max weber essays

max weber essays Max Weber has written a book that is very articulate in crediting the rise and success of capitalism to the religious affiliation of those who prospered. These accounts are put forth in, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber discusses the Protestant religion specifically, but raises general points that illustrate the effects beliefs have on the social order. Weber speaks of the Protestant Ethic as being a work ethic in which followers of this religion incorporated their religious ideals and values into their own economic lives. The way they ran their business and their attitudes towards gaining wealth and how they would spend it was all derived from the way their religion showed them how to live all aspects of their life. On top of the work ethic there was another quality that Protestants felt to be necessary to be living life the correct way and that was individualism. This individualistic attitude can be understood to create a competitive mindset for those in business. Weber's study has produced thoughts about how we see religion. Weber does not limit religion and its importance strictly to worship, but also how it affected society and the peoples roles in acting upon their beliefs. For Weber, religion also has another function. Weber intends to conclude that religion is a practice that transcends theological devices. When Weber looks at the emergence of capitalism, he looks closely at the all of the cultural aspects of the state that could influence the economic structure. He looked at states that had adopted capitalit traits and also the ones that did not, in order to explore where it rooted. He concluded that states without a strong religion did not develop capitalit qualities. Weber does not define capitalism in this context as one ideal or form of economic strategy, but instead he plays off the idea of attitude. He talks about the work ethics of men who ...