Weber tried to use analytical statistics to establish the fact that there is a certain correlation between the interest and success rate of capitalism and the Protestant background. Weber pointed out: "In any country with mixed religious components, as long as we look at the statistics of their occupations, we can find such a situation, almost without exception: business leaders, capital possessors, senior skilled workers in modern enterprises, especially managers with advanced technical training and business training, are mostly Protestants. The more capitalism is liberalized, the more obvious this situation is. "
Weber quoted Benjamin Franklin, a statesman, scientist and writer during the American Revolutionary War, to analyze the spirit of capitalism. Weber believes that although it is hard to say that the capitalist spirit has been completely contained in the words he quoted from Benjamin Franklin, these words do preserve the capitalist spirit we are looking for with almost typical purity. This is "thinking that individuals have the responsibility to increase their own capital, and increasing capital is an end in itself." Violating its norms is considered to be forgetting responsibility, a strange ethics and a spiritual temperament. That is to say, Weber's so-called capitalist spirit means that individuals regard efforts to increase their own capital and activities for this as a conscious action, regard making money as an end in itself, as a professional responsibility, and as a manifestation of virtue and ability. Weber said: "A person's responsibility for obligations is the most representative thing in the social ethics of bourgeois culture. In a sense, it is the fundamental foundation of bourgeois culture."
The ideal capitalism defined by Weber is strictly limited. It is characterized by reasonable calculation of revenue and expenditure and orderly arrangement of production and business activities, rather than obtaining original accumulation through violent means such as robbery and plunder. This economic behavior of modern rational capitalism is completely consistent with the orderly and systematic ascetic lifestyle of Protestants. The asceticism ethics of Protestantism in WTO provides a kind of psychological driving force and moral energy for capitalist entrepreneurs, thus becoming the spiritual driving force for the rise of modern rational capitalism and one of the important conditions for the emergence of modern capitalism.
Rational capitalism and Protestant ethics only appear in western civilization, and, in Weber's view, almost all factors related to rational capitalism are unique to western civilization. From the democratic representative system that lasted from the ancient Greek era to the commercialization means such as stocks, checks and bonds that embody the soul of rationalization, all reflect the characteristics of rationalism. The common feature that distinguishes western civilization from other civilizations is rationalism. Its source can be traced back to the whole western civilization tradition. Different forms of civilization have their own unique spiritual core, in which religion has exerted great influence. The Protestant reform in western Europe was initially promoted by religion, but the secular abstinence spirit and reasonable ethical life shown by Protestant ethics inadvertently promoted the development of economic activities, and Protestant ethics gave the profit-seeking behavior in business a reasonable secular purpose. The ancient religious ethics of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism and other major religions without religious reform have seriously hindered the capitalist development of these ethnic groups. Max Weber is an outstanding sociologist, historian, economist and political scientist in Germany. He is one of the main founders of classical sociology and a pioneer in the comparative study of modern culture. In the west, his name is often associated with the names of Karl Marx and French sociologist Emile Duerk Heim, and he is regarded as the three elites of contemporary sociology. With his profound knowledge, profound attainments and extremely rich writings, he became a giant in modern western ideological and cultural circles, and was unanimously regarded by western academic circles as the pioneer of religious sociology research and the originator of religious sociology theory. In the 20th century, few scholars had such a great influence on social science as Weber.
As a man who grew up in modern European civilization, all his research revolves around a theme, which is, in his words, "the rationalism problem unique to western culture." The core of his sociological research is the sociology of religion. Weber devoted his whole life to investigating the economic ethics of the world's religions, and from a comparative perspective, explored the internal relationship between the spiritual and cultural temperament of the world's major nationalities and their social and economic development. Through the study of sociology of religion, Weber tries to answer why a cultural phenomenon which is considered by westerners to have universal significance and value appears in western civilization, and only in western civilization. What events should be blamed for this phenomenon? Essays on Sociology of Religion is Weber's famous series of monographs on cultural comparison. Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism is the first study in this series and a cornerstone of Weber's magnificent building.
The book Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism was originally published in the seventh and eleventh volumes of Social Science and Social Politics Literature (1904- 1905) in two parts. 1920 is republished as the first part of the sociology of religion paper. In the new edition, Weber made many changes, added a lot of new materials to the notes, and answered various criticisms at the same time. In this book, Weber discusses the Protestant ethics that accompanied the religious reform in Europe, and the influence of the latter on the origin of modern capitalism and the whole rationalization process in the West.
It is awe-inspiring that in the ten years after his serious illness, a large number of academic papers and monographs of Weber were published at an alarming rate. It can be said that Weber's important achievements, including Protestant ethics and capitalist spirit, were all achieved during this period. Weber wrote many academic monographs in his short 56 years, but due to his early death, he failed to complete his huge research ideas. Weber's main research field is sociology, and he creatively constructed the system of modern sociology. He not only made great achievements in the field of hermeneutic sociology, but also occupied an important position in the school of economic history. It is also widely involved in history, law, politics, religion, philosophy, music, art and other disciplines. Weber's sociology and its related major works include: History of Trading Companies in the Middle Ages (188), Roman Agricultural History and Its Significance to State Law and Private Law (189 1), Protestant Ethics and Capitalist God (1904-/kloc-0). Agricultural relations of production in ancient society (1909), on some categories of generalized sociology (191913), Confucianism and Taoism (1965438) Ancient Judaism (19 17), academic career, political career (19 19), urban sociology research (1920). After Weber's death, he successively published Economics and Society (192 1-kloc-0/922), Musical Reason and Social Foundation (1921) and Political Essays (/kloc-0). General history of economy (1924), anthology of sociology and social policy (1924), national sociology (1956), etc.
Kierkegaard once said: You should believe in live high. Through Weber's argument, we can see that faith, as the cornerstone of individual spiritual world, has a huge "fusion effect" on individuals in contemporary western society. A person's responsibility for obligations is the most representative thing in the social ethics of bourgeois culture. In a sense, it is the fundamental foundation of bourgeois culture.