>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 20:42:38 -0500 >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: Tim Rourke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Historical Context of the Work Ethic B >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Precedence: bulk > >Protestantism and the Protestant Ethic > >With the Reformation, a period of religious and political upheaval in >western Europe during the sixteenth century, came a new perspective on >work. Two key religious leaders who influenced the development of >western culture during this period were Martin Luther and John Calvin. >Luther was an Augustinian friar who became discontent with the Catholic >church and was a leader within the Protestant movement. He believed that >people could serve God through their work, that the professions were >useful, that work was the universal base of society and the cause of >differing social classes, and that a person should work diligently in >their own occupation and should not try to change from the profession to >which he was born. To do so would be to go against God's laws since God >assigned each person to his own place in the social hierarchy (Lipset, >1990; Tilgher, 1930). > >The major point at which Luther differed from the medieval concept of >work was regarding the superiority of one form of work over another. >Luther regarded the monastic and contemplative life, held up as the >ideal during the middle ages, as an egotistic and unaffectionate >exercise on the part of the monks, and he accused them of evading their >duty to their neighbors (Tilgher, 1930). For Luther, a person's vocation >was equated as his calling, but all calling's were of equal spiritual >dignity. This tenant was significant because it affirmed manual labor. > >Luther still did not pave the way for a profit-oriented economic system >because he disapproved of commerce as an occupation (Lipset, 1990; >Tilgher, 1930). From his perspective, commerce did not involve any real >work. Luther also believed that each person should earn an income which >would meet his basic needs, but to accumulate or horde wealth was >sinful. > >According to Weber (1904, 1905), it was John Calvin who introduced the >theological doctrines which combined with those of Martin Luther to form >a significant new attitude toward work. Calvin was a French theologian >whose concept of predestination was revolutionary. Central to Calvinist >belief was the Elect, those persons chosen by God to inherit eternal >life. All other people were damned and nothing could change that since >God was unchanging. While it was impossible to know for certain whether >a person was one of the Elect, one could have a sense of it based on his >own personal encounters with God. Outwardly the only evidence was in the >person's daily life and deeds, and success in one's worldly endeavors >was a sign of possible inclusion as one of the Elect. A person who was >indifferent and displayed idleness was most certainly one of the damned, >but a person who was active, austere, and hard-working gave evidence to >himself and to others that he was one of God's chosen ones (Tilgher, >1930). > >Calvin taught that all men must work, even the rich, because to work was >the will of God. It was the duty of men to serve as God's instruments >here on earth, to reshape the world in the fashion of the Kingdom of >God, and to become a part of the continuing process of His creation >(Braude, 1975). Men were not to lust after wealth, possessions, or easy >living, but were to reinvest the profits of their labor into financing >further ventures. Earnings were thus to be reinvested over and over >again, ad infinitum, or to the end of time (Lipset, 1990). Using profits >to help others rise from a lessor level of subsistence violated God's >will since persons could only demonstrate that they were among the Elect >through their own labor (Lipset, 1990). > >Selection of an occupation and pursuing it to achieve the greatest >profit possible was considered by Calvinists to be a religious duty. Not >only condoning, but encouraging the pursuit of unlimited profit was a >radical departure from the Christian beliefs of the middle ages. In >addition, unlike Luther, Calvin considered it appropriate to seek an >occupation which would provide the greatest earnings possible. If that >meant abandoning the family trade or profession, the change was not only >allowed, but it was considered to be one's religious duty (Tilgher, >1930). > >The norms regarding work which developed out of the Protestant >Reformation, based on the combined theological teachings of Luther and >Calvin, encouraged work in a chosen occupation with an attitude of >service to God, viewed work as a calling and avoided placing greater >spiritual dignity on one job than another, approved of working >diligently to achieve maximum profits, required reinvestment of profits >back into one's business, allowed a person to change from the craft or >profession of his father, and associated success in one's work with the >likelihood of being one of God's Elect. > > > >Two Perspectives of the Protestant Ethic > >The attitudes toward work which became a part of the culture during the >sixteenth century, and the economic value system which they nurtured, >represented a significant change from medieval and classical ways of >thinking about work (Anthony, 1977). Max Weber, the German economic >sociologist, coined a term for the new beliefs about work calling it the >"Protestant ethic." The key elements of the Protestant ethic were >diligence, punctuality, deferment of gratification, and primacy of the >work domain (Rose, 1985). Two distinct perspectives were evident in the >literature with regard to the development of the Protestant ethic. > >One perspective was the materialist