Abstract
Since the publication of Weber's Protestant Ethic in 1906 it has become common place in sociology that capitalism and its institutions are inseparably bounded with individualist and rationalist work ethic as it is professed by certain Protestant denominations. By contrast, collectivist and traditional cultures were generally considered as inefficient, irrational, and pre-modem. The case of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity shows the major flaw of this kind of reasoning. In spite of denial of the value of self-asserting individual outside the community, Orthodoxy proved to be highly efficient at the capitalist market. The reason for that is that the context of their social and economic activities was very prone to the collectivist ideology inherent in the Eastern Orthodox ethic. Cultural dimensions which are often omitted in social analysis might prove themselves to be crucial in the long run.
Kartashov, Andrei Valerievich (1998). The Orthodox ethic and the spirit of anti-capitalism. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1998 -THESIS -K37.