Doctoral Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology) by Subject "Afrikaner"

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    A Weberian analysis of Afrikaner Calvinism and the spirit of capitalism
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011-12) Begg, Mohammed Rashid; Muller, Hans Peter; Walker, Cherryl; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Max Weber’s text, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904-5), also called “the Weber thesis”, has animated debates on the relationship between religion, particularly Calvinism, and capitalism for over a century. Many studies have been done to test the validity of the relationship between religion, particularly Protestantism, and capitalism in different parts of the world. However, the case of the relationship between Calvinism and capitalism in South Africa has received limited scholarly attention. In the view of the political economist Francis Fukuyama, ‘the failure of the Calvinist Afrikaners to develop a thriving capitalist system until the last quarter of the [19th] century’ is an anomaly that needs explanation. My doctoral thesis takes up this challenge and offers an understanding of the engagement of Boers/Afrikaner Calvinists with trade, later modern industrial capitalism, from 1652 to 1948. In order to understand the South African case study — Calvinism found roots at the Cape in 1652 and is significant still today — I have employed historical sociology as my methodology. My preference was guided by Weber’s use of a form of this methodology. This allows for nuanced understandings of Calvinism and forms of capitalism at different periods in its evolution. I have employed Weberian sociological theory, including his ideal type constructs such as the Protestant ethic, bureaucracy and the spirit of capitalism, to gain greater insight. In my analysis I have also relied on Weber’s Verstehen (interpretive) frameworks to offer more nuanced results. To add to the conceptual framework, I have used Weber’s metaphor of the “switchmen” in order to trace the impact of ideas. Of course, the focus is on Calvin’s ideas as they were reintroduced at different periods in South African Calvinist history: often to suit new socio-political conditions and material interests. I trace the values of the Protestant ethic and the attitudes expressing the spirit of capitalism, following Weber, through an investigation of bureaucratisation of business and government. I show the increased convergence of the Afrikaner Calvinist volk with the spirit of modern industrial capitalism in the early 20th century through the call by the elite among the Afrikaners acting as ideological “switchmen” through their ideas and wanting to alleviate poverty amongst the group. Finally, the thesis shows the validity of the Weber thesis and its use for the study of Afrikaner Calvinism, including in period that follows after 1948.