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B Turner - Islam Capitalism and The Weber Theses PDF
B Turner - Islam Capitalism and The Weber Theses PDF
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BryanS. Turner*
Islam,capitalismandtheWebertheses
Over the last half centurya substantialtraditionof Weberianscholar-
ship has developedin Europewhichis focusedon elaborateanalysesof
Weber'sexplorationofthe relationshipbetweenreligionandcapitalism.
Naturally,this scholarshiphas involvedexaminationsof Weber'sbasic
contrastbetweenthe Europeantraditionof Puritanasceticismand the
mysticalethics of Asian religions.One consequenceof this dominant
sociologicaltraditionhas been a relativeneglectof Weber'streatment
of Islam.l AlthoughWeber died before completinghis sociologyof
religionwith a full studyof Islam,his commentson earlyIslamand his
more elaborateinquiryinto Islamiclaw are suSciently interestingto
warrantmore closeinspectionthan they have hithertoreceived.As a
prophetic,egalitarian,salvationreligion with close derivationfrom
Judaismand Christianity,Islam is a significanttest of Weber'sthesis
on asceticismand rationaleconomicactivity.Beforeturningto Weber's
argumentthat Islam was not a salvationreligion,it will be usefulto
clarifythe kaleidoscopic whichexistconcerningWeber's
interpretations
analysis of religion and capitalism.
In this studyof Weberon Islam, thereare threerelatedarguments
whichneed to be distinguishedat the outset.The firstline of argument
is that one can detectat leastfourdifferentWeberianthesesaboutthe
connectionbetweenreligiousbeliefsand capitalism;these four theses
cannot be successfullyreconciledin one coherentWeberiantheory
aboutthe secularsignificanceof religiousdoctrines.Henceany attempt
to considerIslamas a test caseof Weber'ssociologymustbe a complex
process.My contentionis that at leastthreeof Weber'sthesesare either
falseor trivial.The fourththesis,which examinesthe consequencesof
patrimonialdomination,can be employedas a plausibleexplanationof
some Islamicdevelopments.My secondargumentis that, apartfrom
factualmistakesaboutIslam,Weberstressedthe wrongquestionabout
Islam. His main concernwas to explainthe absenceof rationalcapit-
alism outsideEurope,but the real sociologicalissue is to explainthe
transitionof Islam from a monetary economy to an agricultural,
militaryregime.AlthoughWeber'sanalysisof Islam was not particu-
* BryanS. Turner B.A. PH.D. Lecturerin Sociology,King'sCollege,University
of Aberdeen
230
Bryan 5. Turner Islam,catitalismandtheWebertheses
Notes
I. The exceptions include: Maxime politicalactivismin Islam', Economy and
Robinson, Islam et captalisme,Paris, Society, vol. I (I972), pp. 308-38; Robert
Seuil, I966; Ernest Gellner, 'Sanctity, J. Bocock,'The Ismailisin Tanzania:a
Puritanism, Secularization, and Nat- WeberianAnalysis'Brit. i. Sociol.,vol.
tionalism in North Africa', Archivesde 22 (I97I), pp. 36sqo.
SociologiedesReligions,vol. 8 (I963), pp. 2. A rangeof thesemisconceptions has
7I-86; Sami Zubaida, 'Economicand been exposedand criticizedin Michael
24I
Bryan S. Turner Islam,capitalismandthe Webertheses
of Religion,London,
Hill, A Sociolog)J I6. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright
Heinemann,I973. Mills (eds.), FromMax Weber:Essaysin
3. Someof theseissuesare discussedin London,Routledgeand Kegan
Sociolog)1,
QuentinSkinner,'The Historyof Ideas', Paul, I 96 I, p. 47
Htstoryand Theory,vol. 8 ( I 969), pp. I7. Max Weber, 'The Social Causes
243