The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - one of the most enduring and influential books in academia - is a starting point toward understanding the multiple dimensions of social change. One of the most frequently assigned readings in sociology as well as in political science, history, and economics, The Protestant Ethic presents the continuing debates about the main elements of modern life: capitalism, our "common sense" economic determinism and "rational choices," relationships between cultural forces and social structures, the tension between religion and science, the cultural foundations of democracy, economic cultures and business ethics, and the future of modern capitalism. Translated by internationally acclaimed Weberian scholar Stephen Kalberg, The Protestant Ethic explores the continuing debate regarding the origins and legacy of modern capitalism in the West, plumbing the deep cultural forces that affect contemporary work life and the workplace in the United States and Europe. Kalberg investigates the contribution of this classical study for understanding the role played by cultural forces in modern economic development and discusses the wide-ranging impact today of ascetic Protestantism on the American work ethic. Further, Kalberg offers a precise and nuanced rendering of The Protestant Ethic that captures Weber's style as well as the unusual subtlety of his descriptions and causal arguments. Kalberg's standardization of Weber's terminology facilitates understanding of the various twists and turns in his complex lines of reasoning. This newly revised classic includes a completely new section, "Other Writings on the Rise of the West," where many of Max Weber's diverse writings on this topic are here brought together for the first time in one volume. This section covers Weber's later writings on comparative religion, the "economic ethics" of the major world religions, and the distinct features of the Western city, forms of law and rulership, industrial capitalism, and the state. Comparisons throughout to China and India illuminate the uniqueness of the West's trajectory and its causes. A separate section examines the long-range influence of the ascetic Protestant sects and churches on American society.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Max Weber on the Rise of the West I. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Translated by Stephen Kalberg Introduction to the Translation Introduction to The Protestant Ethic The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Part I. The Problem 1. Religious Affiliation and Social Stratification 2. The Spirit of Capitalism Luther's Conception of the Calling Task of the Investigation Part II. The Vocational Calling of Ascetic Protestantism 4. The Religious Foundations of This-Worldly Asceticism 4a. Calvinism 4b. Pietism 4c. Methodism 4d. The Baptizing Sects: The Quakers, Baptists, and Mennonites 5. Asceticism and the Spirit of Capitalism "The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism" Prefatory Remarks to Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion II. Beyond The Protestant Ethic: The Protestant Sects in America and the Uniqueness of Western Rationalism Introduction A) "The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism" B) "'Churches' and 'Sects' in North America" C) "A 'Final Rebuttal' to a Critic of 'Spirit of Capitalism'" D) From the Protestant Ethic Thesis to the Uniqueness of nWestern Rationalism: "Prefatory Remarks" to Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion (1920) III. Behind The Protestant Ethic: The Rise of the West in Weber's Comparative Sociology of Religion Introduction A) From Stereotyped Magic and Ritual to Prophecy and the Ethic of Conviction: Religion and the Economy B) The Supra-Mundane God and the Immanent Divine Power: Prophecy, Asceticism, Mysticism, and the Rational Elements of a Religion C) Mysticism, Asceticism, the Economy, and Everyday Conduct D) Carrier Strata, the Theoretical Rationalism of Intellectuals, and World Views as "Tracks" E) The Decisive Differences Between Eastern and Western Salvation IV. Demarcating the Uniqueness of the West Through Comparisons: Magic's Decline and the Economic Ethics of the World Religions Introduction A) India 1) Hinduism 2) Buddhism B) China: Confucianism C) Confucianism and Puritanism D) Judaism E) The Middle East: Islam F) The West: Ancient Christianity and Catholicism V. The "Other Side": Interests and the Rise of Modern Capitalism Introduction A) Comparative Cases: China and India 1) China: The Chinese Empire, Deep Kinship Ties, Sib Fetters Upon the Economy, and the Patrimonial Structure of Law 2) India: Clan Ties, Guilds, Castes, and Traditionalism B) The Ancient and Medieval Cities in the West: Fraternization, Incorporation, and the Dissolution of Clan Ties C) The Putting-Out System, Modes of Financing, Mercantilism, and the Factory D) The Definition of Modern Capitalism, and the Relationship of Feudalism and Patrimonialism to Capitalism E) The West's Cross-State Competition vs. Hierocracy and Caesaropapism F) Juridical Formalism and the Rational State G) Ethos and Education under Feudalism and Patrimonialism, Clerical Education, and the Puritans' Mass Intellectualism H) Modern Science, Protestantism, and Freedom of Conscience I) Bureaucratization, Democracy, and Modern Capitalism J) The Impersonality of the Market and Discipline in the Modern Capitalist Factory Appendices Appendix I: Weber's Summary Statements on "the Protestant Ethic Thesis" A) The Development of the Capitalist Frame of Mind (1919-1920) B) "A 'Fin
