Weber’s method of sociology is quite different from a modern sociological or political science text. Instead of utilizing a deductive, a priori argument, Weber opts for a comparative sociology of religion and culture. This particular method, much like the culturalist mode in political science, emphasizes meaning of individual, intersubjective action as well as the interpretation of experience. Through The Protestant Work Ethic, Weber espouses interpretive methods to explore social cohesion through the formation of individual conscious understanding. Essentially, Weber is interested in exploring the ways in which “individuals’ attribution of meaning to action and social relationships gives social life its regularity (Mazman, 2005).” Meaning takes precedent in individual behavior, and in this particular work, individual economic behavior is placed upon the structure of ascetic Protestantism. The nation-state and its economic mandates are conglomerations of individual behavior that is influenced and co-constituted with religious ethics. 

This is a comparatively different method than Marx’s historical materialism, which emphasizes a dialectical understanding of objective historical forces, material economic structures, and socio-political superstructures. Importantly, Weber is interested in the ways ideas and ideals shape individual consciousness through cultural imperatives (primarily religion). It is not a materialist understanding of history or, necessarily, of economics. Additionally, in The Protestant Work Ethic, Weber is not arguing a direct causal relationship between Protestantism and the development of capitalism. Rather, Weber is arguing that capitalism needed a particular value system that corresponded with the ingrained ethic of Protestantism, and specifically, Calvinism. Weber then considers the “individual-ethical,” economic and political spheres as latticed together to create the framework of Western civilization (Mazman, 2005). Intrinsic to Weber’s argument is the necessity of rationality contingent upon the moral and economic ethic of the Protestant worker.  Consequently, Weber identifies that ascetic Protestantism, along with its embrace of capitalist accumulation, enabled workers to make calculations that were rational as they related to their values, ethics, and religious understanding.

References:

Mazman, Ibrahim. (2005). Max Weber and Emile Durkheim: A Comparative Analysis on the Theory of Social Order and the Methodological Approach to Understanding Society. [Doctoral dissertation, Boston University, Dep. of Sociology]. http://www.acarindex.com/dosyalar/makale/acarindex-1423867208.pdf