Few subjects are more complex yet more applicable to the sociological betterment of mankind than economic health. For our purposes, economics refers to the provision of the material well-being of a society (Heilbroner, 1993, p. 1); and such a concern cannot be dismissed outright, say exclusively in favor of our ethical or philosophical underpinnings because basic human needs emanate from that which is provided through the business of finance and business, or perhaps more suitable, commerce and trade. The issue relates back to the individual and society, or the framework in which the human being is able to exist whether it is on an individual level, a small community, or the vastly more interdependent urban organization. The following four authors;
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It can be traced to the connection between the Protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Both are concepts discussed by Max Weber in one of his most controversial tomes; ultimately a comparative analysis of urban society and a study of the relationship between religion and society (Bendix, 1962, p. 49). It is not to say that his propositions are simple to mentally digest, they are quite the opposite. His thesis was deceptively effortless; however, positing that the ideals of Puritanism are what influenced capitalism’s development (Bendix, 1962, p. 50). He based this notion on the apparent tendency of individuals in modern-day society to be resistant to the position of subservience. However, it is hardly arguable as today the idea of serving others is still met with disdain and positions that fall within this category which are often relegated to the lower ends of the employment continuum. Moreover, and deserving of greater reflection, is the suggestion that economic conduct (behavior) has a sort of ethics into itself. Here it might do well to insert that all too often this has been shown to remain un-accessed even if it does exist. Yet, Weber followed his spirit of capitalism back to its origins in the Reformation of decades prior, all the way to the plausibility of religion as the source of the mindset associated with economic activity. Weber noted the affection between Protestantism and the commercial spirit. The main connection between the two was that people were okay with exploiting others because it used to have a religious value, so capitalism was accepted by society because it had a religious value (Bendix, 1962, p.
It can be traced to the connection between the Protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Both are concepts discussed by Max Weber in one of his most controversial tomes; ultimately a comparative analysis of urban society and a study of the relationship between religion and society (Bendix, 1962, p. 49). It is not to say that his propositions are simple to mentally digest, they are quite the opposite. His thesis was deceptively effortless; however, positing that the ideals of Puritanism are what influenced capitalism’s development (Bendix, 1962, p. 50). He based this notion on the apparent tendency of individuals in modern-day society to be resistant to the position of subservience. However, it is hardly arguable as today the idea of serving others is still met with disdain and positions that fall within this category which are often relegated to the lower ends of the employment continuum. Moreover, and deserving of greater reflection, is the suggestion that economic conduct (behavior) has a sort of ethics into itself. Here it might do well to insert that all too often this has been shown to remain un-accessed even if it does exist. Yet, Weber followed his spirit of capitalism back to its origins in the Reformation of decades prior, all the way to the plausibility of religion as the source of the mindset associated with economic activity. Weber noted the affection between Protestantism and the commercial spirit. The main connection between the two was that people were okay with exploiting others because it used to have a religious value, so capitalism was accepted by society because it had a religious value (Bendix, 1962, p.