scholarly journals Capitalism and justification

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-244
Author(s):  
Ana Biresev
Keyword(s):  
Work Ethic ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
The Other ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism ◽  
New Capitalism ◽  
The One ◽  
Circuit Of Capital

Weber's thesis that the spirit of capitalism was preexistent to the rise of capitalism itself inspired many sociologist to search for the cultural background of contemporary forms of capitalism. In this paper, the author focuses on and makes comparisons of three approaches of such kind. The one approach draws from Luc Boltanski and ?ve Chiapello who examine the development of 'new spirit of capitalism' by focusing on the interrelation of two macroactors - capitalism and critique; the other one is of Nigel Thrift who relates the rise of 'soft capitalism' to the strengthening of 'cultural circuit of capital'; and finally, Richard Sennett's approach analyzes the culture of 'new capitalism' and work ethic of the 'mp3 organizations'.

The Puritan Work Ethic Revisited

1980 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Seaver
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Work Ethic ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism ◽  
The One ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Attitudes And Behavior ◽  
The Impact

Whether Puritanism gave rise to a “work ethic,” and, if so, what the nature of that ethic was, has been a source of controversy since Max Weber published The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism more than seventy years ago. Experienced polemicists have waged international wars of words over its terms, and tyros have won their spurs in the battle. With repect to England, there is at present no agreement either about the reality of a peculiarly Puritan work ethic or about the impact, if any, that such an ethic might have had on the attitudes and behavior of the emerging capitalist bourgeoisie, if such a species indeed existed as a distinctive social class or group in the early modern period. In fact, since perfectly sane and competent historians have questioned on the one hand, whether “Puritanism” is more than a neo-idealist reification of a nonentity, and on the other, whether the early modern middle class is more than a myth, it might be the better part of wisdom to inter the remains of these vexed questions as quietly as possible. What follows is not a perverse attempt to flog a dead horse, if it is dead and a horse, but rather on the basis of a different perspective and different evidence to resurrect a part of what Timothy Breen has called “the non-existent controversy.”

scholarly journals Etos Kerja Kristen dan Budaya Mapalus sebagai Perberdayaan Ekonomi Gereja di Minahasa

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Feldy Lolangion
Keyword(s):  
Work Ethic ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
The Other ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Work Ethics ◽  
Protestant Church ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism ◽  
The Church

This study aims to understand and provide solutions to poverty problems in the Minahasa area, especially the Protestant church in Minahasa. The problem that appears is the lack of the church in carrying out economic empowerment. On the other hand, the Mapalus culture which is the philosophy of the Minahasa people has begun to be displaced by the times. This makes researchers interested in researching Christian Work Ethics and Mapalus culture as economic empowerment for the church in Minahasa. By using sociological and economic studies, the researcher uses classic theory from Max Weber about The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism, and Adam Smith about The Wealth of Nations. To address and examine this problem, this study uses qualitative research, using literature study. Data were collected through literature, references, and articles related to the Protestant work ethic, the Minahasa work ethic, and the spirit of capitalism. Capitalism that is meant by researchers is positive capitalism, where capitalism is running straight with the work ethic of Christians. On the other hand, Minahasa, as a research locus, has a work ethic called Mapalus. Although there are differences between the two work ethics, both can enrich the understanding and morals of church members in Minahasa in carrying out economic empowerment.

scholarly journals AUTHOR’S SELF-REPRESENTATION IN RESEARCH ARTICLES BY ANGLOPHONE AND SLOVAK LINGUISTS

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milada Walková
Keyword(s):  
Academic Culture ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
The Other ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
The One ◽  
Communicative Exchange ◽  
The Given

The tension between the need to present oneself in academic discourse unobtrusively on the one hand and promotionally on the other hand results in a range of options of hiding and revealing authorial presence in the text. The choice from among these options is, among other factors, determined by cultural background. This paper explores how Anglophone writers and Slovak authors writing in Slovak and in non-native English position themselves in linguistic research papers as individuals or as part of a society, and as participants or non-participants of the given communicative exchange. The study concludes that English academic culture is largely individualistic while Slovak academic culture is largely collectivist, a trait that Slovak authors also transmit into their writing in English for a mainly local audience.

