An analysis and comparison of the theories of Max Weber and Thorstein Veblen.
Written in 2001; 3,355 words; 7 sources; $ 95.95
Paper Summary:
This paper begins with Weber's account of the existence and persistence of asceticism within the development of capitalism in the west, thus providing a backdrop for the elucidation of Veblen's instinct of workmanship. The two concepts converge when one's "industry and frugality" meets the other's ?bias toward serviceability and not waste.? The paper uses this juncture to compare asceticism and the instinct of workmanship and follow Weber and Veblen's separate paths on the road toward a modern capitalism. While there are some similarities along the way, they arrive at somewhat different conclusions.
From the Paper:
"Within Economy and Society and The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Weber explicitly discusses the crucial role of a specific type of asceticism in the development of modern occidental capitalism. Within a religious context he characterizes (he admits, particularly and narrowly) the "ascetic" as one with a "methodical procedure for achieving religious salvation" (Weber 1978: 541). Given this portrayal, with its emphasis on salvation, the world in which the ascetic exists, and subsequently moves beyond, assumes a distinct centrality. The world from a religious perspective is the social sphere of mankind that is intrinsically saturated with temptation?those "ethically irrational" sensual pleasures and the concomitant proclivities toward "complacent self-sufficiency and self-righteousness" that are counterproductive to the divine accomplishments necessary for salvation (1978: 542). As a Weberian ascetic, one's "methodical procedure" of living may emphatically engage this world of temptation or resolutely reject it."
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