Max Weber's Protestant Ethic in Term Paper

For the author, the Church had "institutional preconditions" that made capitalism emerge and develop for as early as the High Middle Ages which occurred between the 14th and 15th centuries. The Church organization showed several features that were also manifested in Protestantism, or more generally, in nations that have developed a capitalist economic society: (1) the growth of rationalized technology and (2) institutional transformation.

In terms of the growth of rationalized technology, Collins asserted that the gradual shift from the use of windmills, water mills, and engines for processing agricultural products (also called the "mill-building craze") gave way to innovations in machinery, where the 14th century was characterized to have produced mechanized tools for agricultural production (48). Apart from these technologies, the organization of the Church itself, including its laws and tenets demonstrate how the clergy and its faithful followers "entered into a contractual relationship that not only gave oaths of obedience and self-abnegation but also gave them certain privileges" (50). In the same way that a businessman engages in self-renunciation in order to re-invest and further increase his profits, the process of obedience and self-abnegation brought about a political form of rationalization among the Catholics, wherein their everyday activities and actions were bound by the belief that they would receive privileges from the Church, similar to Protestants' belief that they would become one of the 'elect' through good works.

Though Catholicism was not included in Weber's analysis, the existence of both Christianity and Catholicism in early modern Europe showed that religion had become the catalyst for capitalism to flourish in the continent.This generalization is supported by the fact that religious institutions before and during the onset of capitalism have dominated the socio-political realms of Western societies, leaving no doubt that they also control the economic activities and institutions present in the society.

Weber's thesis, that religion had caused capitalism, has given another perspective in which modern society can account for the emergence of capitalism in Europe during the early times. Although contentions on this fact have abound through the years, refuting the claim that it was only in Europe that capitalism had developed, the economist's analysis nevertheless proved that, in the case of Europe, capitalism developed because of the influence of religion in all aspects of the society, be it civil or social, economic, or political in nature.

In sum, this research has shown that true to Max Weber's claim, religion has influenced and further accelerated the development of capitalism in early modern Europe. Though Weber had focused only on Protestantism as his case in point to prove his thesis, further studies from scholars of capitalism and modernism had shown that apart from Christianity, Catholicism had also played an essential role in developing the capitalist economic system in Europe. Thus, it can be said that in general, religion in Europe during the pre-Industrial Revolution period had contributed to the emergence and development of the capitalist economic system.

Bibliography

Collins, R. (1986). Weberian sociological theory. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.

Giddens, a. (1970). "Marx, Weber and the development of capitalism." Sociology, Vol.4.

Weber, M. (1958). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. NY: Scribner's Press......