Paleev R.N. Max Weber on law and morality

Abstract: The subject of this research is the legal concept of Max Weber, who among such classics of sociology as Karl Mannheim and Vilfredo Pareto, dedicated more attention to the problems of law and morality. When the scholars thought of the reason why capitalism emerged in the West, the came to the conclusion that it is all because of our “greed for gain”. German philosopher believed the “strive for entrepreneurship”, as well as the most financial profit, in its essence has nothing to do with the capitalism. This strive is characteristic to all social groups and professions of all times, and all over the world, where is a slight chance to make more profit. Similar naïve ideas about the essence of capitalism belong to those truths, which should be rejected once and for all back at the initial stage of studying history of culture. According to Weber, the cause of emergence of capitalism is the protestant ethos – a specific code of moral ideas that are connected with poetization of labor, asceticism, and moral purity. The article is first to analyse Weber’s legal ideas and their correlation with morality. The author demonstrates how the ascetic Protestantism affected the modern entrepreneurship. One of the main components of the modern capitalistic spirit and spirit of the entire modern culture – the rational lifestyle based on the idea of professional calling – appeared from the spirit of Christian asceticism.

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