In 1930 Parsons translated into English two articles that Weber had completed in 1905, the title of the work was, 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism', Weber was at once labelled a bourgeois answer to Marx. Weber although a fairly secular individual was fascinated by the impact religious culture had in shaping the social institutions of modernity. He declared Marx to be one of the greatest thinkers of the time, but thought him too simplistic in his economic determinism, intellectually restricted by his methodological use of scientific laws in his, 'materialist conception of history', an explanation of social change. Weber did not deny the existence of economic determinants, but saw them as one amongst many such agents responsible for the rise of capitalism, amongst which were, advances in technology, rational administration, financial institutionalism, market demand, and specialisation of labour and political and intellectual freedom. Weber believed that ideas motivate man and his worldview, guiding his perception and as a result his actions. In this way the actions of mankind build the structures, which combine to create his social experience. Weber believed that 'ascetic Protestantism', with its emphasis on a religious 'calling', was responsible for instilling the values, ethics and obligation which were the motivation behind the actions that inspired the 'spirit of capitalism'. Weber is mistakenly considered by some to advocate an 'idealist interpretation of history', in reality he is opposed to the 'nomethitic' analysis of history which Marx employed in his 'materialist conception of history'. Generally, these two social scientists have as many similarities as differences, Weber wrote, "Not ideas, but material and ideal interests directly govern mans conduct. Yet very frequently the 'world images' that have been created by 'ideas' have, like switchmen, determined the tracts along which action has been pushed by the dynamic of interest". (H. Gerth & C. Wright Mills, 1991: p.64)

Weber examines the character of early Western Capitalism to isolate its 'spirit', the motivation behind its 'economic ethic'. An 'economic ethic' which promoted a maximisation of profit not for consumption, but for the creation of investment capital. He believed that the 'spirit' of capitalism derived from ascetic Protestantism, in that it was not simply a belief in the existence of God as the Supreme Being, but a puritanical way of life determined by the laws of Christianity. These laws, or codes of worldly conduct having there origins in the foundations of Christian morality and obligations, the Ten Commandments. Christians believe that Jesus lived amongst us in order to save our souls from the unearthly consequence of a life of sin. Jesus taught mankind how to practically apply the Commandment to life on Earth in preparation for acceptance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Through the Lords Prayer an individual confirms to God his acceptance of his 'calling', to live his life according to Holy laws, 'thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven'. The relevance of these teachings was not universally recognised until the late sixteenth century, when William Tyndale translated the New Testament into English. During this time period Christianity was undergoing significant changes, it became the subject of intellectual interpretation, and as a result Christianity divided into different denominations, indoctrinating the masses with the teachings, previously the guarded domain of the clergy. The 'Puritan Reformation' grew out of the Enlightenment, a time when the floodgates opened to allow an unprecedented degree of freedom in both thought and expression. Religious sects were the product of this newfound freedom, self-proclaimed prophets reinterpreted the Bible, charismatically inducing their followers to adhere to their teachings and live their lives in accordingly. One such prophet, J Calvin lead the 'Puritan Reformation', inspiring similar religious sects such as Ascetic Protestantism and Methodism, which share in common the doctrine of 'the calling'.

The doctrine of the 'calling' is an interpretation of the New Testament, such as; '"The Lord beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are "'called"', with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love."" (The Epistle, Ephesians 4.1, Common Book of Prayer) Weber concentrates on Ascetic Protestantism in his analysis of the 'calling', the main characteristic of which is, abstention from worldly pleasures and to accept the 'calling', to work for the glory of God; to be totally devoted carrying out the 'calling' to the highest standard humanly possible. The self denial of ascetic Protestantism is inspired by amongst others the Gospel of St. Luke which teaches a warning to guard against the temptations of the flesh, "'Lord we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to "'withstand the temptations of the world"', the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee the only God"". (The Collect, Common Book of Prayer: p. 137) The Protestant 'ethic' translates these interpretation into a way of life which reflects the 'calling', they encourage the 'work ethic', to make use of the talents God has bestowed, to work as hard as is possible for as many hours as is possible, and in so doing minimise the time which man is vulnerable to temptation, in accordance with the maxim, 'the devil makes work for idle hands'.

Weber's theory of 'rationalisation' rests on the assumption that actions are the result of motivation's that are the rationalisation of ideas. He believed that individuals seek to rationalise their motives in order to legitimise their actions. The protestant ethic of the 'calling' is an individuals legitimate motive for his entrepreneurial vocation and the accumulation of capital, he writes, "asceticism has wished to rationalise the world ethically in accordance with Gods commandments" (H. Gerth & C. Wright Mills, 1991: p.291) The pursuit of profit is legitimised as a rational consequence of the practical application of the Protestant 'work ethic'. Asceticism forbids extravagant consumption, the consequence of which is the accumulation of capital, which is then reinvested to achieve greater technical efficiency and profitability. Weber believes that these rational characteristics peculiar to the 'protestant ethic' have an affinity with the 'spirit of Western Capitalism', in that they share a distinct set of attitudes towards work, profit and consumption.

The pursuit of profit had, prior to the Reformation been considered a sin, evil and worthy of scorn, this belief became outdated as a consequence of the 'doctrine of predestination' inspired by the Christian interpretations of Calvin. Calvin's version of 'predestination', peculiarly at odds with Christian scriptures in general, teaches that God in secret, grants an individual salvation at birth, depending on his inner faith, the unknown chosen are known as the 'elect'. God was believed to favour the elect and so, economic efficiency became a test of ones faith and heavenly status. In the same way it became a symbol of worldly status, a reference as to an individuals, reliability, trustworthiness and hard work.

