A different spirit, a different capitalism: the role of the ancient economy in Max Weber's capitalism typology

• Grant number: 07/07653-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2008
• End date: February 29, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Fundamentals of Sociology
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Antonio Pinheiro Filho
• Grantee: Tamara Grigorowitschs
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Since the publication of the third version of Agrarverhältnisse im Altertum ("The Agrarian Sociology of Ancient Civilizations", 1909), the concept of "capitalism" plays an essential role in the analysis of the ancient economy in Max Weber's writings. On the one hand, the classification of the ancient economy as capitalist depends on the understanding of its uniqueness. On the other hand, as the bearer of a special kind of capitalist system, the ancient world's economy offers a counterpoint to the modern economy. This thesis assumes that Weber has worked in his researches on the ancient economy at two different levels of abstraction, which include distinct types of capitalism; the passage from one abstraction level to another is the basis of the comparison between ancient and modern economy, and allows Weber to better define the concept "modern capitalism", in its rational dimension. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

GRIGOROWITSCHS, Tamara. Another spirit, another capitalism. The role of ancient economy in the typology of capitalism in Max Weber. 2012. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) São Paulo.