The Popularity of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: An Analysis of Historical Trends of Scholarship

One of the classic texts of sociology is Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic andthe Spirit of Capitalism. In this paper, I wish to explain the popularity ofthis work. The method by which I will pursue this objective is to examine the reaction of scholars to this essay over time. I will focus on, but not limit myself to, two groups of scholars: sociologists and historians. Once their reactions have been described, I will explain the popularity of the essay in terms of these reactions. Weber wrote his essay in 1904-05. He then revised it in 1920. Two scholars that wrote commentaries on the original thesis were Karl Fisher, in 1907, and Felix Rachfahl, in 1909 (Chalcroft, 2001). These scholars interpreted Weber as arguing that the development of religious thought in Protestantism caused (in a mono-causal and linear fashion) capitalism. Both of these writers admonished Weber on his use of concepts such as the “capitalist spirit”, the “protestant ethic”, and Luther’s “call-ing”. They also called into question the veracity of Weber’s analysis of the religious details of Calvinism. Both of the critics provided counter-arguments for Weber’s thesis. Finally, both Fisher and Rachfahl found fault in Weber’s methodology. It is evident from these two authors that Weber’s thesis was not uncritically acclaimed when it was published