max weber, the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism

I--THE PROBLEM

(1-8): DOMINATION AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

(2): KEY--weber here suggests that casting off the fetters of the catholic church not be read as a casting off of 'authority'--but, in fact, the "replacement of the previous form of authority with a different one." in fact, a more strict one--protestants cast off the diktats of pope and priest, only to submit their will to an ethic that was more taxing and more severe.

(3,4): protestants more likely to pursue technical/commercial education, more likely to move from craftwork to skilled work/management (whereas catholics prefer to become master craftsmen)

(4): weber mentions that he would have expected them to, as a minority, have a greater proportion of their leaders in business (since the State is closed to them).

(4): in observing that jews and poles and others have done precisely what catholics are proving unable to do, it seems like this is becoming an argument about protestantism, only implicitly. even though it is early going, yet, this ought to say something about the contingency of the thesis?

(5-6): not 'unworldliness' of one vs. 'worldliness' of other -- too meaningless

(7): KEY--the ethic is not connected to the "enlightenment" or "progress," he wants to stress. as such, "if an inner affinity is... found..., we must try... to seek it not in its more or less materialistic... enjoyment of life, but rather in its purely religious features." [in other words, to 'fit' the modern world it has been adapted, in a sense; it is not marked with 'modernity,' at all]

(8-28): THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM

(8-9): this is important and interesting--he is committed, explicitly, to a methodology soaked in history. absolutely anti-positivist, in this sense [a "definition" is not possible, but only a "provisional illustration"]

(11): here we see the first mention of 'instrumental rationality'--"the increase of his wealth... is assumed to be an end in itself." appended to this, then, is also a sense in the ethical correctness of this position, though only in an unapologetically "utilitarian" sense (wherein "the appearence of virtue" is an appropriate substitute for "virtue," because it is all about the result and effect obtained)

(12): but note: this is entirely detached from hedonism or whatever else. it is so "purely thought of as an end in itself."

(12-13): the concept of diligence "in one's calling" makes an appearance, as an "essential element"--weber is even pointing out its familiar but non-obvious nature. important.

(13): important--not so concerned with the re-generation of this kind of an 'ethic', today (as in, it is not even an option if you'd like to compete on a market). this is, primarily it seems, an inquiry into its origins ("it obviously first had to come into being... as an attitude held in common") (see also 18)

(13): first mention of "naive historical materialism."

(14): here, a point to hang a critique on--in MA, the spirit of capitalism preceded "capitalist development." [for one, it's not clear that the spirit of capitalism need only exist in fully-fledged capitalism for historical materialism to be helpful--it seems like it would be might helpful for the yeomanry]

(14): it's not greed that is the explanandum, he's reminding us -- this he sees everywhere. it's something much more specific.

(16): already, we are specifying the object of study, further than the term itself implies (for Weber here is seeing persistent 'precapitalist' modes of behaviour amongst laborers; an alternative, of course, is that these are their own kind of spirits of capitalism)

(18): here the nature of evidence is downright pathetic ("a relative told me" that pietist girls are more conscientious, "as a result of a religious upbringing").

(19): specifying what exactly "traditionalism" means in this narrative--something like werner sombardt's argument, but different. roughly, here, a subsistence economy oriented to "traditional needs."

(19): a provisional definition--"We shall nevertheless provisionally use the expression 'spirit of capitalism' for that attitude which, in the pursuit of a calling, strives systematically for profit for its own sake in the manner exemplified by Benjamin Franklin."

(19-20): a summary passage, of sorts: "We do this [i.e., the above] for the historical reason that this attitude has found its most adequate expression in the capitalist enterprise, and conversely the capitalist enterprise has found in this attitude its most adequate spiritual motivation."

(20): a point to interrogate, here--what does he mean when he says that 'big banks' and businesses, in general, can be run in a 'traditionalist' spirit? it must be historically-specific, since he has earlier discussed the sink or swim character of the economy.

(20): the "peasants" were the craftsman's principal clients?

(21): this is CRUCIAL, to his argument (this history)--he is depicting a capitalist 'form' of organization (the craftshop, and the putter-out), but run in a thoroughly 'traditionalist' spirit (easy working hours, amount of work, the traditional clientele). in other words, here we have capitalism, weber thinks, without the spirit of capitalism. the key change that he wants to to document, then, is not the formal changes that he admits will come later--but before those formal changes, a change in spirit [but isn't the objection obvious?]

(21-22): here one person is the catalyst--it is strange, because the 'spirit of capitalism' is only necessary in the way in which he wants it to be, at one very critical moment' (at a turning point). from there, everything works itself out, without it.

