The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Routledge Classics)

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Summary: A must read for students of Social Science
Review: This book turns Marx on his head in that Marx regarded religion an ideology reflecting classes, Weber seems to be showing that capitalism itself was produced not by economic forces but by the influences of religious ideas. The drive of puritans to work out anxiety over their salvation or damnation, which was left in doubt by the theological doctrine of predestination. The predestined beliefs of the Protestants encouraged capitalism. Weber uses this to describe why capitalism emerged in the western world. Students of the conflict tradition should not miss this work.

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Summary: The book that launched 1,000 Weberians
Review: This is a brialliant yet problematic work. It is primarily concerned with showing how the ideals of early capitalism were mirroed and shaped by the ideals of Calvinism. It is NOT an attempt to show Protestantism as the casue of capitalism. Weber regarded this as foolish, but too many who pick up this book for the first time read it this way. Weber's theory of the Iron Cage is important and stunnningly extended by Daniel Bell in the Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism.This book was translated 17 years before the next important work of Weber's, which caused much scholarship of him to reduce him to the content of this text. Don't fall into that trap. Weber is one of the hardest thinkers to reliably abstract in history. Most Weberians and Neo-Weberians are still radically at odds with each other over what his opus meant. Heck, Thomas Burger almost gets violent in his criticism of other Weberian interpretations.The primarary error of setting this as Weber's monolithic work is to set Weber as Marx's counterbalance. He "turned Marx on his head" mainly to Weber's contemporaries in Germany, many of whom had accepted religion as an opiate of the masses unworthy of scholarship. It is far easier to understand Weber is you compare him with Richter. Better yet, read Weber's on work on methodology of the social sciences and his alter works that explored hte religious, political and social worlds.

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Summary: The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism
Review: This is a very concise and succinct exploration of the role of four major branches of religious thought to come out of the Reformation: Lutheranism, Methodism, Anabaptist and Calvinism. His exploration of ascetism within these specific religious philosophies and their impact on capitalism is as insightful as I have ever read. Having personal and extensive experience amongst some of the reminant religious communities still functioning in North America, I must say his objectivity in a such a subjective subject makes for a lucid and enlightening read. If you do not have some background in Reformation and northern European history of this time, you may miss much of what he's trying to convey. He demonstrates that he is a true scholiast of this subject. Have your dictionary handy!!!

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Summary: Max Weber Only Deserves 3 Stars?
Review: This is one of Weber's most important works. As a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology and as a Sociolgy Professor this work is necessary for an understanding of Weber's later works. (Such as his seminal Economy and Society).

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Summary: 3 Stars For This Is Pure Ignorance.
Review: Weber's Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is CLASSIC - and should be a mandatory read for every student of sociology. Unfortunately, the classic literature of sociology isn't emphasized enough in today's educational institutions. Students are entering the real world without the foundation of social prophets and coming up with their own ideas of "what the world is coming to," and taking credit for ideology that has long been debated and written down by masterminds such as Weber. Pay attention! What is this book really about? This is a revolutionary work discussing critically the causes and effects of sociological chance, and how the sociology of religion has changed meaning because of the philosophy we now base our ideas on. Anyone interested in postmodern theory, the iron cage of bureaucracy, rationalization, and even symbolic interactionism should read this before continuing to literature of modern sociological thought.

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Summary: A must read
Review: Weber's work is, among other things, a great example of what happens when research goes bad. His work is most significant to academia because it shows what can happen when a researcher mistakenly assumes a causal relationship between two variables that are simply coincidentally related. Religion and capitalism is an excellent example and a call to vigilance for all researchers. It is particularly pertinent to this study where it might be easy to conclude too hastily about relationships between a respondent's religious, ethnic backgrounds, political affiliation or knowledge and the respondent's opinions.
It is now obvious the world that there is no link between Protestant religion and successful capitalism. Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and other nations that do not have Protestant Christianity as the primary religion in the country have become economically powerful. Nonetheless Weber's classic must be read, both as an example of a great mind and to show how even a great scholar can be lead astray. It is a reminder to all people to think critically at all times. For what seems obviously correct at the time, might very well be proved to be absolutely invalid.