The spirit of capitalism
You read this week Chapter 1, “the spirit of capitalism” about this work ethic that was emerging, where it was important to do things well for their own sake and not just to get something out of it. Take a moment and think of your own life and experiences you have had, or people you have known, and tell me about something or someone, or some time in your life when, if you look back now, after reading Weber, you can really see this “spirit of capitalism” thing, as he describes it, in action.
Portion of the reading: If we now trace this word historically and across the languages of the great civilizations, it quickly becomes apparent that an expression denoting a calling (in the sense of endowing work, as a demarcated arena, with a position in one’s life) is just as little known among the predominantly Catholic peoples as it was among the peoples of classical antiquity. I Such an expression, however, does exist among all predominantly Protestant peoples. It is further apparent that a diffuse, unique ethnic character of the languages in question (such as the expression spirit of the German people implies) is not the issue here, On the contrary, the present-day meaning of the term the calling derives from Bible translations—indeed not from the spirit of but from the spirit of the translators.2
Answer preview for The spirit of capitalism
Access the full answer containing 310 words by clicking the below purchase button.