Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M5198

Protestant Work Ethic

Protestant Work Ethic
CultureHigh supportSociology
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Calvinism holds that people cannot know whether they are "predestined" by God for heaven, but success in secular occupations and accumulation of wealth are signs of "grace." Therefore, believers work hard and save frugally (rather than squandering), and this ascetic spirit unexpectedly gave rise to modern capitalism. Scaffolding role: Secularization of spiritual motivation. It explains why some people regard work itself as a form of spiritual practice or redemption. This deep anxiety of "not just for money, but to prove oneself" is the most efficient fuel for modern professional society.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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Secularization of spiritual motivation. It explains why some people regard work itself as a form of spiritual practice or redemption. This deep anxiety of "not just for money, but to prove oneself" is the most efficient fuel for modern professional society.

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Weber proposed that the Protestant (especially Puritan) ethic of "calling" and "frugality-diligence" formed an affinity with the spirit of capitalism, promoting rational accumulation. It is a classic thesis of cultural-economic causation.

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E6%95%99%E4%BC%A6%E7%90%86ZH · Explicit
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