The Protestant Ethic Thesis: An Internal Critque

Abstract

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.