THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM

Max Weber's the essence of Capitalism

Max Weber's The Spirit of Capitalism

The most fateful force in modern life is capitalism. The impulse to acquisition has lived habitually and universal and has in itself not anything to do with capitalism. Capitalism is the pursuit of profit, and eternally improved profit, by means of continuous, reasonable, capitalistic enterprise. This enterprise should be continuous, because in a capitalistic society, anyone who did not take benefit of opportunities for profit-making would be condemned to extinction.

Characteristics of modern Western capitalism: rational industrial organization (that is, attuned to a regular profit and not to political or irrational speculative opportunities for profit); separation of business from the household; rational bookkeeping. Capitalistic adventurers (in search of booty if by conflict or exploitation) existing everywhere but only in the up to date West has developed the rational capitalistic association of (formally) free labor.

Catholics show a stronger propensity to stay in their crafts, and become expert craftsmen, while Protestants are captivated to a bigger span to the top ranks of accomplished work and administrative positions in factories. Protestants own a disproportionate share of capital. All other things identical, Protestants have been more likely to evolve financial rationalism than Catholics. Weber hunts for the interpretation in 'the enduring intrinsic feature of their religion,' and not only in their provisional external historic-political positions.

People now are born into capitalistic finances which present itself to them as the unalterable alignment of things in which they should live. In so far as a person born now is involved in the system of market connections, he should conform to capitalistic directions of action. Today's capitalism chooses the topics it desires through financial survival of the fittest. The intriguing inquiry, according to Max, is WHERE DID THIS position arrives from?

It did NOT originate as the superstructure ...