Comments on: An Orthodox Response to Max Weber

By: Brian Pitt

Brian Pitt — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:09:37 +0000

Looks as though it might take abit of time, but thanks for the plug Bogdan.

By: Rafe Champion

Rafe Champion — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:43:02 +0000

On a tangent to the religous element, it is surprising that McClelland’s extensive research on the cultural antecedents of the “achievement motivation” (contents of childrens stories, primary school readers, popular songs, child-raising practices) has not attracted more attention from students of entrepreneurship and cultural studies. Written up in “The Achieving Society” it has been described as a failed program, over simplified and over-ambitious . These are not devastating criticisms of a research program in its early stages but it seems that the program did not survive. It may have been a victim of fashion more than internal problems.

By: Bogdan Enache

Bogdan Enache — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:00:48 +0000

Hmmm…Thanks for pointing this out. I’ll read the article with much interest. There was indeed a huge debate in the late 19th century and the beginning of 20th in the Orthodox countries (not only Russia) regarding the difference and compatibility between the culturally Protestant and Catholic West and the Culturally Orthodox East with huge implications for philosophy, politics, ethics, society, economics – everything. In fact, the polemics between the pro-western intellectuals and the traditionalist intellectuals made up a consistent portion of the intellectual scenery back then. These pro-Orthodox intellectuals, generally highly educated in Western style curriculum, ended up rejecting Western rationalist thinking and capitalism (two phenomenons imported with enthusiasm by the pro Western elites in these countries) as forms of alienation of man from God and thus a de-humanizing and up-rooting force. At the same time they laboured to offer an encompassing civilizational alternative based on Orthodox traditions. While there is no one doctrine but common themes in the context of Russia, Romania and also other countries in the region, the general vision is pretty religious and backward looking, though in polemic with the latest intellectual trends; they were, in a way, conservatives and revolutionaries at the same time. You can somewhat get an idea of their arguments from the work of this amazing American Orthodox convert – Father Seraphim Rose. See for example “Nihilism” :

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/nihilism.html