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Max Weber's Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism

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Max Weber was a German sociologist who was born in 1864. Many of Weber 's work remains essential to sociology today. He had a particular interest in the birth of strong bureaucracy, resulting in more efficient capitalism. He highlights his ideas through his book 'Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, and the dangers it imposed on charismatic leaders and the process of disenchantment. This assignment will discuss Weber 's work on the Protestant ethic, the origins of where Weber 's warning about bureaucracy emerged from. It is important to understand Weber 's theory on Protestant Ethics to understand his theory on rationalization. The emergence of rationalisation and the image of the iron cage, both were key to Weber 's warnings about …show more content…

The different paragraphs are all key to understanding Weber 's theory on rationalization. In the opening paragraph the Protestant ethic was discussed and how it developed capitalism. Weber 's book 'Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism ' describes how the lack of socialising was due to salvation anxiety. Weber argued this was enough to drive people despair. It is key to understand the Protestant ethic, so one can under the terms of Weber 's rationalisation. Weber believed that rationalisation led to the disenchantment of the world and that man was confined to an iron cage. One could not escape the iron cage because they are a little cog within a business due to being in fear of losing their position. In a rational world one is always expected to take the best option to optimise capital. George Ritzer 's McDonalisation of Society takes Weber 's theory of rationalisation and modernises it. Ritzer breaks down his own concept of McDonalisation into four elements, Predictability, calculability, efficiency and controlling. Ritzer also mentions how consumers become unpaid employees without realising. The final paragraph discussed the loss of charismatic leaders within a bureaucratic world. Organizational structures will always out last the charismatic leader. The disenchantment of the world allows people to become alienated because bureaucracies become a life of their own. Capital is the main aim. One can understand and agree with Weber 's theory

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