Question

For Weber, how did ascetic Protestantism contribute to the proliferation of the spirit of capitalism? Make sure to define the different elements of the ascetic Protestantism and the spirit of capitalism and then show how they are connected to each other.

Answer 1

The essay gives us brief insight how ascetic protestantism is connected to the spirit of capitalism. Webes provided an argument how religious ideas lead to the spirit of capitalism . He developed correlation between the protestant and modern capitalism and offers a clear cut argument .According to him the spirit of capitalism sees profit as end to itself . The path to get profit is seen a virtue . When he relates this to the protestanism he connects it to the concept of worldly calling . This activity which is done worldy is given a religious character by him .Then he explains this with the help of a branch of protestantism . This branch is called Calvinism in which Godaa has already decided who will be saved from the doom and who will be doomed . The calvinist viewpoint sees the success in these worldly activities . From their perspective they see profit and value as a sign of success according to god .According to Weber this kind of new perspective led in breakdown of traditional religious practices .

                                             In the book Weber is not saying that Protestantism wholeheartedly led to the spirit of capitalism but it was one of the vital factors . Weber also says that his analysis has some limitations .