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| + | {{epname|Weber, Max}} |
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| − | {{Infobox_Biography |
| + | [[Image:Max Weber 1894.jpg|thumb|right|Max Weber]] |
| − | subject_name = Maximilian Weber |
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| − | image_name = Max Weber.jpg |
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| − | image_caption = [[Germany|German]] [[political economy|political economist]] and [[sociologist]] |
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| − | date_of_birth = April 21, 1864 |
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| − | place_of_birth = [[Erfurt]], [[Germany]] |
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| − | date_of_death = June 14, 1920 |
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| − | place_of_death = [[Munich]], [[Germany]]
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| − | '''Maximilian Weber''' (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a [[Germany|German]] [[political economy|political economist]] and [[sociology|sociologist]] who is considered one of the founders of the modern, [[antipositivism|antipositivistic]] study of sociology and [[public administration]]. His major works deal with [[Rationalization (sociology)|rationalization]] in [[sociology of religion]] and [[Political sociology|government]], but he also wrote much in the field of [[economics]]. His most recognized work is his essay ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'', which began his work in the sociology of [[religion]]. Weber argued that religion was one of the primary reasons for the different ways the cultures of the [[Occident]] and the [[Orient]] have developed. In his other famous work, ''[[Politics as a Vocation]]'', Weber defined the [[state]] as an entity which possesses a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force, a definition that became pivotal to the study of modern Western [[political science]]. His theory later became widely known as [[Weber's Thesis]]. | + | '''Maximilian Weber''' (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a [[Germany|German]] [[political economy|political economist]] and [[sociology|sociologist]] who is considered one of the founders of the modern "antipositivistic" study of sociology and [[public administration]]. His major works deal with the [[sociology of religion]] and [[government]], but he also wrote much in the field of [[economics]]. His most recognized work is his essay ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,'' which began his work in the sociology of religion. Weber argued that [[religion]] was one of the primary reasons for the different ways the [[culture]]s of the Occident and the Orient have developed. Weber stated that the modern world was devoid of gods, because we had chased them away, and he feared that loss of religious ideals and commitment had endangered human society, causing it to become a prison in which humankind would be trapped in a soulless existence. |
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| | + | While the twentieth century in many ways proved him correct, stronger personal [[faith]] in [[God]] might have allowed Weber to realize that God would not abandon humankind. |
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| | ==Life and career== | | ==Life and career== |
| − | Weber was born in [[Erfurt]], [[Germany]], the eldest of seven children of Max Weber Sr., a prominent [[politician]] and [[civil service|civil servant]], and his wife Helene Fallenstein. His younger brother [[Alfred Weber]] was also a sociologist and economist. Because of his father's engagement with public life, Weber grew up in a household immersed in [[politics]], and his father received a long list of prominent [[academia|scholars]] and public figures in his salon. At the same time, Weber proved to be intellectually precocious. His Christmas present to his parents in [[1876]], when he was thirteen years old, took the form of two historical [[essay]]s entitled "About the course of [[History of Germany|German history]], with special reference to the positions of the [[German Empire|emperor]] and the [[pope]]" and "About the [[Roman Empire|Roman Imperial]] period from [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]] to the migration of nations". It seemed clear, then, that Weber would apply himself to the [[social sciences]]. At the age of fourteen, he wrote letters studded with references to [[Homer]], [[Virgil]], [[Cicero]], and [[Livy]], and he had an extended knowledge of [[Goethe]], [[Spinoza]], [[Kant]], and [[Schopenhauer]] before he entered university studies. | + | Maximilian Weber was born in Erfurt, [[Germany]], the eldest of seven children of Max Weber Sr., a prominent [[politics|politician]] and [[civil service|civil servant]], and his wife Helene Fallenstein. While both his parents came from [[Protestant]] families, it was his mother who held strong religious commitments and exemplified the [[John Calvin|Calvinistic]] sense of duty. His younger brother, Alfred, was also a [[sociology|sociologist]] and [[economics|economist]]. Max grew up in a household immersed in politics, and his father received a long list of prominent scholars and public figures in his salon. At the time, Max proved to be intellectually precocious. [[Image:Max_weber_and_brothers_1879.jpg|thumb|left|Max Weber and his brothers Alfred and Karl in 1879.]] |
| − | [[Image:Max_weber_and_brothers_1879.jpg|thumb|left|Max Weber and his brothers Alfred and Karl in 1879.]] | |
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| − | In [[1882]] Weber enrolled in the [[University of Heidelberg]] as a [[law]] student. Weber joined his father's duelling fraternity and chose as his major study his father's field of law. Apart from his work in law, he attended lectures in [[economics]] and studied [[medieval history]]. In addition, Weber read a great deal in [[theology]]. Intermittently he served with the [[Reichswehr|German army]] in [[Strasbourg]]. In the fall of 1884 Weber returned to his parents' home to study at the [[University of Berlin]]. For the next eight years of his life, interrupted only by a term at the [[University of Goettingen]] and short periods of further military training, Weber stayed at his parents' house, first as a student, later as a junior barrister in Berlin courts, and finally as a Dozent at the University of Berlin. In [[1886]] Weber passed the examination for "[[Referendar]]", comparable to the [[bar association|bar]] examination in the [[United States|American]] [[legal system]]. Throughout the late 1880s, Weber continued his study of [[history]]. He earned his [[doctorate]] in law in [[1889]] by writing a [[doctoral dissertation]] on legal history entitled ''[[Zur Geschichte der Handelgesellschaften im Mittelatler|The History of Medieval Business Organisations]]''. Two years later, Weber completed his "[[Habilitation]]sschrift", ''[[Die Römische Agrargeschichte in ihrer Bedeutung für das Staats- und Privatrecht|The Roman Agrarian History and its Significance for Public and Private Law]]''. Having thus become a "[[Privatdozent]]", Weber was now qualified to hold a German [[professor]]ship. | + | In 1882, Weber enrolled in the [[University of Heidelberg]] as a [[law]] student. Weber chose as his major study his father's field of law. Apart from his work in law, he attended lectures in economics and studied [[Middle Ages|medieval history]]. In addition, Weber read a great deal in [[theology]]. In the fall of 1884, Weber returned to his parents' home to study at the [[University of Berlin]]. In 1886, he passed the examination for "Referendar," comparable to the [[bar association|bar]] examination in the [[United States|American]] [[legal system]]. He earned his doctorate in law in 1889, writing his dissertation on legal history entitled ''The History of Medieval Business Organisations.'' |
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| − | In the years between the completion of his dissertation and habilitation, however, Weber also began pondering contemporary [[social policy]]. In 1888 he had joined the "[[Verein für Socialpolitik]]", the new professional association of German economists affiliated with the [[Historical school]] who saw the role of economics primarily in the solving of the wide-ranging social problems of the age, and who pioneered large-scale statistical studies of economic problems. In 1890 the "Verein" established a research program to examine "the [[Poland|Polish]] question", meaning the influx of foreign farm workers into [[eastern Germany]] as local labourers migrated to Germany's rapidly [[Industrial Revolution|industrializing]] cities. Weber was put in charge of the study and wrote a large part of its results. The final report was widely acclaimed as an excellent piece of [[empirical]] research, and cemented Weber's reputation as an expert on [[agrarian economics]].