(22): KEY--the thesis: "In such cases (and this is the main point), it was not normally an influx of new money that brought about this revolution--in a number of cases known to me as the entire 'revolutionizing process' was set in motion with a few thousand marks capital borrowed from relatives: it was the new spirit at work--the 'spirit of capitalism.'"

(23): anticipates one of my objections, which is that this new 'spirit' is defined more by what is not (i.e., a loss of respect for the Church, etc.), though he is here only acknowledging its importance.

(24): irrationality of this spirit--"whereby a man exists for his business, not vice versa."

(24): the capitalist entrepreneur "ideal type" (marked, in particular, by asceticism)

(25): Ben Franklin would have been unthinkable, as an ethical ideal, in early years

(26): here, again, noting that Ben Franlkin ideal type emerged in a virtually non-commercial economy (this takes us back to the question of evolution of capitalist 'form')

(26): "To speak of a 'reflection' of the 'material' conditions in the 'superstructure of ideas' would be sheer nonsense here." [but (a) the evidence is shaky; (b) this is not really the proposition of historical materialism (fields and 'propaganda')]

(27): not as simple as seeing development of this 'spirit' as part of the total development of 'rationalist' spirit (this seems to be part of the larger re-reading of the role of the Enlightenment)

(27): this is critical to the argument--we must speak of different forms that rationalism can take ("It is possible to 'rationalize' life from extremely varied ultimate standpoints and in very different dirctions.")

(28-36): LUTHER'S CONCEPTION OF THE CALLING

(29): KEY--"What was definitely new was the estimation of fulfillment of duty within secular callings as being of the absolutely highest level possible for moral activity" (i.e., with the Reformation)

(29-33): exposition of Luther's views within larger theological context starts here. and importantly here it is made clear that Luther, himself, did not deliver a 'rational'/modern reading of the Bible--his was traditionalist. it's only the concept of the 'calling' which gets picked up on, that is potentially anti-traditional. to be clear, though, the calling as deployed by Luther is traditional, insofar as it accepts 'destiny.'

(33): "What we are looking for... cannot be directly derived from Luther's position..."

(33): on to Calvin--the "real enemy" of Catholicism (the "ethical pecularity" of Calvinism)

(35): an important note, which has been made before--we are not looking for an intentional exposition of the spirit of capitalism (indeed, what it became was largely 'unforseen' and even 'unwished for', he says--obviously for Luther but also for Calvin)

(36): another jibe at the materialist doctrine.

(36): here, KEY clarification of the bounds of his investigation: "We have no intention of defending any such foolishly doctrinaire thesis asthat the 'capitalist spirit)... let alone capitalism itslf, could only arise as a result of certain influences of the Reformation. The very fact that certain important forms of capitalist business are considerably older than the Reformation would invalidate such a thesis. We intend, rather, to establish whether and to what extent religious influences have in fact been partially responsible for the qualitative shaping and the quantitative expansion of that 'spirit' across the world, and what concrete aspects of capitalist culture originate from them." ["elective affinities" -- (1) this parsing of the object of analysis is important, but is it sufficient? it gives Weber an all-too-easy theoretical escape point, where his objective, now, is essentially to closely investigate the somewhat 'banal'; (2) there is an important investigation to be conducted into the nature of the capitalist 'form' -- here he speaks about old, 'capitalist' business preceding the spirit of capitalism. but what does this term mean, exactly? he has not yet given us a clear definition]

(46): tsk, tsk -- again, anectodal evidence

(48): not just in dialogue with Marxist materialism (Sombardt claims this ethical aspect is a 'product')

(49): overheard at SDP conferences ('anyone who doesn't toe the line will be kicked out')--"Party discipline is the reflection of factory discipline."

(50): alluding to need for 'discipline' (this is explicitly different, though, from the sense of the calling as it exists in the entrepreneur. we should in fact inquire more closely into the precise class position of the explanandum--see pg. 51: "it was the rising petite bourgeoisie... who were the 'typical' bearers of capitalist and Calvinist church polity.")

(61): Cromwell and the Irish--justified invasion on basis of English Capital having educated Irish in the habits of work(!)

II--THE IDEA OF THE CALLING IN ASCETIC PROTESTANTISM

(67-69): THE RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS OF INNERWORLDLY ASCETICISM

(67): the four historical bearers of "ascetic protestantism": 1. Calvinism; 2. Pietism; 3. Methodism; 4. Bapitst sects

(69): not looking so much for explicit moral imperatives--but, rather, the "pyschological drives" which led people to behave in a certain way (this obviously relates to the discussion of rational/irrational)

(69): 'ideal type' technique as dialectical?

