The ethics of Protestantism and the spirit of capitalism were not yet in place at the time of the Meiji Restoration.
from The Third Fusion in Japanese History
The ethics of Protestantism and the spirit of capitalism were not yet in place at the time of the Meiji Restoration.
gpt.icon
As you say, Max Weber's The Ethics of Protestantism and the Spirit of Capitalism was first published in 1904-1905. In this work, Weber argued for a close relationship between the teachings of protestants, especially Calvinists, and the formation of modern capitalism.
The period of the Meiji Restoration (1868~) preceded the publication of this work and was a time when the acceptance of Christianity and the modernization of Japan were taking place. However, during the modernization and westernization of Japan after the Meiji Restoration, capitalism was introduced and developed. This was a natural progression under the influence of the economic systems and technologies of the Western powers, and is not directly related to the Protestant ethic.
However, the acceptance of Christianity and the establishment of educational institutions in Japan during the Meiji era served to spread Western ideas and values among the Japanese intellectuals and elite. In this trend, Western capitalism and modern economic systems were also introduced.
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