This contradicted the beliefs of many anti-semites, who often criticized the jewish people for being industrious capitalists. It also contradicted Marxist beliefs that religions were somehow handed down by the elites in order to better fit the current economic system. Specifically, it contradicted his theory that protestantism was the result of capitalism, and not the other way around. However, Weber is not stating that protestantism is the sole cause of capitalism, as we know it, but that it was one of the factors that lead to it.
In order to prove his hypothesis, Weber had to find cases in history which confirmed it. That is, he had to find 4 distinct cases in history. First, he had to find a time in history in which protestantism existed but where the spirit of capitalism didn't. Second, he had to find a case where spirit of capitalism existed, but not protestantism. Third, he had to find a case where capitalism existed, but not the spirit of capitalism (which is why he studied Benjamin Franklin whom he described as someone who embodied the spirit of capitalism). Finally, he had to compare these three cases to current times, in which the spirit of capitalism exists alongside capitalism and protestantism.
What the heck is "the spirit of capitalism?"
You might be wondering what the spirit of capitalism is. You might also be wondering how it's possible that capitalism can exist, but not the spirit of capitalism (or the other way around).
The spirit of capitalism, according to Weber, is a state of mind. Capitalism, is an economic system. It's possible to exist within a capitalist society, and not have the state of mind which Weber calls "the spirit of capitalism." The spirit of capitalism is an orientation towards economic activity. That is, it's an orientation to towards acquisition for its own sake. To put it into modern terms, it's an orientation towards profit for the sake of profit and nothing more.
Weber contrasts this spirit of capitalism with "traditionalism" in order to make it clear what he's speaking of. Traditionalism, weber argued, was an orientation towards utility. That is, traditionalism is laboring not for profit, but simply in order to live comfortably. A traditionalist doesn't work past the point that he/she no longer needs to, whereas a person possessing the spirit of capitalism would. A person possessing this spirit would see it as an opportunity to work more than he/she needs to, whereas a traditionalist would see it as a burden. To put it in the simplest terms possible: A traditionalist is someone who works to live, whereas a person that has the spirit of capitalism lives to work.
In summary, the spirit of capitalism is an ethic. Someone who posses it seeks accumulation and labor is seen as a means to acquire.
What does this have to do with Protestantism?
The question is: how did this "irrational" behavior, of working more than one needs to, come about and how does protestantism play a part? Furthermore, if there is a connection between protestantism and economic success, is this because of protestant beliefs or simply because of some historical coincidence?
Weber statistically analyzed countries which consisted of protestants in some form (majority, minority, oppressed, oppressors). What he found was, that in all cases, there existed a correlation between protestantism and "capitalistic success." This lead him to the conclusion that protestants aren't merely more materially successfully than others by chance, but that there was something inherent within protestantism that produced individuals who were oriented towards accumulation. In other words, the ideas and beliefs of protestants were having an effect on the material world.
This contradicted Marx's philosophy in that Marx believed that ideology obscured reality, instead of illuminating it. Marx believed that Religion was "handed down" by capitalist elites. Weber, on the other hand, provided evidence of the contrary. Capitalism wasn't producing protestantism as an "opiate for the masses." Protestantism was, in part, producing capitalism.
The reformation (which was rebellion against the catholic church) brought about the idea that salvation cannot be earned. Martin Luther, the leader of this reformation, argued that the Catholic church cannot simply sell access to heaven (as it had been doing) and that no mortal could influence God's decision as to who is "saved" and who is "damned." Instead, whether you go to heaven or not has already been decided by God long before you were even born.
This was the ultimate disenchantment of the world, according to Weber, because it removed all "magic" from the world and placed in solely into God's hands. The world was merely a place of temporary importance. All the things in the material realm, in the eyes of the protestants, were superfluous in the sense that the only thing that truly mattered was eternal salvation. This tended to erase "sacred barriers" which often prevented development of the land. They began to see the world as "fair game" and as something which was to be manipulated, not necessarily preserved.