| + | [[Image:Max and marienne weber 1894.jpg|thumb|Max Weber and his wife Marianne in 1894.]] |
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| − | [[Image:Max and marienne weber 1894.jpg|thumb|Max Weber and his wife Marianne in 1894.]] | + | Weber first became engaged to his cousin, Emmy Baumgarten, who was in ill health both physically and mentally. After six years, during which he suffered agonizing doubts and feelings of guilt, Weber finally broke the engagement. In 1893, he married his distant cousin, Marianne Schnitger, later a [[feminism|feminist]] and [[author]] in her own right, who after his death in 1920, was decisive in collecting and publishing Weber's works as books. In 1894, the couple moved to Freiburg, where Weber was appointed professor of economics at [[Freiburg, Albert Ludwig University of|Freiburg University]], before accepting the same position at the [[University of Heidelberg]] in 1897. That same year, his father died two months after having a severe quarrel with him. Following this incident, Weber was more and more prone to "nervousness" and insomnia. He spent several months in a sanatorium in the summer and fall of 1900. |
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| − | In [[1893]] he married his distant [[cousin]] [[Marianne Weber|Marianne Schnitger]], later a [[feminism|feminist]] and [[author]] in her own right, who after his death in [[1920]] was decisive in collecting and publishing Weber's works as books which previously had only appeared as articles in journals. In [[1894]] the couple moved to Freiburg, where Weber was appointed professor of economics at [[Albert-Ludwigs-Universität|Freiburg University]], before accepting the same position at the [[University of Heidelberg]] in [[1897]]. The same year his father Max Weber sen. died two months after a severe quarrel with his son, making it impossible to resolve the conflict. Following this incident Weber was more and more prone to "nervousness" and insomnia making it increasingly impossible for him to lecture and fulfill his duties as a professor. He had to reduce his teaching and gave his last course in the fall of [[1899]], unable to finish it. After months in a sanatorium in the summer and fall of 1900, Max Weber and his wife Marianne travelled to Italy at the end of the year, not to return to Heidelberg until April [[1902]].
| + | After his immense productivity in the early 1890s, he finally resigned as a professor in the fall of 1903. In 1904, Max Weber began to publish some of his most seminal papers, notably his essay ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.'' It became his most famous work, and laid the foundations for his later research on the impact of [[culture]]s and [[religion]]s on the development of [[economic system]]s. |
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| | [[Image:Max weber in 1917.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Max Weber in 1917.]] | | [[Image:Max weber in 1917.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Max Weber in 1917.]] |
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| − | After his immense productivity in the early 1890s he did not publish a single paper between early [[1898]] and the end of the year [[1902]] and finally resigned as a professor in the fall of [[1903]]. However, being freed of this burden he accepted a position as [[associate editor]] of the [[Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik|Archives for Social Science and Social Welfare]] next to his colleagues Edgar Jaffé and [[Werner Sombart]]. In [[1904]] Max Weber began to publish some of his most seminal papers in this journal, notably his essay ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]''. It became his most famous work, and laid the foundations for his later research on the impact of [[culture]]s and [[religion]]s on the development of [[economic system]]s. Incidentally this essay was the only one of his works that was published as a book during his lifetime.
| + | In 1915 and 1916, he was a member of commissions that tried to retain German supremacy in [[Belgium]] and [[Poland]] after the [[World War I|war]]. Weber was a German imperialist and wanted to enlarge the German empire to the east and the west. |
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| − | In 1912, Weber tried to organize a left-wing political party to combine social-democrats and liberals. This attempt was unsuccesful because many liberals feared social-democratic revolutionary ideals. | + | In 1918, Weber became a consultant to the German Armistice Commission at the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and to the commission charged with drafting the [[Weimar Constitution]]. He argued in favor of inserting Article 48 into the Weimar Constitution. This article was later used by [[Adolf Hitler]] to declare [[martial law]] and seize [[dictatorship|dictatorial]] powers. |
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| − | During the [[World War I|First World War]], Weber served for a time as director of the army hospitals in [[Heidelberg]]. In 1915 and 1916 he was a member of commisions that tried to retain German supremacy in Belgium and Poland after the war. Weber was a German imperialist and wanted to enlarge the German empire to the east and the west. He became a member of the [[Workers' council|worker and soldier council]] of Heidelberg in 1918.
| + | From 1918, Weber resumed [[teaching]], first at the [[University of Vienna]], then in 1919 at the [[University of Munich]]. In Munich, he headed the first German University institute of sociology. Many colleagues and students in Munich despised him for his speeches and left-wing attitude during the German revolution of 1918 and 1919. Right-wing students protested at his home. |
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| − | In [[1918]] Weber became a consultant to the [[German Armistice Commission]] at the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and to the commission charged with drafting the [[Weimar Constitution]]. He argued in favour of inserting [[Article 48]] into the Weimar Constitution. This article was later used by [[Adolf Hitler]] to declare [[martial law]] and seize [[dictatorship|dictatorial]] powers.
| + | Max Weber died of [[pneumonia]] in Munich on June 14, 1920. |
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| − | From 1918, Weber resumed teaching, first at the [[University of Vienna]], then in [[1919]] at the [[University of Munich]]. In [[Munich]], he headed the first German University institute of sociology, but he never held a personal sociology appointment in his life. Weber left politics due to right wing agitation in 1919 and 1920. Many colleagues and students in Munich despised him for his speeches and left wing attitude during the German revolution of 1918 and 1919. Right-wing students protested at his home.
