Quest of the Spirit: From Suffering to Acceptance

42. Compassion Before Greed:Weber,Spengler,Schopenhauer,Hamlet, Macbeth,Calvin

           In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1930), Max Weber initially argues that capitalism has flourished in the United States because of its interrelation with a spirit of adventure, utilitarianism, and  a form of religion encouraging thrift and monetary rewards which ultimately creates an ethos of its own  ironically acceptable only to its beneficiaries, an ethos so closely aligned the ideas espoused by Benjamin Franklin that they assimilated into the religious and social fabric of the culture. In essence, the profit motive and the Puritan ethic combined to justify unscrupulous business practices and even rationalize their successes by ascribing divine benefits from them. Thus, the entrepreneur's rationalization for his exploitation finds place under the aegis of Social Darwinism or survival of the fittest (55). Thus,  associating economic success with deterministic theory unfortunately eliminates any basis of morality, for better or worst. Under this theory, Weber suggests, "Wealth is thus bad only in so far as it is a temptation to idleness and sinful enjoyment of life, and its acquisition is bad only when it is with the purpose of lager living merrily and without care" (163).  In other countries, however, Weber point out that the will-to-money at all cost constitutes the crime of greed and denotes an inherent insensitivity, unacceptable to society.  Particular cases in both history and literature support his claim.  In Hamlet, Polonius encourages Laertes "to thine own self be true," but ultimately, this attitude leads to the demise of both father and son. Chaucer's wealthy characters on their pilgrimage to Canterbury manipulate and deceive others through varies and sundry lucrative practices; nevertheless, Chaucer laughs scornfully  and scoffs at their hypocritical behavior. Shakespeare's Macbeth is a prime example of a person so totaly blinded by ambition that he sacrifices his soul for power. Machiavelli instructs leaders in the means of gaining and retaining power by controlling the lives of others through fear, insidious relationships, and business entanglements; nonetheless, his personality Shakespeare satirizes in the character of Iago, his most infamous villain. Weber suggests an untoward tendency  for greed in the early colonies, particularly those in Massachusetts which presumably was settled for the purpose of religious instruction. Ironically, the southern states fail to manifests this proclivity. Weber dates evidence of this Puritan  form of perverted virtue as early as 1632 (55). What Weber calls the auri sacra fames, the greed for gold, has existed before and apart from capitalism; however, the society clearly regarded the act of theft, manipulation, or exploitation as a criminal violation of the law (56-57). The author furthermore suggests that tradition, or in a sense, inertia, prevents the average worker from being motivated to achieve at a higher than usual standard. This form of resistance he calls tradition, the tendency of the non-capitalistic worker to labor only enough to earn what is sufficient for his means, and nothing more (61-62). Understandably, only by combining the ethics of religion with labor can one educate the worker otherwise, as was done by theocratic governments such as ancient Egypt, Babylonian, and Assyria.  According to Weber, the possibility of increased incentive and performance  "provides the most favorable foundation for the conception of labour as an end in itself, as a calling which is necessary to capitalism: the chances of overcoming traditionalism are greatest on account of the religious upbringing" (63). Ironically, it is the perversion of religion that leads to the inordinate greed of capitalism; whereas, it is the religious educational background that necessitates the motivation to overcome tradition. It seems that all roads lead to Rome.  Jung, Toynbee, and Spengler all affirm the significance of religion in uniting, motivating, or rebuilding society. Weber next addresses the  concept of tradition by saying that small family or local businesses were the first capitalistic ventures, and that these enterprises were operated on a traditional level, with equitable practices and competitors (66-67).   As more and more competitive businesses appeared, the easy-going life approach  toward life disappeared (68), and the " old leisurely and comfortable attitude toward life gave way to a hard frugality in which some participated and came to the top, because they did not to consume but to earn, while others who wished to keep on with the old ways were forced to curtail their consumption" (68).  it might be suggested that the "old leisurely way" perhaps was not as pleasant or easy as one might assume. Peasant life has never been easy. Nonetheless, with additional production came additional income which served as the fuel for modern capitalism, and its new spirit or motive force. The growth of competition equipped the new entrepreneur  also with a new set of values to justify his at times overzealous business practices. As Weber observes,  "It is very easy not to recognize that only an unusually strong character could save an entrepreneur of this new type from the loss of his temperate self-control and from both moral and economic shipwreck"(69). Thus, this new ethos was quite different from "those adapted to the traditionalism of the past" (69).  At this stage, capitalists began the enormous accumulation of wealth, not for others, but for themselves, all in the name of the new ethos, or Franklin's inverted sense of virtue. For the pre-capitalist, such a practice "seems to him explicable only as the product of a perverse instinct, the auri sacra fames" (72).  In essence, capitalism assumes a dominant role, which no longer requires religious influence or intervention. Modern man know holds a higher value, that of gaining and retaining wealth (72). Those who donate to the Church do so to clear their consciences not for the service of God or man (74).