The question of the origins or genesis of capitalism preoccupied the
writers of the so-called German Historical School and led to fierce
disputes between them in the first three decades of the
twentieth century. Its “background” was Marx’s theory of
capitalism and its genesis in Capital, against which the authors
under consideration attempted to formulate an alternative
historical analysis and theory. The leading figure of the school at
the time, Werner Sombart, introduced the notion of the “spirit of
capitalism” as an independent, decisive factor in the birth of the
capitalist system, which pre-existed capitalism. The birth of
capitalism took place, according to Sombart, when the activities
of certain economic subjects who owned large amounts of
money merged with the activities of other economic subjects
already possessing a certain economic spirit, which proved to be
pertinent to capitalism. The idea of a pre-existing “spirit” which
enabled the genesis of capitalism was later adopted by Max
Weber who radically modified Sombart’s reasoning in a direction
compatible with Nassau William Senior’s theory of abstinence.
Despite its poor documentation of historical facts and social
theory, Weber’s approach still fascinates certain social scientists,
probably because it is being perceived as constituting an “anti-
Marxist Manifesto.
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