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| − | Max Weber died of [[pneumonia]] in Munich on [[June 14]], [[1920]]. It should be noted that many of his works famous today were collected, revised and published [[posthumous]]ly. Significant interpretations of Weber's writings were produced by such sociological luminaries as [[Talcott Parsons]] and [[C. Wright Mills]]. | |
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| | ===Weber and German politics=== | | ===Weber and German politics=== |
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| − | Max Weber had a large influence on German policy towards the [[germanisation]] of Eastern Germany. He proposed closing the border to [[Poland|Polish]] workers from [[Russia]] and [[Austria-Hungary]] in his speech at the congress of the [[Evangelical Social Party]] in 1894. He feared that Germany would eventually lose these eastern territories. He advocated the recolonization of empty lands on the large estates of the Prussian [[Junker]]s by German settlers from the west, who would start small farms. The congress was mainly against Weber's demands because it supported the Prussian Junkers, but Weber influenced his friends and allies, including the influential politician [[Friedrich Naumann]].
| + | Weber thought that the only way that [[Germany|German]] [[culture]] would survive was by creating an empire. He influenced German policy towards eastern Germany. In 1894, he proposed closing the border to [[Poland|Polish]] workers from [[Russia]] and [[Austro-Hungarian Empire|Austria-Hungary]]. However, in 1895, impressed by the attitude of the Russian liberal party, which wanted to change Russian [[nationalism]] by accepting ethnic minorities as Russians, he reversed his position. |
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| − | In 1905, Weber changed his mind. He was impressed by the attitude of the [[Liberalism in Russia|Russian liberal party]], which wanted to change Russian [[nationalism]] by accepting ethnic minorities as Russians. Weber wanted the Germans to absorb other [[ethnic group]]s, especially the Poles, who should have become a part of a huge [[German empire]]. Weber thought that the only way that [[German culture]] would survive was by creating an empire. [[Power politics]] was to be the basis for defending the German culture and economy and to prevent it from becoming a powerless country like [[Switzerland]].
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| − | Weber disliked the empty nationalist ideas of many German nationalists. He thought that [[power (sociology)|power]] alone was not an acceptable goal, that politicians should stand for certain ideas but that they need a strong will to power to win. This idea of the [[will to power]] is originally from [[Nietzsche]] who was very popular in the Germany of the 1890s. But Nietzsche meant a strictly individual will to power and not a will to power to make a collective (like Germany) stronger as advocated by Weber. Weber wanted Germany to strengthen [[German economy|its economy]] by creating a huge empire. He was afraid of the huge world population that would lead to German unemployment in the long run and believed that the only way to support the German workers was to create an empire. He was afraid that an end would come to economic expansion and that countries would protect their own ecomomy with tariff walls. He did not foresee the [[technological]] advances and the profits of [[international trade]] for the national economy in the [[twentieth century]].
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| − | Weber wanted the end of the power of the nobility. He despised the red scare of the middle classes, because the middle classes let the nobility rule. | + | Weber advocated [[democracy]] as a means for selecting strong leaders. He viewed democracy as a form of [[charismatic authority|charisma]] where the "demagogue imposes his will on the masses." For this reason, the European left has been highly critical of Weber for, albeit unwittingly, preparing the intellectual groundwork for [[Adolf Hitler]]'s leadership. |
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| − | In his opinion, the socialist parties were harmless, because they would turn into middle classes in due time. The nobility was only holding Germany up to become a major power in the world. In his opinion, which he expressed in the media and his politics, the middle classes should have united against the aristocracy. This led to a lot of dismay in right wing Germany. Weber was against the student fraternities which idolized military ranks. He wanted to stop the agrarian lobby damaging the regulations in the stock exchange. <!-- also odd—> He was especially against the buying of titles and noble land by the upper class of the bourgeoisie. Weber wanted unlimited economic growth. Not military ranks, but ability and talent should be important for one's prospects. Money should be put into a company and not wasted in a useless piece of land. Weber feared the inefficiency of the economy in Roman Catholic, non-puritanical countries and was afraid that Germany would become like Austria: 'Verösterreicherung Deutschlands'.
| + | Weber was strongly anti-socialist, despising the anti-nationalist stance of the [[Marxism|Marxist]] parties. He was surprised that the [[Communism|communists]] in Russia (who dissolved the old elite and [[bureaucracy]]) could survive for more than half a year. |
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| − | Weber was against the German [[annexation]] plans during the First World War, but he was also against a dishonorable peace. He didn't believe that Germany could dominate the ethnic minorities after the war was won but that Germany should work together with German-dominated nations and make them enthusiastic about German imperialism.
| + | Weber was very opposed to the conservatives who tried to hold back the democratic liberation of the working classes. Weber's personal and professional letters show considerable disgust for the [[anti-Semitism]] of his day. It is doubtful that Weber would have supported the Nazis had he lived long enough to see their activities. |
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| − | Weber wrote a series of newspaper articles in 1917, entitled "Parliament and Government in a Re-constructed Germany." These articles called for democratic reforms to the [[1871]] [[Wikisource:Constitution of the German Empire|constitution of the German Empire]].
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| − | Weber argued that Germany's political problems were essentially a problem of [[leadership]]. [[Otto von Bismarck]] had created a [[constitution]] that preserved his own power, but limited the ability of another powerful leader to succeed him, because of the limited experience of the political establishment with decision-making. In January, [[1919]], Weber's brother was a founding member of the [[German Democratic Party]].
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| − | Weber advocated [[democracy]] as a means for selecting strong leaders. Weber viewed democracy as a form of [[charismatic authority|charismatic leadership]] where the "[[demagogue]] imposes his will on the masses." For this reason, the European [[Left-wing politics|left]] is highly critical of Weber for, albeit unwittingly, "preparing the intellectual groundwork for the leadership position of Adolf Hitler."
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| − | Like Nietzsche, Weber was strongly anti-socialism. Especially the anarchists were evil, because of their assasin attempts of leaders. He despised the anti-nationalist stance of the Marxist parties. Weber thought that the socialist society was impossible. He was surprised that the communists in Russia (who dissolved the old elite and bureaucracy) could survive for more then half a year. Weber died in 1920. It is unknown what his opinion about communism would have been after its survival. It would have probably been very negative, given Webers emphasis on freedom and the German nation.
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| − | His view on the [[SPD|social-democratic party]] was different. He thought that the social-democrats would become liberals after a while and get rid of their revolutionary ideals. Weber wanted to make the working classes enthusiastic about Germany and German imperialism, but later on he realized that this was impossible. Later on he changed his mind and realized that the imperial expansion of Germany was not in the interest of the working classes and only strengthened the power of the German establishment. Only the middle classes could make Germany into a huge empire. Weber wanted to unify Germany and to give the German working classes coresponsibility in the German government, but not out of an ideal of equality. He was against compassion. He wanted to create responsibility. Hard work and efficiency should bring wealth for successful members of the working classes. The socialist society was impossible according to him. Making an end to capitalism and enlarging of the bureaucracy would only lead to more enslavement of the workers. The only possible way for salvation would be the capitalist system and the application of new technics. Weber openly supported strikes and labor unions, while right-wing Germans were very opposed to this. +
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| − | Weber was very opposed to the conservatives that tried to hold back the democratic liberation of the working classes. Weber further dismayed the left when one of his students, [[Carl Schmitt]] (1888-1985), incorporated Weber's theories into a corpus of [[Nazi]] legal [[propaganda]]. Weber's personal and professional letters show considerable disgust for the [[anti-semitism]] of his day. It is doubtful that Weber would have supported the Nazis, had he lived long enough to see their doings. | |
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| − | Socialist society was impossible according to Weber. Ending capitalism and enlarging of the bureaucracy would only lead to more enslavement of the workers. The only possible way for salvation would be the capitalist system. Weber openly supported strikes and labor unions, while right-wing Germans were very opposed to this.