viewpoint which stated that the >belief system, called the Protestant ethic, grew out of changes in the >economic structure and the need for values to support new ways of >behavior. Anthony (1977) attributes this view to Karl Marx. The other >perspective, delineated by Max Weber (1904, 1905), viewed changes in the >economic structure as an outgrowth of shifts in theological beliefs. >Regardless of the viewpoint, it is evident that a rapid expansion in >commerce and the rise of industrialism coincided with the Protestant >Reformation (Rose, 1985). > >Bernstein (1988), in an argument supporting the materialist viewpoint, >enumerated three sixteenth century trends which probably contributed to >the support by Luther and Calvin of diligence: (1) a rapid population >increase of Germany and Western Europe, (2) inflation, and (3) a high >unemployment rate. Probably the most serious of these was the rapid >expansion in population. Between 1500 and 1600, the population of >Germany increased by 25% and the British population increased by 40% >(Bernstein, 1988). In the cities, the increases were even greater as >people from rural areas were displaced by enclosure of large tracts of >land for sheep farming. In addition, the import of large quantities of >silver and gold from Mexico and Peru contributed to inflation in general >price levels of between 300% and 400%, and even higher inflation in food >prices (Bernstein, 1988). Along with the growth in population and the >inflation problems, unemployment was estimated at 20% in some cities >(Bernstein, 1988). People without jobs became commonplace on the streets >of cities, begging and struggling to survive. > >European cities acted to alleviate the problems of unemployment and >begging on the streets by passing laws which prohibited begging. The >general perception of the time was that work was available for those who >wanted to work, and that beggars and vagrants were just lazy. The >reality was that the movement of people into the cities far exceeded the >capacity of the urban areas to provide jobs. The theological premise >that work was a necessary penance for original sin caused increased >prejudice toward those without work. Bernstein (1988) suggested that a >fundamental misunderstanding of the economic realities facing the poor >contributed to the theological development of the Protestant ethic. > >>From a marxist view, what actually occurred was the development of a >religious base of support for a new industrial system which required >workers who would accept long hours and poor working conditions >(Anthony, 1977; Berenstein, 1988). Berenstein did not accuse the >theological leaders of the Protestant Reformation of deliberately >constructing a belief system which would support the new economic order, >but proposed that they did misconstrue the realities of the poor and the >unemployed of their day. > >>From the perspective of Max Weber (1904, 1905), the theological beliefs >came first and change in the economic system resulted. Motivation of >persons to work hard and to reinvest profits in new business ventures >was perceived as an outcome primarily of Calvinism. Weber further >concluded that countries with belief systems which were predominantly >Protestant prospered more under capitalism than did those which were >predominantly Catholic (Rose, 1985). > > > >The Work Ethic and the Rise of Capitalism > >During the medieval period, the feudal system became the dominant >economic structure in Europe. This was a social, economic, and political >system under which landowners provided governance and protection to >those who lived and worked on their property. Centralization of >government, the growth of trade, and the establishment of economically >powerful towns, during the fifteenth century, provided alternative >choices for subsistence, and the feudal system died out (Webster >Encyclopedia, 1985). One of the factors that made the feudal system work >was the predominant religious belief that it was sinful for people to >seek work other than within the God ordained occupations fathers passed >on to their sons. With the Protestant Reformation, and the spread of a >theology which ordained the divine dignity of all occupations as well as >the right of choosing one's work, the underpinnings of an emerging >capitalist economic system were established. > >Anthony (1977) described the significance of an ideology advocating >regular systematic work as essential to the transformation from the >feudal system to the modern society. In the emerging capitalist system, >work was good. It satisfied the economic interests of an increasing >number of small businessmen and it became a social duty--a norm. Hard >work brought respect and contributed to the social order and well being >of the community. The dignity with which society viewed work brought >dignity for workers as well, and contempt for those who were idle or >lazy. > >The Protestant ethic, which gave "moral sanction to profit making >through hard work, organization, and rational calculation" (Yankelovich, >1981, p. 247), spread throughout Europe and to America through the >Protestant sects. In particular, the English Puritans, the French >Huguenots, and the Swiss and Dutch Reformed subscribed to Calvinist >theology that was especially conducive to productivity and capital >growth (Lipset, 1990). As time passed, attitudes and beliefs which >supported hard work became secularized, and were woven into the norms of >Western culture (Lipset, 1990; Rodgers, 1978; Rose, 1985; Super, 1982). >Weber (1904, 1905) especially emphasized the popular writings of >Benjamin Franklin as an example of how, by the eighteenth century, >diligence in work, scrupulous use of time, and deferment of pleasure had >become a part of the popular philosophy of work in the Western world. >
