Karl Marx is considered one of the founding fathers of sociology. He is famous for Marxism which is a collection of critiques of social, economic and political implications of industrial capitalism. Max Weber is also a notable contributor to the field of sociology. His earlier works focused on problems of classical economics and law. His later works are thought to be focused primarily on criticizing the works of Karl Marx. This was conceptualized by German sociologist Albert Salomon, a renowned sociologist. Albert argued that Weber established himself as a sociologist after engaging in an intense dialogue with the ghost of Karl Marx. This paper highlights how Weber is arguing with the ghost of Marx in his most famous publication, The Protestant Ethics and The Spirit of Capitalism.
Weber's publication can be summarized as a study of the relations that occurred between the ethics of ascetic Protestantism as well as the emergence of modern capitalism. This publication is limited to Weber's interpretation of the origin and effect of capitalism. The first four chapters cover religious association as well as the existing social stratification. They also highlight Luther's calling, the commission of the investigation as well as the religious fundamentals of the world’s view on asceticism. The 5th chapter which most of our focus is on is called Asceticism and the spirit of capitalism. Weber's approach to unraveling the rise of modern society is interpreted by sociologists as a argument with the ghost of Karl Marx.
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Weber was one of the first scholars to study the works of Karl Marx. He understood and acknowledged the contributions of some elements of Marxism. They both believed in a relationship between economic and human activities. While Marx focused on sociology about the present day life or logic, Weber focused on the effect of sociology on the afterlife and religion. Marx adhered to a materialistic definition of production of material things. The mode of production was defined by the political, social and cultural phenomena who's top priority lay in the economy. In his ideology, the intention to acquire wealth that others had was noble as long as the methods used did not involve force or fraud. He emphasized on the effort of the worker to progress regarding social class, in a long-term effort to create a society with fairness. Marx favored the dynamics of science and humanitarianism.
Weber, on the other hand, believed that work was a religious concept. Ascetic Protestantism shaped his understanding of labor. But the aim of work was to meet basic needs. However, the active followers of the faith created more wealth than they needed. In the process of reinvesting their surplus, they created additional wealth. This wealth, when amassed, became too much for some individuals. They abandoned the ascetic Protestantism and began to indulge in luxury and comforts that they were not accustomed to. As these luxuries became a way of life, more wealth was required to sustain the lifestyle. Eventually, people stopped working as a form of worship to God and began working as a means of maintaining themselves. It became an evolutionary system where people struggled in a race of economic survival of the fittest. Thus the spirit of capitalism was born.
Weber referred to Marx's dialectical materialism as a naive doctrine. He describes it as a perspective that advanced in a self-possessed manner. He said it was in danger of succumbing to certain illusions because it was not defined clearly. Weber asserted that capitalism had a dominant effect on economic life. Weber also believed that economic factors could be boundaries that predict non-economic behaviors. Therefore, the economy has a limiting or a gating effect on society. He supported his claims by explaining that the spirit of capitalism did exist in America even before the capitalistic order. This was in a bid to promote his ideas on the origin of capitalism. He argues that the capitalistic society was majorly established by the existing attitudes, beliefs as well as customs of the Protestantism, particularly Calvinism and Puritanism.
While Weber had come to accept that the spirit of capitalism was here to stay, he hoped that the Protestants would not be lost in it. He urges them to embrace hard work as a worldly duty that is God given. They are to accept the life that they are born in and to be content with necessities. Even the wealthy were expected to work to fulfill their worldly duty. Weber considered the enjoyment of wealth as a deadly sin. The only thing more dangerous was idleness and a waste of time. This was in direct contrast to Marx who's ideology condemned the inequalities that had fuelled the spirit of capitalism. The sweat of laborers had built the capitalist economy, but only those at the top fully enjoyed it. Marx called for a revolution that would put power and wealth back in the hands of the workers. Weber opposed this as it did not serve any divine purpose or merit in the afterlife.
Marxism draws its essence from the plight of the working class. He highlights universal values such as equality, freedom, justice and a chance to excel by self-improvement. However, he recognizes that capitalism does not respect the right to this values. Instead, the working class works forever because of poor working conditions. The capitalistic system thrives on long working hours with minimum wages. These little earnings then return to the capitalist who owns highly priced housing and supplies essential commodities at inflated rates. This cycle grows capitalism but keeps the laborer at the bottom. The money never benefits the worker. It only keeps him alive to continue his profitless labor. Capitalism is therefore built on the sweat of the worker and the exploitation of the land.
Weber's debate with the ghost of Marx neither acknowledges the injustices that the working class face or the irrational value of ascetic Protestantism. While a man needs a reward for his hard work, asceticism urges him to accept his lot in life. But Weber contradicts himself when he argues that even the rich have to work to eat. Work becomes a pointless obligation to be fulfilled for all. In the end, Weber supports both the worker and the capitalist, but he does not chart a way forward for any of them. On the one hand, Weber agrees that efforts must continue. But on the other, he does not approve of the way the proceeds of the efforts are utilized. In essence, The Protestant Ethics and The Spirit of Capitalism oppose Marx on the origin of capitalism.
The publication also disagrees with Marxism 's solution to the problems resulting from capitalism. But both approach capitalism with personal biases and thus both their arguments are one sided. Though Marx is fighting for a better and just society, regardless of the means, the publication is unclear on what Weber is fighting for. It is safe to assume that his concern is the reconciliation of humanity to original ascetic Protestantism. In conclusion, Marx wants a happy people who benefit from their labor, while Weber wants all of the mankind to engage in work for the sake of labor and amass wealth for the interests of capital. This can be summed up as Max Weber's debate with the ghost of Karl Marx
Reference
Weber, M. (2005). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Routledge, Tailor & Francis.Group.
