Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism

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Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism
Max Weber’s original theory on the rise of Capitalism in Western Europe has been an often studied theory. In its relationship to Protestantism, specifically Calvinism, Weber’s theory has been in scholarly debate since it’s release in 1904. “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” puts forth not capitalism as an institute, but as the precursor to the historical origins of capitalism. Weber’s attempts to use statistical data, as well as church doctrine to prove his theory, has been the foundation for the main arena of debate amongst his peers.
Weber, although touching on other religions and countries, specifically focuses on the Reformation and its correlation to the dominance of capitalism in Western civilizations. He centers his work on the thesis ‘that the chances of overcoming traditionalism are greatest on account of the religious upbringing’, thus ‘it is worthwhile to ask how this connection of adaptability to capitalism with religious factors occurred in the early days of capitalism(1).’ This break with tradition could be attributed to the ‘calling’ as depicted in the Protestant faith. Weber believes Protestants saw the ‘calling’ as finally sanctifying the earning of a profit and as a sign of salvation. In this, he saw a breaking of the ‘backward-sloping supply curve’ for labor by instilling a new work ethic and the bringing forth of capitalistic values.
Amintore Fanfani in his critical work “Catholicism, Protestantism, and Capitalism” disagrees with Weber on the role Protestantism played in the development of capitalism. He argues that “Europe was acquainted with capitalism before the Protestant revolt” and thus “…we have ruled out that Protestantism could have produced a phenomenon that already existed(2).” He does agree that capitalism acquired prominence after the Reformation; however, he attributes the success to Italian merchants who operated under Catholicism decades earlier. Fanfani believes this discredits the influential aspects of religion on capitalism, and instead credits “that general revolution of thought that characterizes the period of the Renaissance and the Reformation, by which in art, philosophy, morals, and economy, the individual emancipates…himself from the bonds imposed on him during the Middle Ages(2).” Arguments could be made on Weber’s behalf that it was the Reformation that ‘emancipated’ Protestants from the bonds of Catholic ritual. The removal of the Catholic pri...

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