The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

by Max Weber, Talcott Parsons, Richard H. Tawney

Paperback, 320 pages

English language

Published April 4, 2003 by Dover Publications.

ISBN:: 978-0-486-42703-4
OCLC Number:: 51009409

(10 reviews)

Max Weber's best-known and most controversial work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, first published in 1904, remains to this day a powerful and fascinating read. Weber's highly accessible style is just one of many reasons for his continuing popularity. The book contends that the Protestant ethic made possible and encouraged the development of capitalism in the West. Widely considered as the most informed work ever written on the social effects of advanced capitalism, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism holds its own as one of the most significant books of the twentieth century. The book is one of those rare works of scholarship which no informed citizen can afford to ignore.

1 edition

decadent_and_depraved reviewed The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Richard H. Tawney

Review of 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Competently written and methodically argued.
What I truly appreciate about this book is its limited scope. Weber knew what he was trying to argue. He did not generalize, nor did he attempt to construct some sort of a meta-narrative out of his insights.
This work is also a good critique of the Marxist wholly materialist interpretation of the rise of religion. It serves more as a companion to it, rather than the outright antagonist. Material conditions alone do not shape religion, nor does religion alone shape the material conditions. Material conditions and religion rhyme and influence each other!