I do not feel that
religion plays the same role in influencing modern
capitalism, as Weber
believes that it used
to. There are
several reasons why I feel
religion is no longer a major influence on the
development of
capitalism in the world.
One of the main reasons I feel this way is I do not think that religion
is as important to a lot of people as it used to be. As time has gone by more and more varied religions have arose
which has lessoned the impact that Protestant religions such as Pietism,
Methodism, Baptism, and Calvinism can have on the economic environment. I assume that many businesses these days are
run by a wide variety of people with different religious beliefs whereas Weber
stated that in the past many business leaders and owners were Protestant. This would show how Protestant beliefs
couldn’t be the sole influence on modern capitalism anymore. These other religions could bring new ideas
that would affect the development of the current economic systems. So this is one way in which I do not think
religion still plays as an important role in modern capitalism as Weber
described for it.
Another reason I
believe this is that as a whole the world, and specifically the United States,
has become much more materialistic.
More and more people are working solely for the purpose of making more
money to indulge themselves and not working for the approval or saving of God. This was one of Weber’s main arguments that
Protestantism influenced modern capitalism because people worked for the glory
of God and there success was a sign that they were favored. In current times this is not why people are
trying to succeed for the most part.
People are working for themselves and always trying to make money so
they can have more possessions and satisfy their wants and desires. So in turn, this materialistic,
self-indulgent philosophy that is more prevalent in these times is more
influencing on the development of modern capitalism than religion is. However there are still those people that do
work and labor for the approval of God, its just I do not feel these people are
as big a group as in previous times and thus do not have as big of an impact on
the economy anymore.