Weber believed that early capitalism in the west emerged not only as a consequence of the prevailing economic conditions, but was built on the strong, systematic and rational ethics of the puritans, their character embodying the 'spirit' of capitalism, its rational motivation. He explains the significant relationship between entrepreneurial ethics and industrial growth characteristic of capitalism; "A merchant or a big industrialist without ideas or ideal institutions, will for all his life remain a man who would better have remained a desk clerk or technical officer. He will never be truly creative in organisation". (H. Garth & C. Wright Mills, 1991: p.138) Weber understood there to be different forms of action, affective, traditional, and rational, the latter he believed to be predominant in western capitalism. The rational action characteristic of the practice of capitalism requires a particular psychological mentality, goal awareness and a systematic analysis of the appropriate means of obtaining a desired goal. The rational industrialist, a product of the 'doctrine of the calling' grew through his capital accruing actions to form rational organisations. Weber believed that individual rationalisation lead to bureaucratisation, "bureaucracy is therefore rational action in an institutional form". (Haralambos, 1985: p.280) In this light, action in its institutional form is motivated by the same Individualistic ideals namely, clearly defined goals and an efficient method for their achievement.

Weber relates the influence of the Protestant ethic to only the early stages of capitalism, once established western capitalism outgrows the individual 'calling' to become self-propelling. He explains that the consequences of this inevitable growth of economic structures is that; "Once it is fully established, bureaucracy is among those social structures which are the hardest to destroy. Bureaucracy is the means of carrying 'community action' over into rationally ordered 'societal action'". (H. Garth & C. Wright Mills, 1991: p. 228) His continuation of this thread, is that the bureaucratic organisation of the economic structures of capitalism have far reaching consequences, thus as capitalist structures progress towards supremacy, capitalism draws all other institutions 'into its own image', culminating in a 'set of parallel forces heading in the same direction - towards the rationalisation of all spheres of life'. (H. Garth & C. Wright Mills, 1991: p.66)

Weber did not develop a grand theory of social evolution, as an alternative to the 'materialist conception of history', because he believed that any understanding of society could be only partial. He developed his general theories of rationalisation, and bureaucratisation through the methodological use of 'ideal types' as a 'heuristic device'. In his analysis of the relationship between religious belief systems and economic structures Weber employs the 'ideal typifications' of both, 'capitalism' and the 'Protestant Ethic'. Both are abstract, in that they are ambiguous in terms of their subjectively defined meaning. Weber's typology of 'capitalism' defines it as being, 'built along a scale of different avenues for profit opportunities', features that are common within the typology of the 'Protestant Ethic'. The use of ideal types in this way is the basis of comparative sociology, "by the use of a battery of ideal types, he builds up a conception of a particular historical case, - using history as a storehouse for these conceptions". (H. Gerth & C. Wright Mills, 1991: p.60)

Like his fellow founders of sociology, Weber had a 'grand theoretical scheme' to explain the social significance of the monumentous transformations of modernity. For Weber, 'rationalisation' was the all-encompassing characteristic of the modern world. However, because 'rationalisation' is founded on an interpretation of ideas, which are relative to time and space, it is not subject to any 'absolute law' of causation. In this vein, 'rationalisation' is a relative term, dependant upon the ideas which in essence are infinitely numerous and abstractly interwoven in their construction, it is for this reason that we can only ever have a partial understanding of the instrumental roots of 'rationalisation'. An inevitable consequence of the social process of 'rationalisation' for Weber is the spread of bureaucracy, thus all societal relations in their independent forms are geared towards implementing this trend. Weber's theory of 'rationalisation' and 'bureaucratisation' provide the 'value relevance' of his sociological analysis of the different forms of social institutions; that at the heart of all social institutions is a corresponding 'process of rationalisation', but different ideas will logically lead to different 'rational action'. As such his analysis of 'Protestantism' and 'capitalism' is a narrowing down of 'rationalisation' as a whole concept, isolating a particular group of ideas and their rational outcome. The particular ideas of 'Protestantism' as a religious institution are the ethics of the 'ascetic calling and predestination', their rational consequences being the individual action of the Protestant entrepreneur, as a pioneer of the Industrial Revolution.

The inevitable consequence of the individual, economic actions of these early entrepreneurs is the growth of bureaucratic institutions, economic institutions that have internalised the 'spirit' of their creation. Programmed to seek capital perfection, these institutions become powerful enforcers of the 'work ethic', mechanistic, depersonalising, the oppressors of ideological freedom. In a profoundly relevant quote Weber sums up the significance of the early 'capitalist spirit', "the puritans willed to be the vocational man, that we have to be". (H. Gerth & C. Wright Mills, 1991: p.50) This quote identifies Capitalism as an oppressive way of life in today's western world, we are secular, we were once spiritual, organised, where we were once independent. The economic institutions that have moulded all other institutions into their own bureaucratic image, enslave us. Themselves enslaved by their insatiable pursuit of capital, and the most effective means of its production.

Weber did not say that 'Protestantism' caused 'Capitalism', but through his analysis of these two 'ideal types', it seems logical that 'ascetic Protestantism' is a characteristic representation of the 'spirit of the time'. The significance is that the Protestant ethic of the 'ascetic calling' is an example of, one of many 'agents of change', an ideological bridge enabling the convergence of two ideologically different worlds, one founded upon 'spiritual absolutism', the other, 'material absolutism '. Passive social change is a gradual process, an agent such as the 'calling' through balancing ideological based values with increasingly sophisticated material wants, makes the transition relatively smooth and painless.

� 1997 [email protected]

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