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Wanting to reboot the economy’s deterministic
effect on the Marxist theory, Weber combined his interest in economy with
sociology. He attempted to establish historical cause-effect relationship,
through a historical study, not only depending on economy variables. One of
his fundamental works, Die Protestantische Ethike und der Geist Kapitalismus
(protestant ethic and the capitalism spirit) 1904-1905, attempting to
demonstrate that Calvinistic religious and ethic values exerted great a
influence on the development of capitalism. He returned to the same ideas
when he studied the Asian religions and philosophies impetrating the
oriental cultures, concluding that those were the causes for preventing the
development of capitalism in those societies, in spite of existing favorable
economic factors for the development of such capitalism. Max Weber is
considered as one of the founders of modern sociology thinking. Perhaps, he
is the most important sociologist of the XXth century, particularly known
for his systematic approach to political sociology and the development of
capitalism and bureaucracy. He explored the influence of ethical values and
religion. His most renowned works were: Protestant ethics, The Spirit of
Capitalism, Economy and Society, and The Politician and the Scientist. |