Written by: gfesadmin on January 18, 2013

This is my first in-depth and professional introduction to Max Weber and his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber’s ideology invites his reader to think about capitalism as a possible byproduct of religion, particularly the Protestant Reformation. He holds that systems used by men and women during the span of the reformation, such as the management of funds and fundraising, contributed to both modern and postmodern capitalism as we know it today.

When Protestant missionaries branched out to minister around the globe, they took the western concept of capitalism with them to eventually create an international phenomenon. When used in the right way, capitalism can help others to have a meaningful life. To highlight a positive aspect of this, Mother Theresa embraced a good model of a capitalistic system to manage funds given to her to aid her cause in India. She possessed a stealth-like meekness that invited people to give to her cause to help meet the human needs there. In a sense, I can see where capitalism in this regard helped to further her mission that still exists today. 

I think highly of this type of charitable capitalism. This type of capitalism impacts lives, and it serves the greater good of mankind. It meets the needs of the marginalized. This is the type of “spirit” in which I wish capitalism as we know it had its roots and ultimate motivation.

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