The Relation of Religion and Capitalism from The Protestant Ethic

On the Relation of Religion and the Emergence of Capitalism from The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism written by Max Weber is an indisputable masterpiece in many fields for its profound and insightful views on the relation between religion and the emergence of capitalism. Contrary to the famous theory of Marxism that the economic base determines the superstructure, Weber creatively puts forward that the Protestantism, England protestant in particular which comes into being after Reformation, gives birth to the spirit of capitalism and it is exactly this kind of spirit that has played a vital role in the emergence and development of capitalism. He further explains that capitalism in the shape of mercantile operations has existed in various form of society such as in Babylon, Ancient Egypt, China and India. However, due to the lack of the spirit, capitalism in those societies cannot fully forge ahead into genuine capitalism associate with rational organization of formally free labor.

Weber has commented that ‘the impulse to acquisition, pursuit of gain, of money, of the greatest possible amount of money, has in itself nothing to do with capitalism… unlimited greed for gain is not in the least identical with capitalism, and is still less in its spirit. Capitalism may even be identical with the restraint, or at least a rational tempering, of this irrational impulse. But capitalism is identical with the pursuit of profit, and forever renewed profit, by means of continuous rational, capitalistic enterprise’ (2001:32). What stands behind this impulsion is its core concept—calling. This concept means that the only way of individual existence directed by God is to undertake his duties and responsibilities correspondent to his position in a society rather than to surpass secular morality through mortification. It underlines individual’s arduous work and performance of duties as a result of Reformation.

The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism are not identical, because they appear in different periods of human civilization. However, the essence of the latter one is embedded in the doctrines of protestant such as frugality of living, industrious work, personal credit, reasonable profiting and the full use of time. ‘Man is dominated by the making of money, acquisition as the ultimate purpose of his life. Economic acquisition is no longer subordinated to man as the means for the satisfaction of his material needs’ (Weber 2001: 18). The strict mortification is conducive to the accumulation of wealth of a society; the restrictions imposed on consumption makes the productive investment possible and the idea of ‘calling’ that engaging in certain occupation is for the increase of God’s glory does good to the reasonable labor distribution.
Besides, ‘the Reformation meant not the elimination of the Church’s control over everyday life, but rather the substitution of a new form of control for the previous one’ (Weber 2001: 4). Protestant, rebelling against privilege and advocating rationality and reason, requests that all activities should be arranged in a rational way. It is of great help for the socialized production. In general, Weber has found the inherent relation between religion and the emergence of capitalism despite some defects in his methodology.

Bibliography

Weber, Max, translated by Parsons, Talcott. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. London: Routledge, 2001.



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