BMGN: Low Countries Historical Review (Jan 2004)
Max Weber in The Netherlands 1903-1907. A neglected episode in the early history of 'The Protestant Ethic
Abstract
Max Weber in the Netherlands This article has two main aims. First, it explores the treatment of the Netherlands in Max Weber’s canonical essays on the Protestant Ethic. This is a real history and not simply a static exploration of a text, since Weber’s attitudes towards Dutch religion (though not capitalism) shifted considerably after he first drafted the Protestant Ethic in 1904-1905. His engagement with the Dutch was a central part of the revision of the text that took place in 1906-1908, a period which also saw the writing of the companion essay on ‘the Protestant sects.’ Here is a phase in the history of this work which has been neglected hitherto; and yet the final text of the Protestant Ethic, as it was issued in 1920, was primarily a work of the years 1904-1908. By 1920 it was, as Weber said, an ‘older’ work. The second aim is to cast light on this history.
