Max Weber
3 Pages 858 Words
Max Weber was a German economist and a social historian
in the late 19th and early 20th century. Max Weber’s
theories were strongly emphasized on the fact that ethical
and religious ideas were influences on the development of
capitalism, “...he concentrated primarily on the connection
between religious faith and attitudes to economics ”
(Hamilton 152). Critical issues in the American experience
such as “ The place of religion in a secular society” and
“The question of mission”, were reflected in Max Weber’s
ideas and in one of his best-known works, The Protestant
Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Max Weber visited United States in the Summer of 1904,
were he explored the issues of religion. Weber’s experience
in the United States left him an impression on him,
...the social and economic relevance of the
interaction between religious [...] conviction
[...] and social activity, specifically the role
of belief in the emergence of market-oriented
industrial capitalism (Mommsen, Wolfgang vol. 69).
This is the answer to the question of whether or not values
can be separated from religion. Values and religion could
go hand in hand, “ Weber reasoned as follows: Puritans
believed that worldly success was a sign of being chosen as
one of God’s elect...” (Melamed and Minkoff 132). Being
successful is a value for most people, but for some people
this value can also reflect their religious beliefs, like
for Puritans.
Max Weber also states that certain religions might
dominate higher work places:
...the fact that business leaders and owners of
capital, as well as the higher grades of skilled
labour, and even more the higher technically and
commercially trained personnel of modern
enterprises, are overwhelmingly Protestant.
(Weber, 35).
This exemplifies how Max Weber felt about occupational
...