Max Weber and his disruptive critique of the spirit of Western Capitalism - Christian Ethics - Fall 2020

 

Max Weber and his disruptive critique of the spirit of Western Capitalism

Introduction - What is the “spirit of capitalism”?

According to Weber, the spirit of capitalism is an ideological framework, constructed upon the concepts of Protestantism, and in particular the Protestantism of the Puritans and Calvinists who were the original European settlers of the United States. In “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” he explains how the protestant ideas of people having a “calling”, and the idea of “predestination” serve as a foundation for our modern system of Western capitalism that has been decoupled from religion and coupled with ideas of rationalism instead (Weber and Parsons, 2003). These ideas, when decoupled from religion become even more problematic, as they become resistant to theological critique. In this paper, I will discuss these ideas of the calling and predestination, and how they influence modern capitalism and our social/cultural beliefs about economics and people within this system. This system of belief has enabled rampant greed, avarice, and oppression of marginalized people, while also allowing it to be posited as a good and moral system. This ideological framework has had profound and devastating implications for black and brown people, and also for poor people not just in the US but on a global scale, and has been the tool of white supremacy, patriarchy, oligarchy, and ableism for centuries.  

The idea of “calling”

I know that you have heard the words before - that you have a “calling” that somehow there is some task out there that is your ideal “fit” for a job, that will provide you with your “best life”. This was not originally what was intended by the idea of the call of God, but this is what it has slowly been transformed into over time. Originally the idea was that God had called Israel, and it was an eschatological concept - everyone should just be patient and not burden each other with changing professions or the like, while they waited for the Lord to return. This has changed a great deal from this original interpretation. 

The idea of a call is familiar to those of us in a seminary college, as those of us who intend to go into ministry deal with this somehow metaphysical “call of God” to the task of ministering, this idea has been also transferred to “secular” professions. While there isn’t really an ethical problem in considering the work that others do to contribute to our collective lives as sacred, the real problem comes when it is used in ways that restrict social mobility, and promote wealth and income inequality, and demonize or criminalize groups of people. In aristocratic society in England for example, there was (and still is) an entire “underclass” of people who were the “servant” class, and who were taught by parents, church and their “betters” to accept their lot as servants. To accept this calling, is to find fulfillment and joy in your work, taking pride in making the beds, washing the dishes, cooking, cleaning, caring for the children of the wealthy...these were “noble” duties and to engage in them with humility and care was the highest honor that one could give to God and country. 

This idea has not disappeared with the fading of the aristocracy either...we see a very good example of this in the profession of primary and secondary education in the U.S. Teachers have a lot of status, however the monetary recompense for their profession is low compared to other professions that have a similar cost of entry. Teachers are expected to feel “privileged” that they are allowed to work as teachers, because seeing children grow and bloom is it’s own reward. If teachers work hard, they will see the fruits of their labors come to fruition in their students, and that is reward in itself. While this is technically true - and teaching is a very rewarding profession emotionally, it's also extremely stressful for teachers to be unable to afford rent in the towns where they teach, to be unable to afford adequate health care, and to be asked to continue to work in person with children during a global pandemic despite the dangers involved because the health and wellbeing of children is so much more important than their own personal lives. This is in no small part tied to the way that the protestant ethic upholds other problematic ideological structures like patriarchy and white supremacy. When you combine this idea of calling with the idea of predestination, the ethical problems are compounded. 

The idea of Predestination

According to Calvinist theology, before you were even born, God knows your fate, and in fact, God has chosen some people for salvation and some for damnation. And man is powerless to influence God on this matter. Your lot is your lot, and it can’t be changed. This removed the assurance of the Grace of God from people, however, they were to conduct their lives as if they were part of the elect. So Grace and forgiveness got replaced with “self-confidence” (cite). Lack of confidence was seen as a sign that you were not actually one of the elect, and also lack of “success” was also seen as a sign. The best way to show that you were one of God’s elect few was to have the outward appearance of success and thereby reflecting God’s favor. This has led to a lot of ethical problems such as the demonizing of poor and marginalized people, justification of slavery and racism, the idea that people who are poor probably deserve it, as they are somehow flawed and not among God’s favored people. 

You can see how the idea of having a calling coupled with this idea of predestination creates what Weber called an “Iron cage” (Weber and Parsons, 2003: 103) in which people are trapped and exploited by those with wealth and power. Having grown up in a fundamentalist protestant sect I still to this day feel very flawed and unworthy, that I do not deserve to be cared for, that the “world doesn’t owe me anything”, and that somehow my disabilities are my own fault. Growing up poor, and also having multiple disabilities, by Calvins accounting, I would probably be considered among those who were destined for damnation. However, if we lived in a highly moral and ethical society, we would believe that all people deserve to be cared for, to have a safe place to sleep, food to eat, and health care when they are sick. 

This protestant ethic is what leads people like me to file bankruptcy for medical debt and for others to call it a “moral failing” on my part (and for me to also internalize this guilt). When you decouple these ideas from religion and make them part of our economic culture, they become a cult of their own. It is the very idea of Idolatry that the ancient Hebrews were so concerned within the Torah. We see this in poor people continually voting against their own best interest because it is good for the “economy” and hearing them talk about the stock market rallying when they personally don’t own any stocks. These intangible things - the economy and the “Dow” have become icons of the secular cult of American exceptionalism, which has been built on the blood, sweat, and tears of poor and brown bodies for generations. People are trapped in a system that allows a few from the underclasses to excel in order to give the appearance of meritocracy, while the rest labor, often in misery, because people must eat. 

Conclusion

This description of the development of capitalism through the lens of Protestantism presents a scathing critique of both capitalism and the Protestantism of Weber’s time period, but also of our current time. It is not hard to point out examples of where we see the insidious ways our culture has adopted and reified these ideals, and interpolated them onto bodies, resulting in mass incarceration, egregious levels of poverty and inequality, and the further marginalization of those who are already on the margins of society. His critique calls us out to pay attention to the ways our religious and cultural norms and mores lead us to believe this to be the “normal and natural” state of the world, and that poor people deserve their fate. It disrupts our questioning of what the homeless person might do with that 5$ bill were we to give it to them, and to praise those who manifest success even if they became successful by exploitation of humans, animals, or the earth. 

References:

Weber, Max, and Talcott Parsons. 2003. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Courier Dover Publications.