One's life conduct was seen by protestants to be evidence of their salvation. That your, "proof of election" was how well you dedicated yourself to your vocation, or calling, and how successful you were at accumulation. The vocation was no longer simply a way to make money in order to keep on living comfortably. The vocation was now of ethical significance. Work was no longer a means to an end, but an end in itself. Although, you could not influence God's decision as to whether you were saved or not, your hard work and material success was a way for you to prove to yourself, and others, that you were in fact one of God's chosen ones.
Luther, however, did not advocate for indulgence in that material wealth. Instead, one was supposed to accumulate for the sake of accumulation in an ascetic and methodical manner. This wealth, along with the rest of the material world, was superfluous. The only thing that mattered was eternal salvation. Therefore, indulging in this material wealth was seen to be sinful and ultimately distracting from the ultimate goal of eternal salvation.
All the above mentioned qualities exhibited by protestants are also qualities exhibited by modern capitalists like Warren Buffet. These modern capitalists often save up their wealth without ever enjoying it. They work for the sake of working and they see work as an opportunity for producing wealth which goes way beyond their needs. The idea that one should stop working as soon as they've earned enough money to reproduce oneself is looked down on.
The United States has its roots in protestantism and therefore many Americans have this "sprit of capitalism" within them. In fact, Americans work longer hours than any other country in the developed world. We also tend to orient ourselves, our identity, and our self worth around our vocation. When people first meet each other, for example, they tend to tend to ask each other about each others career and career goals. This "sprit of capitalism," according to Weber, was partly given to us by Protestantism and its tendency to produce individual whom are interested in proving they are one of God's chosen. This disenchantment of the world was what allowed capitalists to innovate where there was once only ritual and tradition.
Weber statistically analyzed countries which consisted of protestants in some form (majority, minority, oppressed, oppressors). What he found was, that in all cases, there existed a correlation between protestantism and "capitalistic success." This lead him to the conclusion that protestants aren't merely more materially successfully than others by chance, but that there was something inherent within protestantism that produced individuals who were oriented towards accumulation. In other words, the ideas and beliefs of protestants were having an effect on the material world.
This contradicted Marx's philosophy in that Marx believed that ideology obscured reality, instead of illuminating it. Marx believed that Religion was "handed down" by capitalist elites. Weber, on the other hand, provided evidence of the contrary. Capitalism wasn't producing protestantism as an "opiate for the masses." Protestantism was, in part, producing capitalism.
Ideas Matter
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| Martin Luther |
This was the ultimate disenchantment of the world, according to Weber, because it removed all "magic" from the world and placed in solely into God's hands. The world was merely a place of temporary importance. All the things in the material realm, in the eyes of the protestants, were superfluous in the sense that the only thing that truly mattered was eternal salvation. This tended to erase "sacred barriers" which often prevented development of the land. They began to see the world as "fair game" and as something which was to be manipulated, not necessarily preserved.
One's life conduct was seen by protestants to be evidence of their salvation. That your, "proof of election" was how well you dedicated yourself to your vocation, or calling, and how successful you were at accumulation. The vocation was no longer simply a way to make money in order to keep on living comfortably. The vocation was now of ethical significance. Work was no longer a means to an end, but an end in itself. Although, you could not influence God's decision as to whether you were saved or not, your hard work and material success was a way for you to prove to yourself, and others, that you were in fact one of God's chosen ones.
Luther, however, did not advocate for indulgence in that material wealth. Instead, one was supposed to accumulate for the sake of accumulation in an ascetic and methodical manner. This wealth, along with the rest of the material world, was superfluous. The only thing that mattered was eternal salvation. Therefore, indulging in this material wealth was seen to be sinful and ultimately distracting from the ultimate goal of eternal salvation.
How this translates to modern capitalism
The United States has its roots in protestantism and therefore many Americans have this "sprit of capitalism" within them. In fact, Americans work longer hours than any other country in the developed world. We also tend to orient ourselves, our identity, and our self worth around our vocation. When people first meet each other, for example, they tend to tend to ask each other about each others career and career goals. This "sprit of capitalism," according to Weber, was partly given to us by Protestantism and its tendency to produce individual whom are interested in proving they are one of God's chosen. This disenchantment of the world was what allowed capitalists to innovate where there was once only ritual and tradition.
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