He determines that "the age old problem of theodicy consists of the very question of how it is that a power which is said to be at once omnipotent and kind could have created such an irrational world of undeserved suffering, unpunished injustice and hopeless stupidity." (Gerth et al., 122) Here, he inclines the understanding that religious institutions may serve to most as a preexistent institution by which the individual conscience may be explored.
With that in mind, Weber allows us to turn our attention to America, which would be a significant influence on his writing and on his endorsement of capitalism. To his perspective, the resonance between Protestant value and the capitalist principles of the United States would be a natural integration of two social characteristics defined by context. The frontier would be a sensible place for the theretofore hierarchically diminished Protestant to assume a new approach to social orientation. As Weber phrases it, "the simple fact of working in quite different surroundings from those to which one is accustomed breaks through the tradition and is the educative force. It is hardly necessary to remark how much of American economic development is the result of such factors." (Weber, 2) Here, he would make the essential argument that the religion and its context would conspire to justify the implications of capitalism.
Naturally, as we draw our discussion with respect to the United States, it is well understood that social stratification does still exist and is in many ways precipitated by the negative implications of capitalism. And the devotion of many western capitalists to overarching religious tenets as warranting their economic activities has assisted in America's severity of social stratification. However, in Weber's text, which we can now read with a well-informed hindsight, it is easy to detect an affinity for that which is implied by the United States constitution. Particularly, the explicit religious and the moral imperatives which connect the economic principles of the United States with its spiritual grounding promote -- at least on the surface...
Another approach taken by Weber in this study consists in explaining the characteristics of the bureaucracy. In the opinion of the author, this term may occur only in "political and ecclesiastical communities only in the modern state, and in the private economy only in the most advanced institutions of capitalism" ("The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism"). Moreover, the principle on which it is established is that of office
For the author, the Church had "institutional preconditions" that made capitalism emerge and develop for as early as the High Middle Ages which occurred between the 14th and 15th centuries. The Church organization showed several features that were also manifested in Protestantism, or more generally, in nations that have developed a capitalist economic society: (1) the growth of rationalized technology and (2) institutional transformation. In terms of the growth of
Any one who tried to gain enough power and wealth would be considered a threat to the power of the church and was therefore quickly deposed of their wealth. Weber proposed that even though Catholics tolerated a greater display of outward wealth, Protestant doctrines asked the followers to concentrate on mundane pursuits. It also asks its followers to accept a lower station in life without a hierarchical structure to force
.. "answers in his autobiography with a quotation from the Bible: "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings. (Proverbs 22:29)." Weber's explanation of the rise of capitalism through the rise of Protestantism in Western Europe and in the United States is also a criticism of another sociologist and economist's theories, Karl Marx. The latter also use religion to find explanation for overwhelmingly numerous human activities,
Weber and Marx on Labor In the 19th century, leading social theorists such as Karl Marx and Max Weber believed that because its many inherent contradictions, the capitalist system would inevitably fall into a decline. More than a century later, however, the capitalist system is far from dead. Rather, it appears to be further entrenched, encircling the world in the stranglehold of globalization. Despite the continued growth of capitalism, however, this paper argues
Max Weber's "THE PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM," "Religious Affiliation and Social Stratification," discusses the relationship between the religion and financial status. Weber associated financial status with Protestantism and with the idea of people wanting to have more financial independence as a result of detaching themselves from the Catholic Church. The writer does, however, emphasize that it would be difficult and almost impossible to verify this theory,
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