The emphasis on individual fulfilment of worldly obligations combined with a moral justification is a common doctrine theme of Protestantism after the reformation. Finally Weber attributed the process of rationalization and ultimately the success of the industrial revolution as the result of ‘the Protestant ethic’, in particular the work ethic that had developed from the religious concept of the ‘calling’ and the doctrine of pre destination. This essay will firstly explore the development of the protestant ethic, in particular the Calvinist strain, before relating the ethic to the emergence of the process of rationalization and how this influenced the economic and social sphere of life.
In this context rationalisation means the elimination of magic as a means to salvation, replaced with constant self control and rational calculation. The concept of rationalization was thus the result of the protestant work ethic and attributed to the new modern economy itself. Weber attributed ‘the Protestant ethic’, in particular the Calvinism strain of Protestantism as a fundamental requirement for the emergence of the ‘spirit of capitalism’.įor it were the individualistic, systematic and rationalised conduct and values of the protestant ethic that harboured the attitude needed to create economic success and ultimately the success of the industrial revolution. Weber’s thesis explaining ‘the emergence of modern capitalism would thus be an explanation of modernity’ (Collins and Makowsky 2005: 121). For Weber his personal focus on the coming of modernity begins with the industrial revolution of the late 18th century.
In Max Weber’s quest to explain his observations of the major social and economic changes he was subject to throughout his life from 1864 to 1920, the importance of rationalization in modernity was emphasised.
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