The Book `The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism`

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Leyson Yvonne Leyson- The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism 14 June , 2007 1 . a . What was B . Franklin 's most important advice , and in what ways do B . Franklin 's writings illustrate the spirit of capitalism Money in the words of Benjamin Franklin is equated with everything which laid the foundations of American thought on capitalism . Weber wrote how Benjamin Franklin [1706-90] teaches to us in his sentences (p . 15 his philosophy on money and the spirit of capitalism is here manifest in Franklin 's words

, even (p .15 . Franklin 's statements clearly enhance the spirit of capitalism and Weber has linked this to the religious specter of Protestant ethic rather than on politics or economics . Weber has attributed this fact and brought to mind a question : What combination of circumstances called forth the broad range of ideas and cultural forces that on the one hand arose in the West (p .149 ) thereby attributing the cultural phenomena of capitalism on the Western civilization as its frontrunners in gaining universal significance . This historical concept of and the evolution of modern capitalism for Weber was propagated in Benjamin Franklin 's maxims of ideal social practice even prior to the social development and expansion of capitalism . Franklin 's business ethics which had been widely accepted as words of wisdom is used to justify the ideal capitalistic spirit of good trade practices . However , where western capitalism was not exclusively linked to politics or to any economic phenomenon at that time , Weber linked its emergence to religion in Protestantism which for him likewise enhanced modern capitalism Indeed Benjamin Franklin 's work that Weber cited has defined ideas and habits that pursued economic gains and established an economic of capitalism . Franklin 's works were even recognized and attacked in Russian philosophical history where individualistic moral endeavors proffered capitalism as greed commonly dissociated from an ascetic way of life . Weber however clearly defends Franklin 's thought while maintaining the recognition and the use of divine revelation in the motives behind the sprit of capitalism . In the teachings and ideas , Weber clearly admired and summarized the values that define the spirit of capitalism exemplified in punctuality industry and frugality that are useful and are therefore virtues (p 16 . Modern capitalism for Weber is not merely an organization of free labor and its conversion into commodities that the principle of economics understands , for him the spirit of capitalism is a state of mind or a social attitude . Turning on to some important periods in history , Weber also wrote how capitalism evolved in Protestant ideas and ethics was particularly practiced among large numbers of people working in the secular world to develop their own business enterprise 2 . a . What was important about the medieval monks and nuns For Weber , Protestant ethics became a major force in the development of capitalism where asceticism is a way of life . For him , the lifestyle is an abstinence from worldly pleasures and a heavy practice of austerity that originated in...