Protestant Ethics

THE PHRASE Protestant work ethic was coined by the German Max Weber, one of the most influential sociologists of the 20th century. Weber linked it to the development of capitalism in his classic essay “The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism.” He argued that the emergence of Lutheran and Calvinist theology during the 16th century stimulated in the following century the development of a work ethic, which became associated with the religious doctrine of Puritanism.

Protestantism created the basis for what Weber defined as “inner-world asceticism,” a philosophical vision that considered work as a moral activity and an end in itself. In his reading of capitalism and Protestantism, Weber found that the former could develop primarily through a particular cultural climate rather than because of particular economic conditions: “One of the fundamental elements of the spirit of modern capitalism, and not only of that but of all modern culture: rational conduct on the basis of the idea of the calling, was born—that is what this discussion has sought to demonstrate—from the spirit of Christian asceticism.”

This Protestant view clashed with the premodern and precapitalist Catholic attitude toward work, which conceived it as curse or a necessary evil, at best. The formation of a Protestant work ethic promoted industriousness over idleness and favored views that equated poverty with sin. This is well exemplified by the Protestant idea that “idle hands are the devil's workshop.” This persuasion, which in its secularized version faults the poor for being lazy, continues to inform the way poverty is described by certain sectors of contemporary society.

Capitalism requires workers to combine high levels of production with an attention to diligence and punctuality. Protestant theology encouraged this combination by the doctrines of vocation and double predestination. Luther's theorization of vocation, Weber explained, not only had an impact on religious faith but also applied to any occupation or trade. To Martin Luther, individuals full of spirituality may be engaged in the most menial of vocations. In addition, John Calvin's doctrine of double predestination, according to which men did not all belong to the category of the saved, made Protestantism a religion of doubt rather than of certainty. Weber stressed how, as a result, Puritanism equated wealth and industry with morality. The crisis generated in the believers about their prospects for salvation prompted an increased level of productivity, as they started to look for signs that could reveal that they had been saved. The constant quest for worldly activity was mainly a quest for God's presence in the world. Economic success became a symbol of God's grace. Hard work was identified as the inevitable way to personal and collective salvation.

Because of their careful reading of the Bible, Puritans found many sources that confirmed their vision of hard work as ennobling. The exclusion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, which forced Adam to work for their subsistence, was read by Puritans as the indication that work could rectify man's faults. They found support for their rational pursuit of economic gain in Proverbs 10:4, which says, “Poverty brings a man low: but the hands of the vigorous make rich.”

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