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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Describe the main idea of Max Weber’s book, ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ as a critique of Marxism.

  • UPSC 2024
  • Sociological Thinkers

Karl Marx held that the economic base (forces and relations of production) conditions the superstructure of law, politics and religion. Religion is its reflection and "the opium of the people". Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904–05) is often read as a "dialogue with the ghost of Marx". It asks whether…

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What the full answer covers

  • The main argument
  • Why this is a critique of Marxism
  • Not a spiritualist counter-dogma
  • Critiques of Weber
  • Conclusion

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