Free Essays on Max Weber

MAX WEBER Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a study of the relationship between the ethics of ascetic Protestantism and the emergence of the spirit of modern capitalism. Weber argues that the religious ideas of groups such as the Calvinists played a role in creating the capitalistic spirit. Weber first observes a correlation between being Protestant and being involved in business, and declares his intent to explore religion as a potential cause of the modern economic conditions. He argues that the modern spirit of capitalism sees profit as an end in itself, and pursuing profit as virtuous. Weber's goal is to understand the source of this spirit. He turns to Protestantism for a potential explanation. Protestantism offers a concept of the worldly "calling," and gives worldly activity a religious character. While important, this alone cannot explain the need to pursue profit. One branch of Protestantism, Calvinism, does provide this explanation. Calvinists be! lieve in predestinationthat God has already determined who is saved and damned. As Calvinism developed, a deep psychological need for clues about whether one was actually saved arose, and Calvinists looked to their success in worldly activity for those clues. Thus, they came to value profit and material success as signs of God's favor. Other religious groups, such as the Pietists, Methodists, and the Baptist sects had similar attitudes to a lesser degree. Weber argues that this new attitude broke down the traditional economic system, paving the way for modern capitalism. However, once capitalism emerged, the Protestant values were no longer necessary, and their ethic took on a life of its own. We are now locked into the spirit of capitalism because it is so useful for modern economic activity. Throughout his book, Weber emphasizes that his account is incomplete. He is not arguing that Protestantism caused the capitalistic spirit, but rather that i... Free Essays on Max Weber Free Essays on Max Weber MAX WEBER Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a study of the relationship between the ethics of ascetic Protestantism and the emergence of the spirit of modern capitalism. Weber argues that the religious ideas of groups such as the Calvinists played a role in creating the capitalistic spirit. Weber first observes a correlation between being Protestant and being involved in business, and declares his intent to explore religion as a potential cause of the modern economic conditions. He argues that the modern spirit of capitalism sees profit as an end in itself, and pursuing profit as virtuous. Weber's goal is to understand the source of this spirit. He turns to Protestantism for a potential explanation. Protestantism offers a concept of the worldly "calling," and gives worldly activity a religious character. While important, this alone cannot explain the need to pursue profit. One branch of Protestantism, Calvinism, does provide this explanation. Calvinists be! lieve in predestinationthat God has already determined who is saved and damned. As Calvinism developed, a deep psychological need for clues about whether one was actually saved arose, and Calvinists looked to their success in worldly activity for those clues. Thus, they came to value profit and material success as signs of God's favor. Other religious groups, such as the Pietists, Methodists, and the Baptist sects had similar attitudes to a lesser degree. Weber argues that this new attitude broke down the traditional economic system, paving the way for modern capitalism. However, once capitalism emerged, the Protestant values were no longer necessary, and their ethic took on a life of its own. We are now locked into the spirit of capitalism because it is so useful for modern economic activity. Throughout his book, Weber emphasizes that his account is incomplete. He is not arguing that Protestantism caused the capitalistic spirit, but rather that i... Free Essays on Max Weber â€Å"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings† (Proverbs 22:29). This verse from the Bible describes Max Weber’s argument of the relationship between business and religion. He basically describes the way Calvinism, a doctrine of the Protestant religion, had effects on capitalism. The ethics of the Protestant religion were the main factors that affected capitalism. One of these characteristics was how the religion â€Å"acted powerfully against the spontaneous enjoyment of possessions† (Seeing Ourselves p. 348). This statement basically described the way materialistic things and earthly possessions were not to be pleasured too much. The second characteristic was described by Weber saying the religion â€Å"restricted consumption, especially of the luxuries† (Seeing Ourselves p. 348). This characteristic shows how Weber thought the Protestant religion prohibited a build-up of possessions. One last characteristic is how the religion had the â€Å"psychological effect of freeing the acquisition of good from the inhibitions of traditionalistic ethics† (Seeing Ourselves p. 348). Acquisition, or ownership, being freed from inhibitions, or embarrassment, of traditionalistic ethics meant that this ownership was viewed as being willed by God. These characteristics of Protestantism were believed to help shape the foundation of capitalism in Weber’s opinion. Because all of these factors proved the followers of this religion saved money, spent it wisely, and accumulated only the things of necessity, this â€Å"work-and-save† attitude aided capitalism in several ways. One way was working hard and to the best of their ability. This promoted the development of capitalism because strong workers resulted in strong companies which lead to a strong economy. After the people would work, they would earn money. However, instead of spending this money on fancy things, they would instead save it and be very frugal with what they... Free Essays on Max Weber Max Weber was the first to observe and write on bureaucracies which developed in Germany during the 19th century. He considered them to be efficient, rational and honest, a big improvement over the haphazard administration that they replaced. The German government was better developed than that in the United States and Britain and was nearly equal to that of France. Weber saw that modern officialdom functioned according to six principles: (1) Fixed and official jurisdictional areas which are ordered by rules, that is laws and administrative regulations. (2) Hierarchy and levels of graded authority where the lower offices are supervised by the higher ones. (3) Management is based on official documents (the files). (4) The officials have thorough and expert training. (5) It requires the full time work of the official. (6) Management follows rules. While these principles seem obvious today, German government agencies were pioneering modern administration to replace practices dating back to the Middle Ages owing loyalty to the king, dukes and the church. From the perspective of the official, Weber observed that office holding is a "vocation," that is it is a calling requiring a prescribed course of training for a long period of time and having examinations which are a prerequisite for employment. He is to be loyal to the office he holds, not to a patron. By virtue of his position, the official enjoys high social esteem. (Weber notes that this is especially weak in the United States.) The official is appointed by a superior official; he is not elected. Normally he works for the agency for life; he does not fear being fired for failing to please a patron. He receives a salary and an pension when he retires. The official pursues a career within the bureaucracy, moving up to more responsible positions according to his experience and ability. Weber is also known for his theory of charismatic leadership. Charisma is the gift from above wher...