The Weber Controversy: the Problem of Periodization of the Emergence of Capitalism

Many contemporary researchers suggest rejecting Weber’s approach, linking the formation of modern capitalism to Protestantism, as completely false. In particular, they point out the complexity of periodization: in their opinion, capitalism did not arise in the Reformation era, but much earlier. The article substantiates the thesis that the attempt to refute the Weber thesis by pointing out the incorrectness of its periodization seems unconvincing. Rational capitalism really emerged after the Reformation and exactly where it achieved success, which gives certain grounds for the hypothesis of the connection between the Reformation and the formation of rational capitalism. Of course, this in itself does not prove the truth of the Weber hypothesis, but in any case we cannot consider it to be obviously incorrect.