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| − | Weber was very critical of German conservatives and the German emperor. Before the First World War he believed that emperor William II was a weak leader, who with the conservatives were destroying Germany's diplomatic position. The 1908 Daily Telegraph interview of William II especially was a great disappointment in his view. During the First World War, Weber was very critical of the German government. He thought that the right-wing Alldeutscher Verband and the German army leaders were making Germany lose the war. He was against the undemocratic views of the right-wing, which alienated the working class and resulted in strikes and revolution. He was opposed to unlimited submarine warfare, which resulted in a declaration of war from the United States.
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| − | Weber was opposed to the request of the majority of the German parliament for peace negotiations and strongly advocated continuing the war in many newspaper articles. At the same time, the right-wing, supported by the army, was agitating against the parliament's decision. When he found that peace was requested because of the near collapse of Austria, which had been kept secret from the press, he became enraged, for the army had known about the coming collapse of Austria. Weber strongly denounced the German emperor and the German army and advocated peace in a speech at a mass meeting in Munich accompanied by a social-democratic speaker. This speech led to sympathy among socialists for Max Weber.
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| − | Weber openly advocated resistance to the allies in 1918. He hoped that the battle would go on until the whole of Germany was occupied, and wanted to defend the eastern cities of Thorn, Danzig and Reichenberg against the Poles and the Czechs. He tried to win over the working classes who didn't want to continue the war and hoped for international revolution. Weber was against the revolution of 1918 because he feared that a strong right-wing reaction would follow. He tactically called himself a socialist, but the revolting workers regarded him as old-fashioned. President Ebert of Germany wanted him as minister of interior in november 1918, but he later chose [[Hugo Preuss]]. Ebert then wanted Weber as ambassador in Vienna, but Weber's anti-government attitude in speeches made this impossible. In early 1919 he lost a possible seat in the German parliament because of his alienation from the revolution in 1918.
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| − | Weber was a member of the German delegation during the peace negotiations in Versailles. Weber first wanted Germany not to sign the treaty, but he feared that this would only make things worse for Germany after a while and doubted for months what would be the best solution: signing or not.
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| − | In [[United States|America]], Weber's politics are less well known. Apologists claim that Weber's distinction between "evaluative" [[politics]] and "value-neutral" [[science]] shields his sociology from the harsh [[realpolitik]] of his personal convictions. The debate over Weber's politics continues to this day.
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| | ==Achievements== | | ==Achievements== |
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| − | Max Weber was – along with [[Karl Marx]], [[Vilfredo Pareto]] and [[Émile Durkheim]] – one of the founders of modern sociology. Whereas Pareto and Durkheim, following [[Auguste Comte|Comte]], worked in the [[sociological positivism|positivist]] tradition, Weber created and worked – like [[Werner Sombart]], his friend and then the most famous representative of [[German sociology]] – in the [[antipositivism|antipositivist]], [[idealism|idealist]] and [[hermeneutics|hermeneutic]] tradition. Those works started the antipositivistic revolution in [[social science]]s, which stressed the difference between the social sciences and natural sciences, especially due to human [[social actions]]. Weber's early work was related to [[industrial sociology]], but he is most famous for his later work on the [[sociology of religion]] and [[sociology of government]]. | + | Max Weber was—along with [[Karl Marx]], [[Vilfredo Pareto]], and [[Émile Durkheim]]—one of the founders of modern [[sociology]]. Whereas Pareto and Durkheim, following [[Auguste Comte|Comte]], worked in the [[Positivism|positivist]] tradition, Weber created and worked, like [[Werner Sombart]], in the antipositivist, [[idealism|idealist]], and [[hermeneutics|hermeneutic]] tradition. Those works started the antipositivistic revolution in [[social science]]s, which stressed the difference between the social sciences and natural sciences, especially due to human social actions. Weber's early work was related to industrial sociology, but he is most famous for his later work on the [[sociology of religion]] and sociology of [[government]]. |
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| − | Max Weber began his studies of [[Rationalization (sociology)|rationalization]] in ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'', in which he shows how the aims of certain [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Religious denomination|denomination]]s, particularly [[Calvinism]], shifted towards the rational means of economic gain as a way of expressing that they had been blessed. The rational roots of this doctrine, he argued, soon grew incompatible with and larger than the religious, and so the latter were eventually discarded. Weber continues his investigation into this matter in later works, notably in his studies on [[bureaucracy]] and on the classifications of [[authority]]. In these works he alludes to an inevitable move towards rationalization. | + | Max Weber began his studies of rationalization in ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,'' in which he showed how the aims of certain [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Religious denomination|denomination]]s, particularly [[Calvinism]], shifted towards the rational means of economic gain as a way of expressing that they had been blessed. The rational roots of this doctrine, he argued, soon grew incompatible with and larger than the religious, and so the latter were eventually discarded. Weber continued his investigation into this matter in later works, notably in his studies on [[bureaucracy]] and on the classifications of [[authority]]. |
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| | + | == Theories == |
| | ===Sociology of religion=== | | ===Sociology of religion=== |
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| − | Weber's work on the sociology of religion started with the essay ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'' and continued with the analysis of ''[[The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism]]'', ''[[The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Budhism]]'', and ''[[Ancient Judaism (book)|Ancient Judaism]]''. His work on other religions was interrupted by his sudden death in 1920, which prevented him from following ''Ancient Judaism'' with studies of [[Psalm]]s, [[Book of Jacob]], [[Talmudic]] Jewry, early [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]]. | + | Weber's work on the sociology of religion started with the essay ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' and continued with the analysis of ''The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism,'' ''The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism,'' and ''Ancient Judaism.'' |
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| − | His three main themes were the effect of religious ideas on economic activities, the relation between [[social stratification]] and religious ideas, and the distinguishable characteristics of Western civilization. | + | His three main themes were the effect of religious ideas on economic activities, the relation between [[social class|social stratification]] and religious ideas, and the distinguishable characteristics of Western civilization. |
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| − | His goal was to find reasons for the different development paths of the cultures of the [[Occident]] and the [[Orient]]. In the analysis of his findings, Weber maintained that [[Puritan]] (and more widely, [[Christianity|Christian]]) religious ideas had had a major impact on the development of the [[economic system]] of [[Europe]] and the [[United States]], but noted that they were not the only factors in this development. Other notable factors mentioned by Weber included the [[rationalism]] of scientific pursuit, merging [[observation]] with [[mathematics]], science of [[scholarship]] and [[jurisprudence]], rational systematization of [[government]] [[administration]], and economic [[enterprise]]. In the end, the study of the sociology of religion, according to Weber, merely explored one [[phase]] of the [[emancipation]] from [[magic]], that "disenchantment of the world" that he regarded as an important distinguishing aspect of [[Western culture]]. | + | His goal was to find reasons for the different development paths of the [[culture]]s of the Occident and the Orient. In the analysis of his findings, Weber maintained that [[Puritan]] (and more widely, [[Protestant]]) religious ideas had had a major impact on the development of the economic system of [[Europe]] and the [[United States]], but noted that they were not the only factors in this development. "Disenchantment of the world" was identified by Weber as an important distinguishing aspect of [[Western culture]]. |
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| | ====''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism''==== | | ====''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism''==== |
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| − | Weber's essay ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' is his most famous work. It is argued that this work should not be viewed as a detailed study of [[Protestantism]], but rather as an introduction into Weber's later works, especially his studies of interaction between various religious ideas and economic behaviour. | + | Weber's essay ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' is his most famous work. Here, Weber put forward the controversial thesis that the [[Protestant]] ethic influenced the development of [[capitalism]]. Religious devotion had usually been accompanied by rejection of worldly affairs, including economic pursuit. Why was that not the case with Protestantism? Weber addressed this paradox in his essay, finding his answer in the religious ideas of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. |
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| − | In ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'', Weber puts forward the thesis that the Puritan ethic and ideas influenced the development of [[capitalism]]. Religious devotion has usually been accompanied by rejection of mundane affairs, including economic pursuit. Why was that not the case with Protestantism? Weber addresses that [[paradox]] in his essay.
