Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General editor's preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Modernity, the market and human identity
- 2 Consumerism and personal identity
- 3 The work ethic
- 4 Globalization
- 5 The response of the churches
- 6 Concluding reflections
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index of names and subjects
- Index of biblical references
3 - The work ethic
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General editor's preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Modernity, the market and human identity
- 2 Consumerism and personal identity
- 3 The work ethic
- 4 Globalization
- 5 The response of the churches
- 6 Concluding reflections
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index of names and subjects
- Index of biblical references
Summary
Baptised in the icy waters of Calvinist theology, the business of life, once regarded as perilous to the soul, acquired a new sanctity. Labour is not merely an economic means; it is a spiritual end. R. H. Tawney.
Max Weber published The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism as a two-part article in the 1904/5 issue of Archiv für Sozialawissenschaft und Sozialpolitik. It was published as a single volume some fifteen years later, with rebuttals to earlier criticisms. This revised edition was translated into English by Talcott Parsons in 1930. Habermas' critique of it has already been mentioned in chapter 2, where he refers to its excessive concentration on economic issues.
In this chapter, the impact of Weber's study will be taken up again. Weber's influence is usually taken as referring to The Protestant Work Ethic (pwe). There are two debates which Weber started, and it is primarily the second of these which will be of interest. The first is the accuracy of Weber's hypothesis. In addition to the philosophical criticisms made by Habermas, amongst others, there have also been historical criticisms of his work. This chapter will survey the debate briefly, but the real focus of the chapter is on the second debate begun by Weber. This debate is about the understanding of work in an industrialized society. Does work equate with paid employment? Why do people feel the need to work, and what are the beliefs and values which sustain this need?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Market Economy and Christian Ethics , pp. 151 - 199Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999