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The Protestant Ethic as an ideological justification of capitalism

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Abstract

The Protestant Ethic not only had behavioral implications, as Max Weber and others have pointed out, it also had ideological implications in providing a moral legitimacy for capitalism. The Protestant Ethic provided a moral justification for the pursuit of profit and the distribution of income that are a part of the system. Currently there is a good deal of intellectual concern about the moral legitimacy of the capitalist system. Thus it is important to trace the origins of the Protestant Ethic and recover the ideological functions it performs in a capitalistic society.

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Rogene A. Buchholz is Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs and Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy at the School of Management and Administration, The University of Texas at Dallas. His most important publication is: Business Environment and Public Policy Implications for Management.

The author wishes to thank S. Prakash Sethi for reviewing previous drafts of the manuscript and suggesting many improvements.

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Buchholz, R.A. The Protestant Ethic as an ideological justification of capitalism. J Bus Ethics 2, 51–60 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00382713

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00382713

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