| + | Weber argued that certain Protestant ideas, particularly [[John Calvin]]'s understanding of [[predestination]] that sinful people cannot know directly whether they are part of [[God]]'s elect to whom the [[grace]] of [[salvation]] is offered, favored rational pursuit of economic gain and worldly activities. Resultant insecurity on the part of Protestants, and their fear of eternal damnation, led them to seek signs indicating God's direction for their lives and affirmation of their correct behavior. Thus, hard work followed by financial success came to be the hallmark of God's grace. Coupled with traditional religious [[asceticism]], these ideas encouraged people to accumulate wealth. It was not the goal of those religious ideas, but rather a byproduct—the inherent logic of those doctrines and the advice based upon them, both directly and indirectly, encouraged planning and self-denial in the pursuit of economic gain. |
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| − | He defines "the spirit of capitalism" as the ideas and [[habit]]s that favour the [[rationalism|rational]] pursuit of economic gain. Weber points out that such a spirit is not limited to [[Western culture]], when considered as the attitude of individuals, but that such individuals – heroic [[entrepreneurship|entrepreneurs]], as he calls them – could not by themselves establish a new economic order (capitalism). Among the tendencies identified by Weber were the greed for profit with minimum effort, the idea that work was a curse and a burden to be avoided, especially when it exceeded what was enough for modest life. "In order that a manner of life well adapted to the peculiarities of capitalism" wrote Weber "could come to dominate others, it had to originate somewhere, and not in isolated individuals alone, but as a way of life common to whole groups of man".
| + | According to Weber, this "spirit of capitalism" not only involved hard work and [[entrepreneur]]ialism on the part of Protestants, but also a sense of stewardship over the resulting gains. For if [[money]] is not sought after for luxury or self-indulgence, but as moral affirmation, economizing and reinvesting in worthy enterprises become normal economic practices. |
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| − | After defining the spirit of capitalism, Weber argues that there are many reasons to look for its origins in the religious ideas of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. Many observers like [[William Petty]], [[Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu|Montesquieu]], [[Henry Thomas Buckle]], [[John Keats]], and others have commented on the affinity between Protestantism and the development of the commercial spirit.
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| − | Weber showed that certain types of Protestantism favoured rational pursuit of economic gain and worldly activities which had been given positive spiritual and moral meaning. It was not the goal of those religious ideas, but rather a byproduct – the inherent logic of those doctrines and the advice based upon them both directly and indirectly encouraged planning and self-denial in the pursuit of economic gain.
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| − | Weber stated that he abandoned research into Protestantism because his colleague [[Ernst Troeltsch]], a professional [[theology|theologian]], had initiated work on the book ''[[The Social Teachings of the Christian Churches and Sects]]''. Another reason for Weber's decision was that that essay has provided the perspective for a broad comparison of religion and society, which he continued in his later works.
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| − | The phrase "[[work ethic]]" used in modern commentary is a derivative of the "[[Protestant ethic]]" discussed by Weber. It was adopted when the idea of the protestant ethic was generalized to apply to [[Japan|Japanese]], [[Judaism|Jews]] and other [[Christianity|non-Christians]].
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| | ==== ''The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism'' ==== | | ==== ''The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism'' ==== |
| | + | ''The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism'' was Weber's second major work on the [[sociology of religion]]. Weber focused on those aspects of [[China|Chinese]] society that were different from those of Western Europe and especially contrasted with Puritanism, and posed the question, why did capitalism not develop in China? |
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| − | ''The Religion of China: [[Confucianism]] and [[Taoism]]'' was Weber's second major work on the sociology of religion. Weber focused on those aspects of [[China|Chinese]] society that were different from those of [[Western Europe]] and especially contrasted with [[Puritanism]], and posed a question why capitalism did not develop in China. In ''[[Hundred Schools of Thought]]'' ''[[Warring States Period]]'', he concentrated on the early period of Chinese history, during which the major Chinese schools of thoughts (Confucianism and Taoism) came to the fore.
| + | As in Europe, Chinese cities had been founded as [[fortification|fort]]s or leaders' residences, and were the centers of [[trade]] and crafts. However, they never received political [[autonomy]] and its citizens had no special political rights or privileges. This is due to the strength of [[kinship]] ties, which stems from religious beliefs in ancestral spirits. Also, the [[guild]]s competed against each other for the favor of the emperor, never uniting in order to fight for more rights. Therefore, the residents of Chinese cities never constituted a separate status class like the residents of European cities. |
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| − | By [[200 B.C.E.]], the Chinese [[state]] had developed from a loose [[federation]] of [[feudalism|feudal]] states into a unified [[empire]] with [[Patrimony|patrimonal]] rule, as described in the ''[[Warring States Period]]''.
| + | Weber emphasized that instead of metaphysical conjectures, [[Confucianism]] taught adjustment to the world. "Superior" men ''(literati)'' should stay away from the pursuit of wealth (though not from wealth itself). Therefore, becoming a [[civil service|civil servant]] was preferred to becoming a [[business]]man and granted a much higher status. |
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| − | As in Europe, Chinese cities had been founded as [[fort]]s or leaders' residences, and were the centres of [[trade]] and [[crafts]]. However, they never received political [[autonomy]] and its citizens had no special political rights or privileges. This is due to the strength of [[kinship]] ties, which stems from religious beliefs in ancestral spirits. Also, the [[guild]]s competed against each other for the favour of the [[Emperor]], never uniting in order to fight for more rights. Therefore, the residents of Chinese cities never constitute a separate [[status class]] like the residents of European cities.
