Introduction

Why did modern capitalism arise first in the West, and above all in Protestant regions? Weber noticed that in Germany Protestants were markedly over-represented among business owners and skilled workers compared with Catholics. Quoting Franklin's maxim 'Time is money', he shows that the spirit of capitalism is not mere greed but an ethical attitude that treats making money as a calling and a duty, with diligent work, frugal self-denial and constant accumulation. He traces its religious roots: Luther saw worldly occupation as a 'calling' ordained by God; Calvin's doctrine of predestination left believers anxious whether they were among God's elect, so that they laboured tirelessly in their worldly work, taking success as a sign of salvation. This 'inner-worldly asceticism' unintentionally promoted the accumulation of capital. At the end he warns that modern man will be trapped in the 'iron cage' of rationalisation.