Max Weber's Wirtschaftsgeschichte (General Economic History in English) (1923) was composed by his students from lecture notes shortly after his death. In his General Economic History, Weber creates an institutional theory of the rise of capitalism in the west. Unlike in his Protestant ethic, religion is given a minor role. The emphasis of the work lies instead on the place of the state and calculable law in allowing economic actors to predict exchange for gain.

Max Weber's Wirtschaftsgeschichte (General Economic History in English) (1923) was composed by his students from lecture notes shortly after his death. In his General Economic History, Weber creates an institutional theory of the rise of capitalism in the west. Unlike in his Protestant ethic, religion is given a minor role. The emphasis of the work lies instead on the place of the state and calculable law in allowing economic actors to predict exchange for gain.