(69-87): CALVINISM

(69-70): the docrine of 'election by grace', whose importance consists in its 'effects' on cultural history. "it was primarily this aspect of Ca;vonism which was felt to be a danger to the state and was attacked by the authorities."

(72): first of two paths to this doctrine consists in knowledge of our total impotence and sinfulness. thus, it is only by god's grace that i could be redeemed, and not through my own action (i am insignificant, again) [Weber is noting that this doctrine faded from Luther, but was amplified in Calvin)

(72): "God was not there for the sake of men, but men were there for the sake of God... only a small proportion of humanity was called to salvation..."

(73): "...his decrees could only be understood or known in any way to the extent that he had seen fit to reveal them to us."

(73): goodness!--"For every creature was separated from God by an unbridgeable gulf and deserved only eternal death except in so far as he, for the greater glory of his majesty, had willed differently." [and it can't be that you can do good deeds and be saved--for that would mean humans had influenced God!]

(73): important--the principal consequence of this doctrine, weber's arguing, was to engender a profound sense of "loneliness" ("no one and nothing could help him.")

(74): this, he adds, was the basis "for the absolutely negative attitude of Puritanism towards all sensual and emotional elements in culture and subjective religiosity" [the asceticism--rejection of "every kind of culture of the senses"]

(74): here, a contrast between the "individualism" this engeders, and the Englightenment's view of men (which was decidedly more optimistic). "The Calvinist's relationship with his God was carried on in profound inner isolation."

(75): important--tracing how we get to the "calling," from this condition of "inner isolation." "The world was desinted to serve the self-glorification of God, and the Christian existed to do his part to increase the praise of God in the world..." more or less, then, because you find yourself in a vocation that God has willed, for you.

(76): "...labor in the service of this social usefulness furthers the divine glory and is willed by God."

(76-77): here arises the question re: 'my' election--how will i know? this, for the ordinary believer, became the question of "overriding importance."

(77): KEY: aside from belieiving in one's state of grace as 'duty', "tireless labor in a calling was urged as the best possible means of attaining this self-assurance."

(78): "The communion of God with the recipients of his grace cnan only take place and be consciously experienced by God's working in them and by their becoming conscious of this..."

(79): and thus, by being sure that his conduct is "based on a strength dwelling within him which is capable of increasing the glory of God... he attains that supreme prize... the certainty of grace." works, even if not sufficient, are still 'indispensable for salvation.'

(79): this means, then, that God will only help those who help themselves; the Calvinist 'creates' the certainty of salvation himself.

(79-80): KEY--elucidating the difference with catholicism: "It further means that what he crates cannot consist, as in Catholicism, in a gradual storing up of meritorious individual achievements; instead, it consists in a form of systematic self-examination which is constantly faced with the question: elect or reprobate?" in other words, it is not 'individual, atypical good works' that are desired by God--but a kind of 'santctification by works' that is being "raised up to the level of a system"

(80-82): the ascetic character of Reformed sects comes in this domination of life by the quest for certainty of salvation (this, he describes as its rationalization)--"the goal of asceticism was... to be able to lead a watchful, aware, alert life."

(82): the key difference between this asceticism and Catholic monastic asceticism consists in the fact that the former leads you into the world (into "secular everyday life"), whereas the latter takes you out of it.

(83): Calvinism contributes, also, a positive motive to this asceticism: the idea that one must "put one's faith to the test." And this, for the larger discussion, will be key, Weber's saying (see 86)

(83): weber is suggesting that this fervent commitment leads Calvinists to view others as God's enemies (yet it is unclear, really, why this follows, uniquely)

(84): importance of Old, and not New, Testament to the formation of these beliefs.

(85-87): KEY--Calvinism takes the "systematization of the ethical conduct of life" to a new level--Christianity permeates the "whole of existence." The key point, then, is that Lutheranism could not do this--it's doctrine of 'faith alone' could not provide the powerful psychological impulse "to be systematic in the conduct of life, and thus to enforce the methodical rationalization of life." Calvin's doctrine of predestination was only one of a number of ways in which this psychological impulse was generated. Now we move to the others.

(87-95): PIETISM

(88):"The movement aims to draw the invisible church of the 'saints' visibly together on earth... to lead a life which is dead to the influences of the world and based on the will of God in every detail, so that the daily outward signs manifest in their conduct may make them sure of their regenerate state."

(88-89): but the key difference between Pietism and Calvinism consists in the former's view of the "emotional side"--it "directs the practice of religion toward the enjoyment of bliss in this world instead of the ascetic struggle to secure a future in the next."

