Protestant work ethic

{{Christianity}}
The '''Protestant work ethic''', a contested [[Sociology|socio-]][[Theology|theological]] concept, links hard work, frugality and the origins of modern [[Industrial Revolution|industrial]] [[capitalism]] to [[Protestant]] theology. The term derives from [[Max Weber]]'s 1905 book ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism''.<ref>
[http://archive.org/details/protestantethics00webe ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' (1930 ed.) hosted at archive.org]
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==Theology==
During the early modern era, the doctrine of [[predestination]] became popular among Protestants, especially [[Calvinism|Calvinists]]. Predestination stood in opposition to the doctrine of Good Works held by the [[Catholic Church]] — believers in predestination posited that good works were not a means of entry into [[heaven]], but a reflection of the person as being one of the elect. The purpose of good works, then, was to demonstrate that you were pre-selected to go to heaven and not the [[hell|place down below]]. Aiding the poor was considered to be [[morality|immoral]] because their position in society was reflective of what was pre-ordained by [[God]].

==Sociology==
Weber's thesis that Protestantism contributed to the rise of [[capitalism]] has been both defended and critiqued by more recent scholars. For example, [[Richard Hofstadter]] drew on the idea of the Protestant ethic in comparison to modern and [[secular]] forms of the ideology, referring to [[Social Darwinism]] as a form of "naturalistic Calvinism."<ref>Richard Hofstadter. (1944) [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ty8aEmWc_ekC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=naturalistic%20calvinism&f=false Social Darwinism in American Thought], p. 10</ref> Sascha O. Becker and Ludger Wossman present an alternative [[hypothesis]]: That Protestantism per se did not help to bring about the rise of capitalism, but that it was a by-product of the Protestants' encouragement of lay people to read the [[Bible]], which led to a higher demand for printing presses, and ultimately, higher literacy rates that enabled commerce to grow.<ref>Sascha O. Becker and Ludger Wossmann. [http://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/1366/1/weberLMU.pdf "Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economics History."] Munich Discussion Paper No. 2007-7, 22 January 2007.</ref>

==Backlash==
The spread of the Protestant work ethic led to a number of critiques of the alleged inherent moral value of work. Paul Lafargue, the son-in-law of [[Karl Marx]], wrote an essay entitled "The Right to be Lazy" while serving his sentence in Saint Pélagie Prison.<ref>Paul Lafargue. (1883) [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lafargue/1883/lazy/ The Right to be Lazy.] (Trans. Charles Kerr)</ref> Lafargue noted the ethos of the ancient Greek philosophers, who believed that hard work was a vice rather than a virtue. [[Bertrand Russell]] also argued against work as a virtue in his essay "In Praise of Idleness."<ref>Bertrand Russell. (1932) [http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html In Praise of Idleness.]</ref>

In [[economics]], the concept is not very accurate for the 21st century. One of the largest fallacies when analyzing the [[European debt crisis]] is that lazy [[Greek]]s supposedly work less than [[German]]s; research says the opposite.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2013/09/working-hours?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709 Working hours: Get a life], ''The Economist''</ref>

==See also==
*[[Blaming the victim]]
*[[Just world hypothesis]]
*[[Name it and claim it]]
*[[Rugged individualism]]
*[[Work ethic]]

==External links==
*[http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/frey.protestant.ethic The Protestant Ethic thesis], Donald Frey, EH.net Encyclopedia
*[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/479867/Protestant-ethic Protestant Ethic], Encyclopedia Britannica
*[http://rhill.coe.uga.edu/workethic/hist.htm History of Work Ethic], Roger B. Hill, University of Georgia
*Sharon Beder. [http://www.rationalist.com.au/archive/55/p8-13.pdf Selling the Work Ethic.] ''Australian Rationalist'', no. 55, 2000, pp. 8-13
*[https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/PWE/ Protestant Work Ethic Scale] — Open-Source Psychometrics Project

==References==
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[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Christianity]]

Categories: Economics, Sociology, Christianity