1987/07/01 by Hartmut Lehmann
Social Sciences · #Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory #Religion and Society Interactions #American Constitutional Law and Politics
paper · doi:10.1017/s0017816000023683
Max Weber's essay on the relationship of ascetic Protestantism and the spirit of capitalism, published in 1904/05, is certainly the most controversial and perhaps the most complicated piece he wrote. As we all know, two generations of scholars have discussed Weber's essay since 1905, filling the shelves of libraries with the fruits of their labors. Scholars in different fields have expressed their own version of what Weber supposedly wanted to say, often generalizing Weber's remarks and giving their own rather than Weber's original opinion.