The Spirit of Capitalism vs. the Spirit of Consumerism

2018 ◽  
pp. 160-172
Author(s):  
Kent A. Van Til
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Work Ethic ◽  
Hard Work ◽  
The Other ◽  
Protestant Work Ethic ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism ◽  
Doctrine Of Election ◽  
American Evangelicalism

Max Weber's protestant work ethic linked the Calvinist doctrine of election to the rise of capitalism. Weber saw the “worldly asceticism” among Calvinists as the motive for the hard work and savings that are required in capitalism. Though this theory has both detractors and critics, it remains dominant in both academic and popular writings. When this typology is extended to include consumerism, however, it fails, since the doctrine of election is not compatible with choice, which is the leading characteristic of consumerism. Arminian/free-will theology, on the other hand, has choice as its leading characteristic and practice. American evangelists asked their listeners to stand up and choose Christ at roughly the same time and in the same way that advertisers asked consumers to choose their products. Thus, a new typology is warranted which links the free-will theology of American evangelicalism to the choice that characterizes modern consumerism.

The Bases of Nationalism among the Bakongo

Africa ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 344-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Lemarchand
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
The Other ◽  
Active Resistance ◽  
Resistance Movements ◽  
The One ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphNationalist assertions among the Bakongo have been at the forefront of the active resistance movements which ultimately led the Belgian Government to grant the Congo its independence. These reactions to the Belgian presence, which can be traced back to the early twenties, expressed themselves in highly diversified forms and with varying degrees of intensity. From the early days of the Belgian rule, however, a duality of tendencies has been apparent in the Mukongo cultural heritage. The acceptance of certain Western innovations, on the one hand, combined with a manifest attachment to their cultural background, on the other, accounts for the presence of modernist and traditional strands discernible in present-day attitudes towards authority.

scholarly journals New Spirit and New Hero: How Hungarian Startups Redefine the Ideas of Local Capitalism

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-48
Author(s):  
Natasa Szabó
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Core ◽  
Catching Up ◽  
Hungarian Society ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism ◽  
The One

AbstractThe present paper investigates how theBridge Budapest, a CSR organization founded by leading Hungarian IT startups, attempts to shape the values of Hungarian society towards capitalism in general, and towards entrepreneurship in particular. In my paper I argue that the central aim of the organization is to facilitate Hungary’s catching up with the core capitalist countries through the transformation of the attitudes and the ideologies surrounding capitalism in the Hungarian context, i.e.the local spirit of capitalism. This consists, on the one hand, of restoring the legitimation of some of the core institutions of capitalism, such as the enterprise and the entrepreneur, and of confronting the risk-taking, innovative and ethical figure of the entrepreneur hero with the provincial figure of the ‘postcommunist cheater’. On the other hand, it also consists of propagating a new management of work that aims to produce self-controlling and self-motivating employees. In the narrative of Bridge Budapest IT companies appear as the perfect moral and economic subjects – the bearers of the new spirit of capitalism – that have the expertise to offer solutions to the problems of Hungarian society, and around which the local capitalism should be built.

scholarly journals In Search of the ‘Spirit of Capitalism’: About Normative Mechanisms Responsible for the Organisation of Social Behaviours

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Kutyło
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
Social Mobilization ◽  
The Other ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Spirit Of Capitalism ◽  
The One ◽  
Social Behaviours

The starting point for my reflections was a thesis presented by Max Weber more than one hundred years ago. According to this thesis, a Protestant ethos was an important factor responsible for the spectacular economic growth of Northern Europe. In his own reflections, the German scholar paid attention mainly to both Protestant asceticism, which concentrated the energy of believers on the work they did, as well as on theology, especially Calvinism, which provided explanations for hard work and the accumulation of capital. It seems, however, that in his reconstruction of the Protestant ethos, Weber described universal mechanisms which are responsible for social mobilization in general. The problem is that instead of trying to analyze them, he ultimately concentrated on their cultural manifestations. The main aim of my paper is an identification of these mechanisms. They discipline individuals, or more correctly, they discipline the patterns of playing these social roles, which are functionally significant for initiating and sustaining the mobilization process. In other words, when there is a need in a society to achieve specific goals, including economic ones, it should develop social norms which will be able to bolster the engagement of its members and focus their energy on specific aspects of their life. Moreover, there is a need to prepare non‑normative mechanisms, which increase the probability that members of the society will adhere to these social norms. The reflections in this regard seem to be important mainly for developing states. On the one hand, they should prepare mechanisms which allow them to develop their economies. On the other hand, the members of these states must face many costs associated with their implementation and this problem should also be a part of the discussion.

