“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings” (Proverbs 22:29). This verse from the Bible describes Max Weber’s argument of the relationship between business and religion. He basically describes the way Calvinism, a doctrine of the Protestant religion, had effects on capitalism.
The ethics of the Protestant religion were the main factors that affected capitalism. One of these characteristics was how the religion “acted powerfully against the spontaneous enjoyment of possessions” (Seeing Ourselves p. 348). This statement basically described the way materialistic things and earthly possessions were not to be pleasured too much. The second characteristic was described by Weber saying the religion “restricted consumption, especially of the luxuries” (Seeing Ourselves p. 348). This characteristic shows how Weber thought the Prote
These characteristics of Protestantism were believed to help shape the foundation of capitalism in Weber’s opinion. Because all of these factors proved the followers of this religion saved money, spent it wisely, and accumulated only the things of necessity, this “work-and-save” attitude aided capitalism in several ways. One way was working hard and to the best of their ability. This promoted the development of capitalism because strong workers resulted in strong companies which lead to a strong economy. After the people would work, they would earn money. However, instead of spending this money on fancy things, they would instead save it and be very frugal with what they did spend. This ability to overcome the desire for unessential items resulted in a rich economy. Because the people would have a hard work ethic and a strong sense of saving, an economy under
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