In an aged response to Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Michael Novak discusses how the powerful cultural influence Catholicism has had throughout the world is necessary in any vision of the future of capitalism. Drawing on the major works of modern Papal thought, The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism demonstrates how Catholic tradition has come to reflect a richer interpretation of capitalist culture. Novak offers an original and penetrating conception of social justice and applies a newly formulated notion of social activism to the urgent worldwide problem of ethnicity, race, and poverty. With this fresh rethinking of the Catholic ethic, Novak presents timely research that will challenge citizens in the West seeking a realistic, moral vision and those living in the two historically Catholic regions of the world—Eastern Europe and Latin America—as they take their first steps as market economies.

Using both historical and survey research, Tropman outlines a Catholic ethic that is distinctive in its sympathy and outreach toward the poor, and in its emphasis on family and community over economic success.

Author's best-known and most controversial study relates the rise of a capitalist economy to the Puritan belief that hard work and good deeds were outward signs of faith and salvation.

In The Protestant Ethic, Max Weber opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and relates the rise of the capitalist economy to the Calvinist belief in the moral value of hard work and the fulfillment of one's worldly duties. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Max Weber's celebrated thesis, which explores the relationship between Protestant work ethic and the emergence of capitalist enterprise, is presented here inclusive of his lengthy notes. In coining the phrase 'Protestant work ethic', Weber demonstrates a series of parallels between certain Protestant denominations and the modern business. The veneration of hard work, discipline, and carefulness with money birthed a culture that led over generations to the establishment of capitalism; with enough workers sharing in these beliefs, entrepreneurs were able to create large businesses that could consistently deliver a profit. Using examples such as Martin Luther and Calvinist doctrines, Weber demonstrates how ideas of the virtues of diligence were placed parallel with God and morality. By working hard, every man was contributing to a better world and society, in the name of the Lord. However, Weber asserts that over time the religious connotations behind capitalist enterprise largely disappeared; the famous writings of Benjamin Franklin are cited as example, whereby notions of diligence were expressed eloquently but no longer cited God and holy virtue. Though controversial, Weber's work remains much-consulted by sociologists. The notion that Protestantism contributed to or accelerated the development of capitalism is popular in the modern day.

In The Protestant Ethic, Max Weber opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and relates the rise of the capitalist economy to the Calvinist belief in the moral value of hard work and the fulfillment of one's worldly duties. Based on the original 1905 edition, this volume includes, along with Weber's treatise, an illuminating introduction, a wealth of explanatory notes, and exemplary responses and remarks-both from Weber and his critics-sparked by publication of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

This title was first published in 2003. Fields traces the origins of recent economic growth in Ireland over a long period of development. In doing so, he opens up an old debate with new data, interpretations and evidence that will force many to question existing truths about the role of religion in economic growth. The work is founded on an innovative methodology and unique primary and secondary resource material that has never been used in a study of this kind. This is timely as the area has a growing international market and addresses some recently ignored themes in the Social Sciences, in particular religion. Whilst concerned with global issues this text also focuses on one country which economists and sociologists as well as those in other Social Sciences areas will find of great interest.