Webers Cookbook The Missing Ingredients Essay Example

Webers Cookbook: The Missing Ingredients Essay For America the definition of business is success. Americans are obsessed with business and all they can think about is succeeding in a business. Weber made a rational argument in saying how capitalism holds people to bondage. Capitalism doesnt allow people to freely express themselves. People do things that would be beneficiary for them to survive in the current status of society. [Weber was heavily influenced by the ideas of Marx, but he noticed that some ingredients were missing from Marxs theory. Weber noticed a difference and problem between medieval Catholic society and 19th century American society. Protestantism provided the foundation for the missing link he was searching for between medieval society and 19th century American society. Calvinism led to the Protestant work ethic. Weber finds/uncovers Calvinism in the sermons of Baxter and Wesley that establishes the impetus/foundation for its secular transformation. Franklins ideas are actually secular sermons that support the Protestant ethic. Franklins sermon is enshrined in the 19th century cult of the self-made man and other writings. The Ad and the Ego illustrates the materialistic world and can be tied in with Webers iron cage metaphor.] We will write a custom essay sample on Webers Cookbook: The Missing Ingredients specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Webers Cookbook: The Missing Ingredients specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Webers Cookbook: The Missing Ingredients specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Weber noticed that all capitalist societies all had 3 things in common. He followed Marxs ideas. The 3 characteristics of the society were that they had secular ideas from the Renaissance times, effective transportation system, and natural resources. But Weber noticed that even communist societies held the same characteristics as the capitalists. Weber got interested because he noticed how ingredients were missing from Marxs theories and wanted to find the missing pieces to the puzzle. Therefore, Weber concluded that there had to be more ingredients in creating a capitalistic nation. He noted that most of the capitalists were Protestants. They were usually Calvinistic Protestants. Being Protestant was a big part of a capitalistic society. Capitalism brings industry and trade. Most Catholics were more involved with handicrafts. The industry and trade brought about the sense of money being more important. In the medieval Catholic society, economic traditionalism prevailed, which Weber viewed as a complete contrast to capitalism in several ways. First, economic activity was very much tied to religious bounds in economic traditionalism. Whereas, capitalism has a secular economic activity, an economy not tied to religion. Secondly, Catholics believed in a justified, fair price, but capitalists seek profits in any way. Thirdly, economic traditionalism despised greed when it came to wealth and considered it as a sin. On the other hand, capitalism encouraged avarice, a lust for seeking vast amounts of wealth. Fourthly, Catholics at that time only cared for salvation, which is the key to happiness, but for capitalists material possessions lead to a juicy amount of happiness. Next, the Catholic Church discouraged any movement up the social and economic ladder because they thought wealth had no value. However, capitalism greatly encouraged the mobility of social ranks because it valued wealth as a success factor. Finally, the Catholic religion tried to avoid wealth, but the capitalists thought it was a moral obligation to make money. When Weber noticed these opposites, he stumbled upon a problem. He pondered how capitalism could have developed from its opposite dogma, the spirit of economic activity. Weber looked deeply into the Protestant Reformation, where new breeds of religious beliefs were born, to seek for the missing link between the traditional medieval economy and the American Market system. There were three branches of religion that Weber focused on: Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism. Weber analyzed these religions on the same categories. One of these categories involved salvation. The basis of being saved in the Catholic religion was based on ones actions, deeds, and sacraments. Standards for salvation were different for people. The spiritual people, such as priests, had higher moral standards to abide by than the general mass. The Lutheran religion twists that notion of acts and says faith and a relationship in God will save a person. However, contrary to the Catholic religion, Lutherans believed that everybodys moral standards were the same, no matter how spiritual one might be. The odd ball out, the Calvinists believed that one could do nothing to be saved, it is already predetermined, which means that God has already chosen a fate for a person. Like the Lutherans, the Calvinists had one standard and believed two standards would lead to immoral masses. Weber did more investigation on the three religions to find the missing link between the economic traditionalism and capitalism. Weber created asceticism and the calling categories. The degrees of asceticism in the Catholic Church were split between the priests and the masses again. Obviously, the people like the priests had a higher degree of asceticism. The high degree of asceticism for the priests labeled them as the called. The calling of a person in the Catholic Church only occurred to people who are not bound to the secular world, like the priests. For Lutherans, asceticism was not as important. The degree of asceticism for the Lutherans was about the same as the masses of the Catholic Church. Since asceticism is not as important, there was no elite in the Lutheran church and everyone had a calling. The Calvinists had a very high degree of asceticism. They believed it was expected out of everyone. They had to be highly rational in their behavior as well, which meant planning ones day so that every second counts. All of this high asceticism gave Calvinists psychological reassurance to whether or not they were saved. Since a high degree of asceticism is expected out of everyone, there is no special person that has a calling, everyone does. However, the Calvinists believed that there was spiritual elite within the world. The Calvinists religion was what Weber saw as the missing link, the link that would lead to the Protestant Ethic. The Calvinists in Webers view created the development of the Protestant Ethic, which lead to capitalism. Calvinisms foundation as a religion is based on the idea of predestination, where God pre-picks ones fate in life. Calvinists always sought to find out about their destinies and through the three ingredients to the Calvinists religion, one could find psychological reassurance. One of these ingredients is planning rationally. Calvinists strictly believed in using every second for God. Another ingredient is the calling. When a Calvinists gets called, their predestination esteem goes up because God chooses them. The final ingredient is asceticism, a very high degree of asceticism. With these three ingredients, Calvinists got psychological reassurance. Weber believes that these ingredients are key to the development of the Protestant Ethic. In analyzing Baxter and Wesleys sermons, Weber finds the three ingredients to the Protestant Ethic, which lead to an undeniable paradox within the Calvinist faith. Baxter and Wesley, who were Puritan ministers in the 17th and 18th century, wrote sermons that characterize the three ingredients. In these sermons, Weber notices how the three ingredients in the Protestant Ethic are in action. In Baxters sermons, planning rationally in ones life is efficient process. In fact, being lazy is considered one of the deadly sins. Baxter believed that time was valuable. Every second of ones life should be devoted to Gods glory. The Calvinist ministries stressed that hard work in ones calling is great because it shows ones devotion and favor towards God. Ones calling allowed a person to gain wealth for the glory of God. The more wealth one gains, the more God favors that person. Asceticism was required to regulate the wealth so that it is used for God. Enjoyment is suppressed in all aspects of li fe. Frugality is highly essential to control ones wealth. However, Wesley pointed out that gaining wealth for the sake of wealth was sinful, but ones calling called for the compiling of wealth. This statement leads to a paradox that is inevitable in the Calvinist faith. Weber distinctively discovered a paradox within the Calvinist religion when analyzing Baxter and Wesleys sermons. While seeking riches is a sin, ones calling forced a person to seek wealth for God. Therefore, seeking riches has become a duty in the Calvinist religion. When one gains wealth, a person will be tempted to live a secular life. However, the Calvinists faith seeks to gain as much as wealth as possible because that showed ones determinism for ones calling and Gods favor. The paradox within the Calvinist faith can be easily represented as secular notions.