Max Weber: the birth of capitalism from the spirit of this-wordly asceticism
Text: Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (London: Hyman Unwin).
Required reading: Part I, chapter 2 (pp. 47-78)
Part II, chapter 4.A (pp. 95-127); Part II, chapter 5 (pp. 155-184).
- what is the (spirit of) capitalism?
- that which contains the spirit in its purest form: "time is money", "punctual and just"
financial dealings are the most important, alternative costs etc.
~ this is Benjamin Franklin, satirised by Kürnberger: "they make money out of men"
- the ethos of western (american) capitalism makes it different from other forms of
capitalism in China, the middle ages etc.
- so long as money is obtained legally and is the result of hard work, it is a virtue
- an "economic survival of the fittest" is ensured by the system
~ the calculating profit-seeking interest (motive) can be traced back to way before capitalism
in America - it originates from the settlers' time, 1632
- the uniqueness here is not the acquisition of wealth, but an ethics of acquiring wealth
- the incentives wouldn't always work (if given a higher pay, the workers often decided to
work less) - religious obligation towards one's job = fitting of a strict economy which calculates a
possibility of high earnings etc.
- Sombart: meeting personal needs and a struggle for profit drive capitalism; spirit of
capitalism ~ spirit of the industrial middle classes -- wealth acquisition became virtuous from
being tolerable
- the "spirit of modern, western capitalism" polarises work: those who "overachieve" gain
fortunes, those who want a comfortable life are forced to consume less
- irrationally, man exists for the sake of his business; NOWADAYS, this has nothing to do with
religious ethos - but it originates in it
- the development of rationalism could explain the development of capitalism, but this
rationalism itself is "based in an irrationality"
- types of protestantism in history: 1) calvinism, 2) pietism, 3) methodism, 4) sects growing
out of the Baptist movement
- calvinism: predestination - man can not "free/convert" himself, his destiny is
predetermined, grace is preordained -> unprecedented loneliness of the individual,
elimination of salvation
- (calvinism is inherently utilitarian); Calvin: all emotions are suspicious
- how does one know who is determined for grace and who isn't? one has to believe one is;
"the humble sinner" (Luther) -> "the self-confident saint" whose worldly economic activity
counteracts religious anxiety; nothing can make one attain salvation, but one must
demonstrate that he is one of the select few
- the calvinist creates the conviction of his own salvation;
the divine grace of the
elect <-> the "sinfulness" of the neighbour whom God has not chosen
- God as bookkeeper ~ the worldly bokkeeper is God's chosen
- Bunyan: the sinner is to God that which the customer is to the shopkeeper
- faith in valid norms + God as completely transcendental
------------------ possession results in the danger of relaxation -> only activity can serve God
- labour is in the west an ascetic technique (<-> the orient): no time or interest in idle
sexuality
- puritan protestantism: Baxter; pragmatic, a "well-marked calling" (specialization) is needed,
outside of which work is casual and irregular; there are no "transaction costs", the
probability of sexual sin is thus smaller (~ a "religious" Adam Smith)
- ascetism requires a methodical, systematic character; the focus is on a more useful
"calling", not work itself
- the more profitable work must be pursued, because if God requires more, more can be
offered
a thankfulness to God for being the "chosen people", man is a steward
of his possessions ---> this FREED the acquisition of goods from the shackles of traditional
ethics
- book of Job - close to puritan thought; no play, no sports, no amusement...
- ... exception: scientific endeavours; pedantic and highly trained
- the uniformity of the life of puritans ----> the standardization of products in capitalism
- a limitation of consumption is combined with a requirement of the acquisition of wealth -->
the productive investment of capital is made possible
- a problem foreseen by religious leaders: religious morals create business, which creates
wealth, which eventually leads to "sin" and the destruction of religious morals
"The power of religious asceticism provided [the capitalist] in addition with sober,
conscientious, and unusually industrious workmen, who clung to their work as to a life
purpose willed by God"
the capitalist's belief: inequality = divine will and predestination; acquiring wealth =
acquiring the certainty of grace
- THIS is the cause of the "iron cage" of wealth and worldly possessions
- the result: the convulsive self-importance of a mechanized petrification - the capitalist
automaton doesn't require its religious roots any longer