(89): however, this is not practically manifested, he's arguing (i am not following the argument for why, exactly--seems contingent, see 90). rather, "the practical effect of Pietist principles is merely an even stricter ascetic control of morality in the calling than that which is provided by the mere worldly 'respectability' of the normal Reformed Christian..."

(93): nonetheless, the basis of Pietism's asceticism "falls well short of the iron consistency of Calvinism."

(93): a summary passage of Calvinist spirit--useful.

(95-98): METHODISM

(95-96): anglo-american equivalent to continental pietism--a similar emphasis on the 'emotional', on the 'feeling of being certain of grace and God.

(96): "joyful assurance" in place of the "morose" anxiety of the Calvinists

(97): important--at the same time, however, something less than Pietism is going on: "The emotional act of conversion was brought about methodically, but its achievement was not followed by a pious enjoyment of communion with God in the style of the emotional Pietism... instead, the emotion thereby awakened was immediately directd into the path of the rational striving for perfection."

(98): BUT--he concludes by identifying its irrelevance wrt to the establishment of the idea of the calling; methodism will only be important for the "manner of its organization," which is where its particularity lies.

(98-105): THE BAPTIST MOVEMENT

(98): this has a more important place in our argument, since the middle two were sort of secondary, derived phenomena: "A second autonomous bearer of Protestant asceticism alongside Calvinism is the Baptist movement."

(99-100): the church as tightly-knit group--as "sect" -- the 'old' baptist attitude, then, consists in 'shunning' the world. this entails, like the Calvinists, a renunciation of all the pleasures of the world, too.

(101): important--entails, as well, "absolute subordination to the authority of God... the corresponding manner of life is thus a condition of salvation." they reject predestination--and thus, the "specifically methodical character of Baptist morality rests above all on the idea of 'waiitng' upon the working of the spirit..." effected practically, this translates into a "supremely conscientious character."

(103): summary passage: Bapitist and Quaker asceticism manifests itself in capitalist ethics of 'honesty is best policy' a la benjamin franklin. for the Calvinists, we see more he "unleashing of the individual's economic energy in the pursuit of private gain." but these will be systematized more clearly in the next section.

(103): we are interested, here, not in Church discipline--but in "the effects of the subjective appropriation of ascetic religiosity on the conduct of the individual."

(103): we are speaking of a kind of regulation, yes (as was argued at the outset) -- but a regulation that is eminently individual (not State or Church-mediated)

(104): best summary of the argument, thus far--"The consequence for the individual was the drive to keep a methodical check on his state of grace as shown in how he conducted his life and thus to ensure that his life was imbued with asceticism. This ascetic style of life, however... meant a rational shaping of one's whole existence in obedience to God's will... This rationalization of the conduct of life in the world with a view to the beyond is the idea of the calling characteristic of ascetic Protestantism."

(105-122): ASCETICISM AND THE CAPITALIST SPIRIT

(106): Calvin (vs. Baxter), on wealth. But, he's arguing, that Baxter despises wealth only insofar as it is correlated to a kind sloth--"What is really reprehensible is resting on one's posessions... to be sure of his state of grace, man must 'do the works of him who sent him...'"

(107): "every lost hour means one less hour devoted to labor in the service of God's glory."

(107): "Above and beyond this, however, work is the end and purpose of life commanded by God" (entirely different interpretation of the Pauline Principle--as compared to Thomas Aquinas, see 108)

(108): "the calling" as a "command of God to the individual to work to his glory" (as against Lutheranism, which sees it more as a destiny to which one must submit)

(108-109): but here, is this not evidence for the flimsiness of the thesis, in general? for lots of things can be deduced from the 'idea of a calling,' including a deeply anti-capitalist ethic that my station now is, and ought to be, my station forever. is this not symbolic of the kind of reading that is being done, throughout? perhaps the defense, though, would be that the preceding is particularly true of Lutheranism, but not so much in this ascetic Protestantism, where work is not a destiny but a proving-ground. though is that sufficient (see 110, addressed there)? ("The Puritan idea of the calling always emphasizes the methodical character of the asceticisim of the calling, and not, as with Luther, submission to the destiny which God apportions.")

(110): threefold usefulness of a 'calling'--(1) its morality; (2) its usefulness to the community; (3) its profitability

(110): "striving for riches is only dangerous when it is done with the aim of later leading a carefree life of pleasure... to want to be poor, it was often argued, was the same as wanting to be ill."

(111): "and thus, the plain middle-class self-made man enjoys ethical approval in full pressure" (but lots of confusion lies behind this middle-class moniker--are we talking principally of the petit bourgesoisie? or big bourgeoisie as well?)

