The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Routledge Classics) (Volume 91) 1st Edition

by Max Weber (Author), Talcott Parsons (Translator), Anthony Giddens (Introduction)

132 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0415254069

ISBN-10: 041525406X

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Max Weber's best-known and most controversial work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, first published in 1904, remains to this day a powerful and fascinating read. Weber's highly accessible style is just one of many reasons for his continuing popularity. The book contends that the Protestant ethic made possible and encouraged the development of capitalism in the West. Widely considered as the most informed work ever written on the social effects of advanced capitalism, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism holds its own as one of the most significant books of the twentieth century. The book is one of those rare works of scholarship which no informed citizen can afford to ignore.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the most renowned and controversial works of modern social science."
-Anthony Giddens
"Max Weber is the one undisputed canonical figure in contemporary sociology."
-Times Higher Education Supplement

About the Author

Max Weber (1864-1920). One of the founding fathers of modern sociology.

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (May 25, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 041525406X
ISBN-13: 978-0415254069
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 132 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #115 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Sociology
- #173 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Anthropology
- #345 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Sociology

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Stanley

Referenced by Many but Often in Error

December 23, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is the 129th review of this edition. Several other reviewers have noted missing endnotes, misspellings, missing words and so on. My copy had a 136 pages of end notes while the text ran only 124 pages. I saw no editorial misques. Now, I read the book out of curiosity. Many authors make references to it, usually negative, and I wanted to see what Weber really wrote. Here's the bad part. Weber is a difficult reading for anyone (like me) without a fair knowledge of the early Protestant sects, and be prepared for a lot of Latin and German terms. Here's the good part. Weber starts out by quantifying economic differences between Protestants and Catholics, especially in Germany. He also notes that in general Protestants attended schools teaching more secular material. He wondered why? His conclusion was that Catholics believed that life on earth was to be endured and that a better existence waited for them in Heaven. Just tough it out. Protestants evolved to the belief that good works were a part of a good Christian life. This meant providing goods or services that benefitted others. Here's the kicker. Weber bluntly states Protestant beliefs were not solely or even mainly responsible for the rise of capitalism. Protestants helped capitalism evolve but that's it. In this regard many of those referencing Weber in a negative way are in error.

While parts of Weber are tough sledding, he does provide several little anecdotes and factoids. Here are a few. According to Weber, if a European girl was pretty she was generally thought to be "an English girl." A Polish girl would most likely be slovenly but if she moved west her work habits would improve even if her wage remained the same. While Protestants in Germany were on average about twice as wealthy as Catholics, Jews had about four times the personal wealth of Protestants. Anglo-Saxon music suffered a precipitous decline under Protestant churches and produced "only a noise intolerable to German ears." According to Weber, Anglo-Saxon music was so bad Boston's Trinity Church had to spend $8,000 in 1904 just for a professional choir.

Finally here is a criticism. Weber gives short shrift to Frederick the Great and Lutheran Pietism. Frederick wanted and forced on the Prussians an ethic that welfare did not mean giving to the poor but contributing goods and services useful to others. To Frederick, people made their own destinies. There was nothing wrong with improving God's world. Why Weber didn't go into detail here seems strange. This would be one of the best case studies proving the thesis.

Average to good quality paper with readable print.

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Will Reed

Typos Rendering Unusable!

November 6, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This Kindle book is the first time I have ever had to apply the adage "You get what you pay for." To be clear there are gobs of Kindle books that are free or cost $0.99 and yet are some of the best value one could buy. Some free Kindle books would cost upwards of $30 or even $75 dollars if purchased as a paperback or hardcover. This, volume, however, looks as though it was somehow scanned with an OCR (optical character recognition) software package that was unable to recognize the characters. The result is that almost every page has at least two several-character typos. The typos are at first only disappointing to the diligent scholar, but by page 20 or so, they are unacceptable. Worse than setting one back $0.99, the product is just a time waster.

Persons reading this review (sorry Amazon, but the truth should prevail) would do better to skip it look elsewhere. I haven't found another title that answers this title's thesis or I would recommend it. If the scan had gone properly, I would probably be reading this title right now.

4 people found this helpful

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January 14, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Max Weber's groundbreaking study of Protestantism needs not further introduction. Kalberg, as the translator of such a masterpiece, produce an English version that is easy to follow. His succinct introduction to Weber's thesis and other possible factors leading to the birth of capitalism is sound and clear. A good book for beginners of sociology.

2 people found this helpful

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April 15, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I ordered a paperback copy of this book for my graduate class on Early Modern Europe. The book contains no translator information and no footnotes/endnotes. This is a major problem since most of Weber's argument is in his footnotes. I'm unsure why a publisher would choose not to include all of the text but this is unacceptable.

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Now I know why this is a classic - very well written, excellen points to consider

April 29, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In Weber's classic work, he connects the Protestant Reformation with the rise in modern-day capitalism - the two, according to Weber, are essentially linked together. The Reformation introduced core elements upon which capitalism is built. For example the idea that the individual has rights associated with responsibility is a fundamental element of the Reformation - no longer is the Catholic Church solely responsible for the spiritual development of an individual, he must be responsible himself...every member a minister concept. Well, that's essential for the promulgation of capitalism as well - it's not the responsibility of the state, it's the reasonability of the individual to make a profit or lose capital in the process. The individual was kept stable and protected under the thumb of the Catholic Church, according to Weber, and the Reformation has freed the individual to take risks and stake their claim in life. Weber also notes that the Catholic Church promoted religious piety, a quiet and subdued worship within the walls of the sanctuary while the Reformation released people to worship with zeal and passion in the fields and through his labors.

6 people found this helpful

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October 4, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This "edition" has so many typos that it is almost unreadable. There is NO information about the publisher, therefore there is NO point in buying this is you are a STUDENT, because it is useless and you will need to find a different copy to cite it.

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Most recent customer reviews

Edsudo108

Got copyeditor? Obviously NOT!

Some pages are so riddled with typographical errors that they are basically illegible. I'm asking for my money back on this one!

Published 15 days ago

Hatha Yodel

Not all customer reviews are of THIS edition

It's important to understand that many of the reviews here are NOT for THIS edition, as becomes clear when you look at the same reviews appearing for other editions.Read more

Published 2 months ago

Daniel Ogeltree

Kalberg offers an extended introduction that lays out Weber's argument with great clarity, a glossary

This volume, translated by Stephen Kalberg,(2011), should not be confused with the Parsons translation (1930), nor with all those cheap editions that re-print the Parsons...Read more

Published 3 months ago

Nicolle M.

Pricetag does not match what I paid

The quality of the book i got was certainly good, so i cannot complain on that. The book was delivered in a timely fashion and there is nothing wrong with the pages.Read more

Published 8 months ago

Andrew

I don't hate the book

I don't hate the book, but whoever is selling this needs to realize that Martin Luther is on the cover, not Weber. Off by about 400 years or so.

Published 8 months ago

Derek Alex Nii Amartei Commey

Five Stars

Excellent read!!!

Published 8 months ago

Amazon Customer

This was a rather dull book. Probably good for history buffs or those ...

This was a rather dull book. Probably good for history buffs or those who like a lot of theoretical build up. Wasn't for me.Read more

Published 9 months ago

Eduardo M. Torrech

Three Stars

Need patience to read it. And is not a necessary reading now a days.

Published 9 months ago

gcc76

One Star

The book has multiple type-o mistakes.

Published 10 months ago

katherine r.

It's fine if you just want a quick reference text

The text isn't exact because of the OCR tech. It's fine if you just want a quick reference text, but for deep reading, I would go with a better quality copy.

Published 10 months ago

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