| + | Chinese civilization had no religious [[prophecy]] nor a powerful [[priest]]ly class. The emperor was the [[high priest]] of the [[state religion]] and the supreme ruler, but popular cults were also tolerated (however the political ambitions of their priests were curtailed). This forms a sharp contrast with medieval Europe, where the church curbed the power of [[secularism|secular]] rulers and the same faith was professed by rulers and common folk alike. |
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| − | Early unification of the state and the establishment of central [[officialdom]] meant that the focus of the power struggle changed from the distribution of land to the distribution of [[office]]s, which with their [[fee]]s and [[tax]]es were the most prominent source of income for the holder, who often pocketed up to 50% of the revenue. The imperial government depended on the services of those officials, not on the service of the military ([[knight]]s) as in Europe.
| + | According to Weber, Confucianism and Puritanism represent two comprehensive but mutually exclusive types of rationalization, each attempting to order human life according to certain ultimate religious beliefs. However, Confucianism aimed at attaining and preserving "a cultured status position" and used it as means of adjustment to the world, [[education]], self-perfection, politeness, and familial piety. |
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| − | Weber emphasized that Confucianism tolerated a great number of popular cults without any effort to systematize them into a [[religious doctrine]]. Instead of metaphysical conjectures, it taught adjustment to the world. The "superior" man ([[literati]]) should stay away from the pursuit of wealth (though not from wealth itself). Therefore, becoming a [[civil service|civil servant]] was preferred to becoming a [[business]]man and granted a much higher status.
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| − | Chinese civilization had no religious [[prophecy]] nor a powerful [[priest]]ly class. The emperor was the [[high priest]] of the [[state religion]] and the supreme ruler, but popular cults were also tolerated (however the political ambitions of their priests were curtailed). This forms a sharp contrast with medieval Europe, where the [[Church]] curbed the power of [[secularism|secular]] rulers and the same faith was professed by rulers and common folk alike.
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| − | According to Confucianism, the worship of great deities is the affair of the state, while ancestral worship is required of all, and the multitude of popular cults is tolerated.
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| − | Confucianism tolerated [[magic]] and [[mysticism]] as long as they were useful tools for controlling the masses; it denounced them as [[heresy]] and suppressed them when they threatened the established order (hence the opposition to [[Buddhism]]). Note that in this context, Confucianism can be referred to as the state cult, and Taoism as the popular religion.
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| − | Weber argued that while several factors favoured the development of a capitalist economy (long periods of peace, improved control of rivers, population growth, freedom to acquire land and move outside of native community, free choice of occupation) they were outweighed by others (mostly stemming from religion):
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| − | * technical inventions were opposed on the basis of religion, in the sense that the disturbance of ancestral spirits was argued to lead to bad luck, and adjusting oneself to the world was preferred to changing it.
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| − | * sale of land was often prohibited or made very difficult.
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| − | * extended kinship groups (based on the religious importance of family ties and ancestry) protected its members against economic adversities, therefore discouraging payment of debts, work discipline, and rationalization of work processes.
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| − | * those kinship groups prevented the development of an urban status class and hindered developments towards legal institutions, codification of laws, and the rise of a lawyer class.
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| − | According to Weber, Confucianism and Puritanism represent two comprehensive but mutually exclusive types of rationalization, each attempting to order human life according to certain ultimate religious beliefs. Both encouraged sobriety and self-control and were compatible with the accumulation of wealth. However, Confucianism aimed at attaining and preserving "a cultured status position" and used as means adjustment to the world, education, self-perfection, politeness and familial piety. Puritanism used those means in order to create a "tool of God", creating a person that would serve the God and master the world. Such intensity of belief and enthusiasm for action were alien to the aesthetic values of Confucianism. Therefore, Weber states that it was the difference in prevailing mentality that contributed to the development of capitalism in the West and the absence of it in China. | |
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| | ====''The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism''==== | | ====''The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism''==== |
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| − | ''The Religion of India: The Sociology of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]]'' was Weber's third major work on the sociology of religion. In this work he deals with the structure of [[India|Indian]] society, with the [[orthodox]] [[doctrine]]s of Hinduism and the [[heterodox]] doctrines of Buddhism, with modifications brought by the influence of popular [[religiosity]], and finally with the impact of religious beliefs on the secular ethic of Indian society. | + | ''The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism'' was Weber's third major work on the sociology of religion. In this work, he dealt with the structure of [[India|Indian]] society, the orthodox [[doctrine]]s of [[Hinduism]] and the heterodox doctrines of [[Buddhism]], the modifications brought by the influence of popular religiosity, and finally with the impact of religious beliefs on the secular ethic of Indian society. |
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| − | The Indian social system was shaped by the concept of [[caste]]. It directly linked religious belief and the segregation of society into [[status group]]s. Weber describes the caste system, consisting of the [[Brahmin]]s (priests), the [[Kshatriya]]s (warriors), the [[Vaisya]]s (merchants), the [[Sudra]]s (labourers), and the [[untouchables]]. Then he describes the spread of the caste system in India due to [[conquest]]s, the marginalization of certain [[tribe]]s and the subdivision of castes. | + | The Indian social system was shaped by the concept of [[caste system|caste]]. It directly linked religious belief and the segregation of society into status groups. The caste system consisted of the [[Brahmin]]s (priests), the [[Kshatriya]]s (warriors), the [[Vaisya]]s (merchants), the [[Sudra]]s (laborers), and the [[untouchables]]. |
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| − | Weber pays special attention to Brahmins and analyses why they occupied the highest place in Indian society for many centuries. With regard to the concept of [[dharma]] he concludes that the Indian ethical pluralism is very different both from the universal ethic of [[Confucianism]] and [[Christianity]]. He notes that the caste system prevented the development of urban status groups. | + | Weber paid special attention to Brahmins and analyzed why they occupied the highest place in Indian society for many centuries. With regard to the concept of [[dharma]], he concluded that the Indian ethical pluralism is very different both from the universal ethic of [[Confucianism]] and [[Christianity]]. He noted that the caste system prevented the development of urban status groups. |
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| − | Next, Weber analyses the Hindu religious beliefs, including [[asceticism]] and the Hindu world view, the Brahman orthodox doctrines, the rise and fall of Buddhism in India, the [[Hindu restoration]], and the evolution of the [[guru]]. Weber asks the question whether religion had any influence upon the daily round of mundane activities, and if so, how it impacted economic conduct. He notes the idea of an immutable world order consisting of the eternal cycles of [[rebirth]] and the deprecation of the mundane world, and finds that the traditional caste system, supported by the religion, slowed economic development; in other words, the "spirit" of the caste system militated against an indigenous development of [[capitalism]]. | + | Next, Weber analyzed Hindu religious beliefs, including [[asceticism]] and the Hindu worldview, the Brahman orthodox doctrines, the rise and fall of Buddhism in India, the Hindu restoration, and the evolution of the [[guru]]. He noted the idea of an immutable world order consisting of the eternal cycles of rebirth and the deprecation of the mundane world, and found that the traditional caste system, supported by the religion, slowed economic development. |
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| − | Weber concludes his study of society and religion in India by combining his findings with his previous work on China. He notes that the beliefs tended to interpret the meaning of life as otherworldly or [[mysticism|mystical]] experience, that the [[intellectual]]s tended to be [[Wiktionary:apolitical|apolitical]] in their orientation, and that the social world was fundamentally divided between the educated, whose lives were oriented toward the exemplary conduct of a [[prophet]] or wise man, and the uneducated masses who remained caught in their daily rounds and believed in [[magic]]. In Asia, no [[Messianic]] prophecy appeared that could have given "plan and meaning to the everyday life of educated and uneducated alike". He argues that it was the Messianic prophecies in the countries of the [[Near East]], as distinguished from the prophecy of the [[Asia]]tic mainland, that prevented the countries of the [[Occident]] from following the paths of development marked out by China and India, and his next work, [[Ancient Judaism (book)|Ancient Judaism]] was an attempt to prove this theory.
