The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Part 1, Section 2 Summary & Analysis

Weber finds the phrase “the ‘spirit’ of capitalism” “somewhat pretentious sounding,” but explains that, in using this phrase, he is trying to merge a range of historical realities into a single illustrative concept. Obviously, particular ideals vary from individual to individual; Weber only wants to capture the essence of the capitalist mindset. The best way to demonstrate what he means by the capitalist spirit is through an illustration.

Weber includes source text from a “sermon” by Benjamin Franklin, which counsels on the prudent use of money, credit, and lending, and advises that a man must maximize his profits at all times and orient his daily habits to improve his economic position. Weber notes that Franklin’s words have a distinctly moralistic tone to them, as if he were preaching a sermon rather than giving financial advice.

Weber uses Franklin’s “sermon” to criticize the American ethos, which he argues makes accruing wealth one’s civic duty, “an end in itself.” He argues that this encapsulates the capitalist spirit, especially because Franklin’s counsel on money is “ethically slanted,” pitched as issues of moral responsibility, even though the advice itself is purely “utilitarian.” Weber states that, from his German perspective, this exemplifies the hypocrisy of American virtues. However, Franklin believed his doctrine was a “revelation from God,” and Weber admits that it lacks any hedonistic, self-aggrandizing quality. Rather, Franklin’s belief that making money is the ultimate ideal for life suggests a “transcendent” quality to the capitalist spirit.

Weber states that the primary “social ethic” of a capitalist society is that “one’s duty consists in pursuing one’s calling,” their professional occupation, whatever that may be. However, Weber does not believe this idea rose from capitalism itself. Rather, Weber argues that the capitalist spirit pre-dates capitalism’s formation in many countries, such as the early United States, which was founded by “preachers and ‘graduates,’” not businessmen. Further, the Franklin’s countrymen applauded his capitalist spirit, though medieval cultures would have seen it as “contemptible” greed. Although there may have been certain profit-driven individuals before Franklin’s day, Weber is mainly interested in the capitalist spirit as a more recent “mass phenomenon.”

Weber states that the capitalist spirit had to contend with “traditionalism,” an attitude towards life that Weber will also explain through illustration. He explains that entrepreneurs who needed to increase worker productivity for a short time, such as farmers during a harvest, often paid their workers in “piecework,” attaching a set amount of pay to each portion of work done. In a bid to encourage their workers to produce more, farmers often raised their rates during harvest season, expecting their workers to take advantage of the opportunity to make more money.

Instead, under the traditionalist mentality, the workers usually did less work, since the raised rates meant they could make their normal wage with fewer hours of work, and this was enough money to cover their daily needs. Thus, within traditionalism, workers are not inclined to maximize their incomes, but minimize the time they must spend working so they can enjoy the rest of their lives. Weber states that the capitalist’s response to this behavior is generally to decrease piecework rates, so the worker must produce more to make the same living wage. Low wages are thus believed to increase productivity. However, this often comes at the cost of quality, especially in intensive, skilled labor positions, as the worker’s physical health declines from a lack of resources, making them a poorer laborer.

The best worker for a capitalist enterprise is non-traditional. Rather than trying to maximize income while minimizing effort, the ideal capitalist laborer “performs the work as though it were an absolute end in itself—a ‘calling.’” Such a mentality is only produced, however, by a steady “process of education.” Once such a mentality is established within a culture, capitalism flourishes. However, Weber notes that certain members of society still tend towards traditionalist values, especially female workers. Weber argues that this mentality among women can be averted by a religious upbringing, particularly among the Pietist traditions. Female workers from such religious backgrounds tend to be better able to focus and demonstrate greater “commitment to the work.”

Weber observes that economies tend to swing between “subsistence,” where people work to survive (traditionalism), and “acquisition,” where people work to build wealth (capitalism). The movement between a subsistence economy and acquisition economy often parallels the ebb and flow of the “capitalist spirit.” However, Weber argues that it is important to distinguish between the “form” and “motivation” of capitalism, since some economies may take a capitalist form but be comprised of traditionalist workers. Likewise, capitalist workers (motivated by profit for its own sake) may exist within traditionalist economies—much like Benjamin Franklin, whose homeland had not yet developed a fully capitalist economy. Certain businesses, such as banks, will only exist within capitalist, acquisition economies.

Weber uses the textile industry as an example of the traditionalist worker amidst a capitalist economy. Until the mid-1800s, the average textile maker bought his materials, made his product, and sold it all within his own community. He worked five or six hours a day, handled his clients personally, and made a modest but comfortable income, thus making him a traditionalist laborer despite his capitalist environment. However, as soon as an enterprising rival textile maker moves in, carefully organizes, and produces better products at a quicker rate, the once comfortable traditionalist is forced to either adopt the capitalist spirit and compete—though leaving his comfortable lifestyle behind—or allow his business to fail.

Weber recognizes that the modern capitalist may see no religious basis for their own zeal for work, and admits that, often, the best modern capitalists are largely indifferent to the Christianity. He also admits that some—especially in the United States, where businessmen are revered—may be seduced into such a lifestyle by romanticization of wealth and power. However, Weber argues that more often, the most dedicated capitalists display a modesty that suggests the same asceticism as Benjamin Franklin’s moral preaching on smart saving and credit use. While such devotion to work and accumulation of wealth seems “contemptible to pre-capitalist man,” it is precisely such attitudes that allow capitalist economies to thrive.

Weber argues that although the religious connection to the capitalist spirit is less clear today, its roots can be traced back through history. The capitalist spirit clearly contradicts the general morality of past ages, especially within the Catholic Church. The average Catholic viewed his occupational work as, “at best, something morally neutral.” Benjamin Franklin’s regard for work and profit as a sacred duty would be unthinkable in past ages. If anything, Catholics often gave their excess wealth back to the Church, even to their debtors, to ward off their own guilt and risk of corruption. Weber asks, what then led to the rise of the capitalist spirit, where work is an end in itself, a divine duty, a “calling”?

Weber notes that for capitalists like Franklin, the “enjoyment of life” no longer comes from leisure but from economic contributions to society (by creating jobs) and the satisfaction of calculating and achieving profits. Weber notes it may appear that the shift away from the traditionalist lifestyle results from the rise of rationalism, and that rationalism must follow Protestantism. While this may be partially true, Weber argues that rationalism also appears alongside Catholicism in many countries without bringing the same economic shift. Instead, Weber believes that one must investigate the Protestant idea of the calling to truly grasp the development of the capitalist spirit.