Question 1

According to &#34;The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,&#34; persons who work hard and are successful should&#10;A) avoid material luxury and hedonistic enjoyment of life.&#10;B) strive to help others who are less successful.&#10;C) retire early, leaving job opportunities to others.&#10;D) pass their success on to their children in the form of wealth and social privilege.

Accepted Answer

According to "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism," persons who work hard and are successful should avoid material luxury and hedonistic enjoyment of life. This is because the Protestant work ethic promotes the idea of living a modest and frugal lifestyle, and that hard work is a sign of one's salvation. Accumulating wealth and material possessions is seen as a distraction from one's ultimate goal of salvation.

Question 2

When Weber examines the modern world, he sees&#10;A) enormous abundance and undreamed-of leisure that justify the hard work of his forefathers.&#10;B) a spirit of cooperation and caring that extends wherever capitalism is adopted across the globe.&#10;C) people turning away from hard work and faith in the capitalist system.&#10;D) people trapped in a capitalist system but no longer holding the values or beliefs that helped create it.

Accepted Answer

Weber sees people as trapped in a capitalist system without holding the values or beliefs that helped create it. He argues that while capitalism has brought enormous material wealth and progress, it has also led to a disenchantment and rationalization of the world, where traditional belief systems and values have been replaced by a frenzied pursuit of profit and efficiency. This has resulted in a loss of meaning and purpose for many individuals, who find themselves trapped in a system that they no longer believe in or find fulfilling.

Question 3

Weber quotes extensively from which individual as an example of the &#34;spirit of capitalism&#34;?&#10;A) John D. Rockefeller&#10;B) Benjamin Franklin&#10;C) Andrew Carnegie&#10;D) Adam Smith

Accepted Answer

Weber extensively quotes Benjamin Franklin as an example of the "spirit of capitalism" in his book "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." Franklin's teachings on frugality, hard work, and self-discipline were seen as embodying the values necessary for success in a capitalist society.

Question 4

Weber credits Martin Luther with developing the idea of a &#34;calling,&#34; which claims that&#10;A) we are all destined to enter heaven.&#10;B) at a critical point in our life, we will &#34;know God&#34; as true.&#10;C) God expects us to willingly engage in work as a sign or manifestation of our morality.&#10;D) a select few people are designated to lead the rest of the people in righteousness.

Accepted Answer

According to Weber, Luther believed in the idea of a "calling," in which an individual's work is seen as a manifestation of their morality and a sign of their willingness to engage in God's plan. This concept emphasized the importance of hard work and dedication in one's profession as a way to honor God and fulfill their duty as a faithful Christian.

Question 5

What name does Max Weber give to the religious view that emphasizes asceticism, duty in a calling, and one's worldly success as a sign of God's favor?&#10;A) the Protestant ethic&#10;B) substantive rationality&#10;C) Methodism&#10;D) the spirit of capitalism

Accepted Answer

Max Weber coined the term "the Protestant ethic" to describe the religious view that emphasizes asceticism, duty in a calling, and one's worldly success as a sign of God's favor. He argued that this ethic was a driving force behind the rise of capitalism in Western societies.

Question 6

When Weber describes the &#34;spirit of capitalism,&#34; he is emphasizing the&#10;A) responsibilities owners and employers have to workers and employees.&#10;B) connection between material abundance and belief in God.&#10;C) obligation or desire to seek profits through economic activity.&#10;D) the &#34;invisible hand&#34; that coordinates production and prices through supply

Accepted Answer

Weber's description of the "spirit of capitalism" emphasizes the obligation or desire to seek profits through economic activity, rather than any responsibilities to workers or belief in God. It is this drive for profit that he argues creates the distinctive characteristics of capitalist societies, such as a focus on efficiency and rational calculation.

Deck 42: Max Weber, From the Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism