Confucian ethics and the spirit of capitalism in Korea: The significance of filial piety

Abstract

Max Weber (1930[1920]) presented a remarkable analysis of the social effects of religious values. In this sociological canon, Weber indicated that value orientation in Protestant Christianity contributed to the formation of a "diligent" work ethic, which characterized modern Western capitalism. However, Weber went on to say that the spontaneous development of capitalism could not be found in non-Western societies for the reason that religious values imbuing economic motives for development were missing (Bellah, 1957). A typical example cited was Confucian culture in China (Weber, 1951[1920]), but Korean society was not an exception (Tu, 1991; Cha S.-H., 1992; Park S.-H., 1994).