Weber Max Weber's Protestant Ethic Research Proposal

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He determines that "the age old problem of theodicy consists of the very question of how it is that a power which is said to be at once omnipotent and kind could have created such an irrational world of undeserved suffering, unpunished injustice and hopeless stupidity." (Gerth et al., 122) Here, he inclines the understanding that religious institutions may serve to most as a preexistent institution by which the individual conscience may be explored.

With that in mind, Weber allows us to turn our attention to America, which would be a significant influence on his writing and on his endorsement of capitalism. To his perspective, the resonance between Protestant value and the capitalist principles of the United States would be a natural integration of two social characteristics defined by context. The frontier would be a sensible place for the theretofore hierarchically diminished Protestant to assume a new approach to social orientation. As Weber phrases it, "the simple fact of working in quite different surroundings from those to which one is accustomed breaks through the tradition and is the educative force. It is hardly necessary to remark how much of American economic development is the result of such factors." (Weber, 2) Here, he would make the essential argument that the religion and its context would conspire to justify the implications of capitalism.

Naturally, as we draw our discussion with respect to the United States, it is well understood that social stratification does still exist and is in many ways precipitated by the negative implications of capitalism. And the devotion of many western capitalists to overarching religious tenets as warranting their economic activities has assisted in America's severity of social stratification. However, in Weber's text, which we can now read with a well-informed hindsight, it is easy to detect an affinity for that which is implied by the United States constitution.

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Particularly, the explicit religious and the moral imperatives which connect the economic principles of the United States with its spiritual grounding promote -- at least on the surface -- a definable interest in ethical humanism. Indeed, he specifies, "the concept spirit of capitalism is here used in this specific sense, it is the spirit of modern capitalism. For that we are here dealing only with Western European and American capitalism is obvious from the way in which the problem was stated. Capitalism existed in China, India, Babylon, in the classic world, and in the Middle Ages. But in all these cases, as we shall see, this particular ethos was lacking." (Weber, 16) While we may be less likely to accept the universality today of Protestant dominance as reflecting philosophical evolution -- particularly given the social stratification in clear evidence in America today -- Weber's point here on the connection between moral imperative and economic distribution is well taken.

To this point, an effective one upon which to conclude, we may deduce that in fact Weber's text echoes the ambitions of the U.S. Constitution, which has clearly been a significant influence on his theses. This is to denote that whether or not his endorsement of capitalism resonates with a realistic observation of its effects on social inequality today, his assumptions are based on the belief that this economic structure could beget a morally sound society. Today, this remains an unproven and highly debated ideal of capitalism -- and without the intent to be inflammatory, some might say the same of religion and its connection thereto. In either regard, such nations as America exist on this convergence of ideals, leaving its people and those influenced by it to continue the struggle to realize the ambitions articulated by Weber.

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