The Protestant Ethic Thesis: An Internal Critque
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Issue Date
1976-04-01Author
Sparhawk, Frank J.
Publisher
Department of Sociology, University of Kansas
Type
Article
Rights
Copyright (c) Social Thought and Research. For rights questions please contact Editor, Department of Sociology, Social Thought and Research, Fraser Hall, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS 66045.
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Show full item recordAbstract
Max Weber's thesis of a relation between a Protestant ethic and a spirit of capitalism is examined. The Calvinist calling is taken as the central notion of Weber's thesis. Weber fails to demonstrate that the doctrine of the calling would channel the motivational force of religious interests into ascetic, economic activity that could be innovative in the face of traditional patterns ofbehavior. He fails in two ways: (1) he does not demonstrate a strict logical, meaningful relation between these elements; and (2) he does not account for the changing historical dynamics of Calvinism itself. If the configuration of events occurred as Weber argued, then nonreligious factors would be crucial in bringing it about. Yet, such factors take us outside of the framework in which Weber was working and, more seriously, they contest the very basis of his argument: the influence ofreligious forces on the capitalistic spirit.
Citation
Mid-American Review of Sociology, Volume 1, Number 1 (SPRING, 1976), pp. 27-40 http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/STR.1808.4786
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