1994 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

Fundamental studies of civil society in Japan

Research Project

Project/Area Number	05610165
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	社会学(含社会福祉関係)
Research Institution	Shitennouji International Buddhist University
Principal Investigator	OZEKI Masahiro Shitennouji International Buddhist University, department of literature, associate professor, 文学部, 助教授 (10185259)
Project Period (FY)	1993 – 1994
Keywords	civil society / modernization / the unity of the people
Research Abstract	We made reseach into the social theory of Max Weber in order to survey the Japanese civil society, because he inquired into the civil society of Germany in his sociological writings. Especially his well-known writing, "The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism" has a great significance for our reseach. Max Weber's thesis, postulating a link between the ascetic Protestantism and the rise of modern capitalism, has been much discussed. In our reseach we assume his thesis as a view concerning modernization in Germany. In our opinion, Weber wrote this writing with a view to discussing the changes in social policies in Germany. In addition, we examine the circumstances in which "The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism" came to be written. In this point, our attention is directed to the importance of Weber's early agrarian writings.