| + | He argued that it was the [[Messiah|Messianic]] prophecies in the countries of the [[Near East]], as distinguished from the prophecy of the [[Asia]]tic mainland, that prevented the countries of the Occident from following the paths of development marked out by China and India. His next work, ''Ancient Judaism'' was an attempt to prove this theory. |
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| | ====''Ancient Judaism''==== | | ====''Ancient Judaism''==== |
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| − | In ''Ancient [[Judaism]]'', his fourth major work on the sociology of religion, Weber attempts to explain the "combination of circumstances" that was responsible for the early differences between [[Oriental]] and [[Occidental]] [[religiosity]]. It is especially visible when the interworldly [[asceticism]] developed by Western [[Christianity]] is contrasted with mystical contemplation of the kind developed in [[India]]. Weber noted that some aspects of Christianity sought to conquer and change the world, rather than withdraw from its imperfections. This fundamental characteristic of Christianity (when compared to [[Far East|Far Eastern]] religions) stems originally from the ancient Jewish [[prophecy]]. | + | In ''Ancient Judaism,'' his fourth major work on the [[sociology of religion]], Weber attempted to explain the "combination of circumstances" that was responsible for the early differences between Oriental and Occidental religiosity. It is especially visible when the interworldly [[asceticism]] developed by Western [[Christianity]] is contrasted with mystical contemplation of the kind developed in [[India]]. Weber noted that some aspects of Christianity sought to conquer and change the world, rather than withdraw from its imperfections. This fundamental characteristic of Christianity (when compared to Far Eastern religions) stems originally from the ancient [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[prophecy]]. |
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| − | Stating his reasons for investigating ancient Judaism, Weber wrote that ''"Anyone who is heir to the traditions of modern European civilization will approach the problems of universal history with a set of questions, which to him appear both inevitable and legitimate. These questions will turn on the combination of circumstances which has brought about the cultural phenomena that are uniquely Western and that have at the same time (…) a universal cultural significance"''. | + | Stating his reasons for investigating ancient Judaism, Weber wrote that |
| | + | <blockquote>Anyone who is heir to the traditions of modern European civilization will approach the problems of universal history with a set of questions, which to him appear both inevitable and legitimate. These questions will turn on the combination of circumstances which has brought about the cultural phenomena that are uniquely Western and that have at the same time (…) a universal cultural significance.</blockquote> |
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| − | ''"For the Jew (…) the social order of the world was conceived to have been turned into the opposite of that promised for the future, but in the future it was to be overturned so that Jewry could be once again dominant. The world was conceived as neither eternal nor unchangeable, but rather as being created. Its present structure was a product of man's actions, above all those of the Jews, and God's reaction to them. Hence the world was a historical product designed to give way to the truly God-ordained order (…). There existed in addition a highly rational religious ethic of social conduct; it was free of magic and all forms of irrational quest for salvation; it was inwardly worlds apart from the path of salvation offered by Asiatic religions. To a large extent this ethic still underlies contemporary Middle Eastern and European ethic. World-historical interest in Jewry rests upon this fact. (…) Thus, in considering the conditions of Jewry's evolution, we stand at a turning point of the whole cultural development of the West and the Middle East"''.
| + | Weber analyzed the interaction between the [[Bedouin]]s, the cities, the herdsmen, and the [[peasant]]s, including the conflicts between them and the rise and fall of the [[United Monarchy]]. The time of the United Monarchy appears as a mere episode, dividing the period of [[confederation|confederacy]] since the [[Exodus]] and the settlement of the [[Israelite]]s in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] from the period of political decline following the [[Division of the Monarchy]]. This division into periods has major implications for religious history. Since the basic tenets of Judaism were formulated during the time of Israelite confederacy and after the fall of the United Monarchy, they became the basis of the prophetic movement that left a lasting impression on Western civilization. |
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| − | Weber analyses the interaction between the [[Bedouin]]s, the cities, the herdsmen and the peasants, including the conflicts between them and the rise and fall of the [[United Monarchy]]. The time of the United Monarchy appears as a mere episode, dividing the period of [[confederation|confederacy]] since the [[Exodus]] and the settlement of the [[Israelite]]s in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] from the period of political decline following the [[Division of the Monarchy]]. This division into periods has major implications for religious history. Since the basic tenets of Judaism were formulated during the time of Israelite confederacy and after the fall of the United Monarchy, they became the basis of the prophetic movement that left a lasting impression on the Western civilization. | + | Weber noted that Judaism not only fathered Christianity and [[Islam]], but was crucial to the rise of modern Occident state, as its influences were as important to those of [[Hellenistic]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] cultures. |
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| − | Weber discusses the organization of the early confederacy, the unique qualities of the Israelites' relations to [[Yahweh]], the influence of foreign cults, types of religious ecstasy, and the struggle of the priests against ecstasy and idol worship. He goes on to describe the times of the Division of the Monarchy, social aspects of Biblical prophecy, the social orientation of the prophets, demagogues and pamphleteers, ecstasy and politics, and the ethic and theodicity of the prophets.
| + | ===Sociology of politics and government=== |
| − | | + | In the sociology of politics and government, ''Politics as a Vocation'' is considered to be Weber's most significant essay. Therein, Weber unveiled the definition of the [[state]] that has become so pivotal to Western social thought: the state is that entity which possesses a [[monopoly]] on the legitimate use of physical force, which it may elect to delegate as it sees fit. [[Politics]] is to be understood as any activity in which the state might engage itself in order to influence the relative distribution of force. A politician must not be a man of the "true Christian ethic," understood by Weber as being the ethic of the [[Sermon on the Mount]], that is to say, the injunction to turn the other cheek. An adherent of such an ethic ought rather to be understood to be a [[saint]], for it is only saints, according to Weber, that can appropriately follow it. The political realm is no realm for saints. A politician ought to marry the ethic of ultimate ends and the ethic of responsibility, and must possess both a passion for his avocation and the capacity to distance himself from the subject of his exertions (the governed). |
| − | Weber notes that Judaism not only fathered Christianity and Islam, but was crucial to the rise of modern Occident state, as its influence were as important to those of [[Hellenistic]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] cultures.
