality, honesty, prudence, and sobriety; and, most of all, by providing a psychological, fillip to the development of the “spirit” of capitalism, “the temper of single-minded concentration upon pecuniary gain.” The controversy precipitated by the publication of Weber's essay engendered considerable heat that often served to obscure the points at issue, but over the years the continuing discussion has served to remove many of the issues from the area of debate and to narrow the focus of the central issue that remains.

Download Full-text

The Weber Thesis Reexamined

Church History ◽

10.1017/s0009640700062946 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 57 (S1) ◽

pp. 56-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Winthrop S. Hudson

Keyword(s):

Max Weber ◽

Protestant Ethic ◽

Central Issue ◽

Decisive Influence ◽

Modern Capitalism ◽

Spirit Of Capitalism

For more than fifty years the Weber thesis, which attributed to Calvinism a decisive influence in the development of modern capitalism, has been vigorously debated. In his celebrated essay, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Calvinism (1904), Max Weber had suggested that Calvinism contributed to the rise of capitalism in various ways—by relaxing the restraints which hitherto had largely served to impede its growth; by fostering the economic virtues of diligence, frugality, honesty, prudence, and sobriety; and, most of all, by providing a psychological fillip to the development of the “spirit” of capitalism, “the temper of single-minded concentration upon pecuniary gain.” The controversy precipitated by the publication of Weber's essay engendered considerable heat that often served to obscure the points at issue, but over the years the continuing discussion has served to remove many of the issues from the area of debate and to narrow the focus of the central issue that remains.

Download Full-text

Magic and Reformation Calvinism in Max Weber’s sociology

European Journal of Social Theory ◽

10.1177/1368431017736996 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 470-487

Author(s):

Jack Barbalet

Keyword(s):

Sociology Of Religion ◽

Protestant Ethic ◽

Economic Ethics ◽

World Religions ◽

Modern Capitalism ◽

The Reformation ◽

The World

Weber’s claim that Calvinism eliminated magic from the world, inserted into The Protestant Ethic in 1920 and arising out of research reported in The Sociology of Religion, entails a sociological but also a theological proposition identified in this article. Weber’s conceptualization of magic permits his examination of the economic ethics of the world religions. Non-European cases, including China, are examined by Weber to confirm his Protestant Ethic argument regarding modern capitalism. He holds that Confucian rationality, associated with bureaucratic order, is compromised by its tolerance of magic. Weber contrasts this with the Calvinist rejection of magic. Weber’s claims regarding Calvinist demagicalization are made without regard to the Reformation Calvinist obsession with satanic witchcraft, in which the efficacy of magic is accepted as real. The distance between Calvinism and Confucianism, essential to Weber’s argument, is thus narrowed.

Download Full-text