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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Critically examine Max Weber’s theory of the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Could it be the otherwise possibility that the tenets of capitalism must also have affected the emergence of the Protestant ethic? Comment with suitable examples.

  • UPSC 2003
  • Sociological Thinkers

In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904–05), Max Weber asked why rational, disciplined accumulation became a moral duty only in the modern West. His answer ran from religious ideas to economic conduct. The question asks whether the causal arrow could also run the other way, from capitalism to Protestantism.

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What the full answer covers

  • Weber's thesis
  • Critical examination
  • Could capitalism have shaped the Protestant ethic?
  • Conclusion

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