Question

1. What is the main difference between the “Protestant Ethic” and the “Spirit of Capitalism”?

Answer 1

A German scholar Max Weber(1864-1920) had found the connection between Protestantism and the rise of capitalism in his famous work" The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" (1904-05) which shows his psychology. This book began as a series of essays in German during 1904 and 1905, later translated by an American sociologist Talcott Parsons in 1930 into English. In Germany, Weber noticed the statistical correlation between the two i.e. firstly interest and success in capitalist ventures and secondly protestant in country. protesant ethic is also called as calvinist ethic or Puritan ethic. In context of theories of sociology, it denotes the values attached to efficiency, hard work and thrift in one's worldly calling.Protestant were the middle class groups in Europe while capitalism means free market economy or free enterprise economy in which means of production are in private hands whereas goods production and distribution of income done through the market. Weber discussed in his book that the emergence of groups i.e.protestants by engaging in work and trade through starting their own enterprises and accumulated wealth for investment that develop the spirit of capitalism. So, the spirit of capitalism refers to values ,spirit ,ideas that support pursuit of economic gain through hardwork and progress.but such spirit as he noted could be divorced from religion. Protestants encouraged hardwork, planning and self denial in the pursuit of worldly riches that means individual follow secular vocation with much hardwork and zeal to accumulate money for investment which boost capitalism. Beggary, charity, social donation were considered as laziness, and against God.Webers spirit of capitalism is more broadly a spirit of rationalization.