Social Characterology. From the Protestant Ethic, via the Social Ethic, to the Hacker Ethic

Starting out from Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic" the article focuses on a number of authors – David Riesman, William H. Whyte, Daniel Bell and Pekka Himanen – who have used that book as a reference point in their endeavours to capture the spirit of their time. Key themes in the article are ways of life, the formation of social character and charcterological struggle.