Ricerc@Sapienza

The paper aims to investigate, from a theoretical point of view, the usefulness of the concept of “spirit of capitalism” and its connections with the social imaginary in the sociological debate, using, as starting point basis for critical reflection, the conceptualization elaborated by the German sociologist Werner Sombart. Is it still possible to find a spiritual dimension in today’s capitalism? And what about the capitalistic spirit of the first capitalism? The paper aims to understand if and how the classical sociological reflection may provide valid answers to these questions.

This paper aims to retrace the thought of a classic of sociology, Werner Sombart, in relation to the theme of religious origins of the capitalistic spirit. It analyzes Jewish contribution to the capitalistic spirit’s origins and development, through the variables and the conceptual categories used by the Author in his different works. The focus is concentrated on ethics religiously based by which Jewish community may have contributed to a certain economic orientation.

Il saggio analizza il tema della deumanizzazione connessa al capitalismo attuale a partire dalla riflessione sul pensiero di Werner Sombart, sociologo tedesco.