ETHIC AND CAPITALISM - 2 THESES OF WEBER, MAX

In the debate of Max Weber's analysis of modern capitalism it is fairl y often overlooked that he proposed two theses: one on the cultural si gnificance of ascetic Protestantism for the spirit of modern capitalis m and one on the non-ethical character of established capitalism as a system. In view of the fact that for the successor states of the forme r Soviet empire the establishment of a rational capitalist system is c rucial and that among Western theorists there is a tendency to call fo r a remoralization of the established capitalist market economy, a rei nterpretation of these theses seems to be in order. In this essay an a ttempt is made to show in which way Weber differentiated the relations hip between ethics and capitalism. His view seems to be relevant for t he current debate.