{"id":630,"date":"2009-03-12T17:25:36","date_gmt":"2009-03-12T22:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/?p=630"},"modified":"2009-03-12T17:26:16","modified_gmt":"2009-03-12T22:26:16","slug":"the-protestant-ethic-the-spirit-of-materialism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/2009\/03\/12\/the-protestant-ethic-the-spirit-of-materialism\/","title":{"rendered":"The Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of Materialism?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"differencebetweentheprotestantandcatholicchurchservice-1024x768-5334\"I’ve been thinking about Jos\u00e9’s blog on Luther’s Freedom<\/a> (2\/19), which reminded of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism <\/a>(PESC).<\/em><\/p>\n

I find many of these ideas to be interesting. \u00a0The idea of Luther’s Reformation as a catalyst for change in terms of social relations in markets is pretty heady stuff. \u00a0I see the Reformation as the obvious move away from the [ideas\/ideals] of the Catholic church (and its take on absolution and salvation, which was often criticized from within), which also marked a shift (in my opinion) a new era\u00a0of spirituality, going from a more commutarian approach to an individualistic one, particularly under Calvinism.<\/p>\n

After the Reformation, salvation was divorced (no pun intended) from leading a Christian life. \u00a0Pascal’s wager <\/a><\/strong>was irrelevant, as man could not influence God. \u00a0Nevertheless, through work could man serve God. \u00a0One’s profession was one’s calling. \u00a0It was later developments in Protestantism, i.e<\/em>.<\/em>, John Calvin, where one couldn’t know for sure if they were saved, BUT success might be an indicator of it. \u00a0Hence, the Protestant work ethic was born. \u00a0It gave people meaning<\/strong>, as opposed to wallowing in nihilism due to not knowing one’s eternal fate. \u00a0Actions became centralized around the individual. \u00a0Community wasn’t dead, but status and legitimacy were now focused more than ever towards personal success.<\/p>\n

Slouching towards late capitalism (or postmodernity), spiritual life was usurped by the profane. \u00a0The final fall of mediaeval asceticism? \u00a0The ascendance of\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>bourgeois ideology? \u00a0Materialism filled in the gaps of meaning. \u00a0(S)he who dies with the most toys, wins? \u00a0Brands become the symbols\/totems that hold meanings. \u00a0Nike = transcendence. \u00a0Coca-Cola = global community. \u00a0Apple = cool rebellion.<\/p>\n

While I find Weber’s PESC<\/em> to be interesting, I think that the main idea is that the cultural context matters when it comes to determining the roots of the various flavors of capitalism, which is being fleshed out with recent research. \u00a0One could write a paper on the Shintoist ethic and the divine spirit of capitalism to explain the rise and fall of Japan, layering how feudal structures were thrust into capitalism under Meiji and how, decades later,\u00a0overembedded networks<\/a> of people and organizations were both a boon (70s-80s) and an albatross (90s-00s) to economic growth. \u00a0Cultural context.<\/p>\n