max weber's the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism

Weber, however, eschews historical materialism in favor of focusing on how religious attitudes shaped socioeconomic systems in the first place. In many ways, his text responds to Marx’s concern with the development and future of capitalism. Weber was very familiar with Marxism, but also very critical of it. According to this method, Marx concluded that modern capitalism was doomed to implode when the lower class grew frustrated enough with their situation to rebel. He applied an approach known as historical materialism, which analyzed previous socioeconomic systems as a means of explaining historical attitudes and events. For Marx, capitalism entailed a central conflict between the upper and lower classes. Marxism, a set of theories developed by the famous German socialist Karl Marx in the mid-19th century, explained modern society as the result of class struggles. In Weber’s time, Marxism had sparked new enthusiasm for studying the origins of industrial capitalism in the West. Much of the controversy around Weber’s text stemmed in particular from the ways in which he responded to Karl Marx. All of these questions were at the forefront of scholars’ minds, and Weber’s text served to contribute to their ongoing conversations on these topics. These include the historical origins of capitalism, explaining religious influences in society, and the direction in which humanity was headed at the beginning of the 20th century. Weber’s text addresses a number of issues that were particularly pertinent in his own time.

In many ways, controversy over the text was inevitable given the material Weber chose to analyze. However, this did not resolve the fact that the text’s central thesis was controversial. He would go on to revise the essay and add numerous explanatory footnotes for republication in 1920.

When it was first published as a book in 1905, Weber’s work met with heavy criticism and confusion. Weber’s work must thus be contextualized both by the time of its publication, and by the historical period it concerned itself with. The text centers itself on a discussion of the 16th century Reformation period, and attempts to trace how this period influenced the capitalist values of Weber’s time.

It evolved into a more cohesive work over time, as Weber incorporated responses to criticism and reworked some of his ideas. Weber’s text was first written in 1904 as a series of essays.

Max weber's the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism