Max Weber Studies

Abstract:

Max Weber's perennial classic, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, contains an argument not simply about the significance of Calvinist theology for the ethos of modern capitalism, but also concerning the necessarily limited role of post-exilic Judaism in the development of capitalism. Indeed, the most significant difference between the first edition of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) and the second edition (1920) is the development of the idea that the Jews are a 'pariah people' capable of contributing no more than a 'pariah capitalism'. Weber felt compelled to develop this case in response to Werner Sombart, The Jews and Modern Capitalism (1911), in which an alternative to Weber's argument concerning the Protestant sources of modern capitalism is presented. Weber's conceptualization of the Jews as a 'pariah people' has attracted much criticism. Yet what the concept reveals of Weber's methodology has not been explored in the literature. Once the limitations of Weber's method, as revealed by consideration of the 'pariah' concept, are clear, then the main thesis of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism can also be re-evaluated.