付出的努力和代价

[Fred0]

所以马克思·韦伯在《新教伦理与资本主义精神》里侧重阐释了新的经济秩序（资本主义精神）是如何在宗教背景下发生并形成的，以工作为罪恶的新教伦理如何和以经济利益为最终目的的资本主义精神达成和解。

 

Thus Max Webber in “The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism” in particular interprets in what form the new ecomonic order (the spirit of capitalism) could be amalgamated into the religious context; by means of the Protestant ethic, work as an evil, could be reconciled with economic benefit being the ultimate aim (good) of the capitalist spirit.

 

Please evaluate the accuracy of this attempt at traslation.

 

How does one under stand 以 in a phrase like 以工作为罪恶的 and the phrase 以经济利益为最终目的的资本主义精神?

 

Is “是如何在宗教背景下发生并形成的” a 是。。。的 construction? If not,  what is the function of 是？Is it a verb?

[Publius]

① [以工作为罪恶的]新教伦理 The Protestant ethic, which takes work as an evil,

② 如何 how

③ 和 with

④ [以经济利益为最终目的的]资本主义精神 the capitalist spirit, which takes economic benefit as the ultimate aim,

⑤ 达成和解 achieved reconciliation.

You just need to rearrange the word order a bit in English: ②①⑤③④

以A为B = to take A as B

 

And yes, 是如何在宗教背景下发生并形成的 is a 是……的 construction.

[Fred0]

That makes it perfectly clear. And I have learned a new grammatical structure in the process. Thanks very much!

[Jim]

Think you have a problem with 并 here too, it's not 'amalgamated', just 'and'. That sentence talks about how the new economic order coming into being and taking shape within the religious context.

Not sure what the author means by protestantism seeing work as evil by the way, opposite is true especially in Weber so far as I'm aware.

[Fred0]

I agree with you that the writer is not understanding Webber's theory of The  Protestant Ethic correctly. Webber is saying that it's the Protestant Ethic that was the attempt to reconcile Catholic morality with capitalism. My assumption that she couldn't be saying what she was saying was a big obstacle to understanding the sentence.