Chong-Yeong LEE
Max Weber, a famous German sociologist, said that the Protestant ethic harmonised well with the economic principle of capitalism and that it was mainly for that reason that Western Protestant countries had developed economically. According to him, Confucianism on the other hand was not in harmony with modern economic principles and held back the economic development of China. Yet the recent economic development in Asia, which has been profoundly influenced by the Confucian ethic, particularly in China, indicates that Confucian culture is an alternative for economic development and has become the basis of the rapid economic development in those Asian countries.