Cosmopolitismo y las barreras insalvables de la cultura y los gustos en La Ética Protestante y el Espíritu del Capitalismo de Max Weber

Abstract

An analysis of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism reveals that the word “culture” is explicitly mentioned at least 43 times depending on the edition and translation. Culture is relevant as the foundation of the argumentative structure since it allows for the differentiation of human groups and their peculiar characteristics. From a cosmopolitan point of view, Weber’s question is still pertinent given the advances of global thinking, its recent dissemination, and its acceptance within academic circles. With cosmopolitanism as its main guide, this paper analyses the use of the word “culture”: in order to inspire a debate on how to define a cosmopolitan ethos. While there is a persistent inquiry onto the applicable ethical-political mechanisms, the cosmopolitan literature converges towards education as an answer to the problem of culture in a globalized world.