Polnische Bibliothek

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-74
Author(s):  
Paweł Zajas
Keyword(s):  
Publishing House ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
The Other ◽  
Book Market ◽  
Polish Literature ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
History Of ◽  
Polish Culture ◽  
The One

AbstractThe Polnische Bibliothek, founded by the German Institute for Polish Culture in Darmstadt, financed by Robert Bosch Foundation and published by the Suhrkamp Publishing House, remains a unique attempt at presenting Polish literature in the German book market. This paper focuses on the historical, political and cultural background of the series and the conflicts at the backstage of its initiation. The analysis, based mostly on the so far unpublished archival correspondence of the publishing house has two aims: on the one hand, a historiographic description of the so far unknown processes of Polish literature transfer lies at its centre, on the other, it addresses the need for appropriate conceptualisations of such phenomena. The study is framed in the category of Histoire croisée in this case applied to an analysis of translation production. Activities of all the actors involved, the conflicts and solutions to them constitute the starting point. These generate an argumentation space which offers insights into the history of production of the series that had since its beginning been marked by conflicting expectations.

C. S. Lewis’s Medieval Model and Literary Views

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-83
Author(s):  
Yuxiao Su
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
The Other ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Renaissance Literature ◽  
Literary Critic ◽  
Renaissance Period ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Medieval Model

This paper attempts to first give an introduction and appraisal of the unique contribution made by the English literary critic C. S. Lewis, towards a systematic presentation of the “Medieval Model”, the dominant cultural background that underlies most of the literary works in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. Then the paper analyses the relationship between the major features of the Medieval Model and four aspects of Lewis’s literary views, especially in reading and interpreting: namely, receptive reading, “built-in significance” of the text, respect for textual authorities, and seeking accord rather than discord in reading and interpreting. By doing so the paper reveals, on the one hand, how Lewis’s Model as described in The Discarded Image serves as an indispensable map for readers of Medieval and Renaissance literature; and on the other hand, how Lewis’s literary stand is deeply informed and inspired by this Model, in which he takes great delight.

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Ideological Potential of Video Games from the Point of View of James Gibson’s Theory of Affordances

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-52
Author(s):  
L.V. Moyzhes ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Unique Property ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Game Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

The purpose of this article is to propose a method for analyzing the ideo­logical content of video games while taking into account the agency of the players. The interactivity of video games as a medium has been attracting the attention of researchers for many years, raising, in particular, the ques­tion of how this unique property serves to broadcast certain ideologies. The ability of games to make ideological statements was discussed by Bogost, Frasca, Aarseth, and many other pioneers of game studies. Video games were analyzed both in the context of older media forms that promoted certain ideas through plots, visuals, and other traditional means, and as unique types of objects that can make statements through rules. I aim to introduce the player — as a subject who is able to transform and conceptual­ize the game based on their own cultural background — to this discussion. Using James Gibson’s theory of affordances, I want to acknowledge the player’s freedom of interpretation, the potential to assign one or another ideology to the game in each playthrough. On the one hand, the player acts as a consumer of content; on the other hand, they are a co-author who will use the tools offered by the video game to produce their own state­ments, to be interpreted independently. This leaves the final decision about the ideology of the game to the consumer; thus, game studies need an ap­proach that allows the analysis of the ideological content of specific games. It is especially important in the light of more and more games prioritizing player freedom and not providing any clear plot or even victory conditions. Of course, research can still proclaim, and rightfully so, that the specific rules in such games bear traces of certain ideological systems — capitalism or secularism, for example. But individual players could undermine such interpretations both at the level of reading the game as a “text”, and at the level of interactive actions inspired by those readings.

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