(111-112): bringing Old Testament norms, back

(112-113): honing in on the argument--"We shall now highlight those particular points in which the Puritan concept of the calling and the insistence on an ascetic conduct of life directly influenced the development of the capitalist style of life."

(113): asceticism, of course, "turns all its force against one thing in particular: the uninhibited enjoyment of life and of the pleasures it has to offer" (Puritans vs. sports on Sunday--'sports' can be tolerated insofar as they "serve the rational purpose of providing sufficient recreation to maintain physical fitness" -- an excellent example of rationalization)

(115): and the spiritual foundation of being a scrooge: "Man was merely the steward of the gifts granted him by God's grace; he, like the wicked servant in the Bible, must give an account of every penny, and it is as the very least dubious whether he should expend any of this money for a purpose which serves not God's glory, but his own pleasure."

(115): summary passage, again: "If we may sum up what has been said so far..." innerworldly Protestant asceticism (1) prohibits enjoyment of posessions, (2) discourages consumption, and (3) liberates the aquisition of wealth from the inhibitions of traditionalist ethics.

(116): opposed, though, to the "striving for wealth for the ultimate purpose of being wealthy." and that is important.

(116-117): KEY--"a religious value was placed on ceaseless, constant, systematic labor in a secular calling as the very highest ascetic path... This was inevitably the most powerful lever imaginable with which to bring about hte spread of that philosophy of life which we have here termed the 'spirit' of capitalism." the restraint on consumption combines with the freedom to pursue profit to produced the creation of capital through the ascetic compulsion to save. [just a note: is a necessary corollary the idea that feelings that are 'spiritual' in nature are also more durable 'psychological drives,' than those that are secular?]

(117): Puritans and the birth of the rational, anti-feudal farmer.

(118): here, he is noting the fact that the wealthier got, the more they were tempted (and prepared) to break with the asceticism of their old ideals--it "...only developed [its] full economic effect after the pinnacle of religious enthusiasm had been left behind..." its principal virtue seems to have been the granting of a clear conscience to the money-maker. "A specifically middle-class ethic of the calling arose."

(119): are we talking about the man's workers, too? this is where I think the explanandum is poorly specified (strategically so).

(119): "he was given the comforting assurance that the unequal distribution of this world's goods was the special work of the providence of God..." interesting--he adds that this, eventually, becomes secularized into the economic doctrine of the "productivity" of low wages (that people will be compelled to work harder if they are poorer)

(119-120): he is answering directly the question about the working-class disciple--that he is content with low-wage work because God has made it so (but this is precisely what i was asking earlier? there is an ambiguity about the ascetic ethic that allows him to explain both the unceasing, instrumental pursuit of wealth and this resignation to low wages. he is having his cake and eating it to). in his defense, i suppose, he adds that this latter phenomenon is not produced by protestantism, but is a feature of the broader ascetic doctrine. though he still maintains that protestantism reinforces this resignation with the idea of the "calling."

(120): IMPORTANT--Weber, and Goethe: here we see the coded lament, I think (as in, he is letting Goethe speak for him). Goethe noted "the basic ascetic motive of hte middle-class style of life," which signaled the 'abandonment of the Faustian universality of humankind..." 'Deed' and 'renunciation' are bound together. "For him this recognition meant a resigned farewell to a period of full and fine humanity, the likes of which we shall not see again in the course of our cultural development..."

(120): "The Puritans wanted to be men of the calling--we, on the other hand, must be."

(121): Weber and Peak Oil!?

(121): important--in a sense, asceticism ended in its opposite: a doctrine which shunned goods (and accepted them only as fruits of God's will; as evidence of God's will, of salvation), has long left us. we now see the dominance of the "outward goods of this world." "Today its spirit ahas fled from this shell... Certainly, victorious capitalism has no further need for this support..."

(121): Weber's clear lament--these people are the pinnacles of cultural development?

(121): and he stops himself, for this historical study was meant to be valueless. interesting relationship to positivism, perhaps--his, at least, is not the standard critique of positivism which foregrounds the necessary subjectivity of the observer, even though his method is certainly anti-positivist.

(122): interesting--what was ostensibly, at the outset, an 'attack' on the materialist doctrine ends up ambivalently (clearly, as he admits, he never purported to replace that reading with a 'spiritual' doctrine). he puts the decision down to future work--it will not be possible, he argues, to begin with the conclusion of the investigation. but here we see the positivist fallacy: "Neither will serve historical truth if they claim to be the conclusion of the investigation rather than merely the preliminary work for it."