The Spirit of Capitalism

The spirit of capitalism refers to a certain kind of attitude or set of characteristics that are deemed necessary if not crucial to the development and continued functioning of a capitalistic system. The Protestant Ethic contributed to the spirit, a spirit that was supportive of individual human enterprise and accumulation of wealth necessary for the development of capitalism. In the early development of capitalism, the unrestrained economic impulse was held in check by Puritan restraint and the Protestant Ethic. The authors go on to define the spirit of capitalism as the "ideology that justifies engagement in capitalism". The spirit of capitalism itself is transformed by critique, and this critique, which derives its energy from sources of indignation, can itself become one of the factors precipitating a change in capitalism. As the religious motivation for doing the tasks that capitalism required and values changed, there was a need for a new spirit to provide motivation for work.