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The Protestant Ethic’s second instalment describes a stahlhartes Gehäuse of labour discipline

In 1905 the second instalment of Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic in the Archiv closed with the image of a stahlhartes Gehäuse, a steel-hard housing in which vocational labour discipline outlives the original religious spirit. In the causal graph this event strengthens the driver Labour-Market Tightness.

Read the full account

In 1905 the second instalment of Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic in the Archiv closed with the image of a stahlhartes Gehäuse, a steel-hard housing in which vocational labour discipline outlives the original religious spirit. It is a diagnosis of labour’s cage, not a strike he led. Later ‘iron cage’ English is reception of this German close.

Context

American travel fed the last pages. Sombart’s luxury-and-capitalism story was the rival. Sharing Archiv editorship does not erase the image’s author.

Shared responsibility is part of The Protestant Ethic’s second instalment describes a stahlhartes Gehäuse of labour discipline. Naming Max Weber does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 1905-06-01 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

Why it matters

Labour-discipline path of modest weight, medium confidence on any factory lag. 1904 first instalment remains the improving neighbour.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Max Weber

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.28 · verified

    He authored the 1905 Archiv continuation. Translators later said ‘iron cage’; the German is a steel housing of vocational labour.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactThe Protestant Ethic’s second instalment describes a stahlhartes Gehäuse of labour discipline
    2. strengthensDriverLabour-Market Tightness

    impact weight 0.3 · Effect from 1 June 1905 · verified

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Max WeberStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Max Weber-Gesamtausgabe — Mohr SiebeckMohr Siebeck / MWG · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

MWG at https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/buch/max-weber-gesamtausgabe-mwg-alle-baende-9783161595219/ (opens in a new tab) is the official text of the 1905 continuation. SEP at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/ (opens in a new tab) independently treats the Ethic’s closing image as central, not ornamental.

Established: the 1905 Ethic close publishes the steel housing of vocational labour. Not established: a unique hours-of-work series caused by the metaphor. Contribution is recorded as He authored the 1905 Archiv continuation. Translators later said ‘iron cage’; the German is a steel housing of vocational labour. The dated heading stays The Protestant Ethic’s second instalment describes a stahlhartes Gehäuse of labour discipline on 1905-06-01, not a later statue, UNESCO listing, or school film. Later competitions, monuments, and adaptations are refused as extra lifetime acts of this person on this date.

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.

If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.

Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. 1905 cage is not the 1904 first instalment as a duplicate gain. Mixed effects of The Protestant Ethic’s second instalment describes a stahlhartes Gehäuse of labour discipline are separate paths.

The contribution type is direct. That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorMax Weber
  2. contributed toFactThe Protestant Ethic’s second instalment describes a stahlhartes Gehäuse of labour discipline
  3. strengthensDriverLabour-Market Tightness

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). The Protestant Ethic’s second instalment describes a stahlhartes Gehäuse of labour discipline. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/weber-iron-cage-1905

https://factrail.ai/facts/weber-iron-cage-1905

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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