The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Economy Editions)

The Protestant ethic — a moral code stressing hard work, rigorous self-discipline, and the organization of one's life in the service of God — was made famous by sociologist and political economist Max Weber. In this brilliant study (his best-known and most controversial), he opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and its view that change takes place through "the struggle of opposites." Instead, he relates the rise of a capitalist economy to the Puritan determination to work out anxiety over salvation or damnation by performing good deeds — an effort that ultimately discouraged belief in predestination and encouraged capitalism. Weber's classic study has long been required reading in college and advanced high school social studies classrooms.

• • Author: Max Weber
• • Publisher: Dover Publications
• • Publication Date: April 04, 2003
• • Number of Pages: 320 pages
• • Language: English
• • Binding: Paperback
• • ISBN-10: 048642703X
• • ISBN-13: 9780486427034