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| − | [[Reinhard Bendix]], summarizing ''Ancient Judaism'', writes that ''"free of magic and esoteric speculations, devoted to the study of law, vigilant in the effort to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord in the hope of a better future, the prophets established a religion of faith that subjected man's daily life to the imperatives of a divinely ordained moral law. In this way, ancient Judaism helped create the moral rationalism of Western civilization"''. | + | Weber distinguished three pure types of political leadership domination and authority: [[charisma]]tic domination ([[family|familial]] and [[religion|religious]]), traditional domination ([[patriarch]]s, [[patrimonialism]], [[feudalism]]), and legal domination (modern [[law]] and state, [[bureaucracy]]). In his view, every historical relation between rulers and ruled contained elements that can be analyzed on the basis of this tripartite distinction. He also noted that the instability of charismatic authority inevitably forces it to "routinize" into a more structured form of authority. |
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| − | ===Sociology of politics and government===
| + | Many aspects of modern [[public administration]] are attributed to Weber. A classic, hierarchically organized [[civil service]] of the continental type is called "Weberian civil service," although this is only one ideal type of public administration and government described in his magnum opus, ''Economy and Society'' (1922). In this work, Weber outlined his description of rationalization (of which bureaucratization is a part) as a shift from a value-oriented organization and action (traditional authority and charismatic authority) to a goal-oriented organization and action (legal-rational authority). The result, according to Weber, is a "polar night of icy darkness," in which increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in an "iron cage" of rule-based, rational control. |
| − | In the sociology of politics and government, Weber's most significant essay is probably his ''[[Politics as a Vocation]]''. Therein, Weber unveils the definition of the [[state]] that has become so pivotal to Western social thought: that the [[state]] is that entity which possesses a [[monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force]], which it may nonetheless elect to delegate as it sees fit. Politics is to be understood as any activity in which the state might engage itself in order to influence the relative distribution of force. Politics thus comes to be understood as deriving from power. A politician must not be a man of the "true [[Christian ethic]]", understood by Weber as being the ethic of the [[Sermon on the Mount]], that is to say, the injunction to turn the other cheek. An adherent of such an ethic ought rather to be understood to be a [[saint]], for it is only saints, according to Weber, that can appropriately follow it. The political realm is no realm for saints. A politician ought to marry the ethic of ultimate ends and the ethic of responsibility, and must possess both a passion for his avocation and the capacity to distance himself from the subject of his exertions (the governed).
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| − | Weber distinguished three [[pure type]]s of political leadership, domination and authority: [[charismatic domination]] (familial and religious), [[traditional domination]] ([[patriarch]]s, [[patrimonalism]], [[feudalism]]), and [[legal domination]] (modern law and state, [[bureaucracy]]). In his view, every historical relation between rulers and ruled contained elements that can be analysed on the basis of this [[tripartite classification of authority|tripartite]] distinction. He also notes that the instability of charismatic authority inevitably forces it to "routinize" into a more structured form of authority. Likewise he notes that in a pure type of traditional rule, sufficient resistance to a master can lead to a "traditional revolution". Thus he alludes to an inevitable move towards a rational-legal structure of authority, utilizing a bureaucratic structure. Thus this theory can be sometimes viewed as part of the [[social evolutionism]] theory. This ties to his broader concept of [[rationalization]] by suggesting that the inevitability of a move in this direction. | + | Weber's studies of bureaucracy also led him to his accurate prediction that [[socialism]] in [[Russia]] would, due to abolishing the [[Capitalism|free market]] and its mechanisms, lead to over-bureaucratization (evident, for example, in the shortage economy) rather than to the "withering away of the state" (as [[Karl Marx]] had predicted would happen in a [[communism|communist]] society). |
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| − | Weber is also well-known for his study of the bureaucratization of society, the rational ways in which formal social organizations apply the ideal type characteristics of a bureaucracy. Many aspects of modern [[public administration]] go back to him, and a classic, hierarchically organized [[civil service]] of the Continental type is called "Weberian civil service", although this is only one ideal type of public administration and government described in his ''[[magnum opus]]'' ''Economy and Society'' (1922), and one that he did not particularly like himself - he only thought it particularly efficient and successful. In this work, Weber outlines a description, which has become famous, of rationalization (of which bureaucratization is a part) as a shift from a value-oriented organization and action (traditional authority and charismatic authority) to a goal-oriented organization and action (legal-rational authority). The result, according to Weber, is a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in an "iron cage" of rule-based, rational control. Weber's bureaucracy studies also led him to his analysis — correct, as it would turn out — that [[socialism]] in [[Russia]] would, due to the abolishing of the [[free market]] and its mechanisms, lead to over-bureaucratization (evident, for example, in the [[shortage economy]]) rather than to the "withering away of the state" (as [[Karl Marx]] had predicted would happen in [[communism|communist]] society).
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| | ===Economics=== | | ===Economics=== |
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| − | While Max Weber is best known and recognized today as one of the leading scholars and founders of modern sociology, he also accomplished much in the field of [[economics]]. However, during his life no such distinctions really existed. | + | While Max Weber is best known and recognized today as one of the leading scholars and founders of modern sociology, he also accomplished much in the field of [[economics]]. However, during his lifetime, economics was not nearly as developed as it is today. |
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| − | From the point of view of the economists, he is a representative of the "Youngest" [[German Historical School]]. His most valued contributions to the field of economics is his famous work, ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]''. This is a seminal essay on the differences between religions and the relative wealth of their followers. Weber's work is parallel to [[Werner Sombart|Sombart's]] treatise of the same phenomenon, which however located the rise of Capitalism in [[Judaism]]. Weber's other main contributions to economics (as well as to social sciences in general) is his work on [[methodology]]: his theories of "[[Verstehen]]" (known as ''understanding'' or ''[[Interpretative Sociology]]'') and of [[antipositivism]] (known as ''[[humanistic sociology]]''). | + | From the point of view of economists, Weber is a representative of the "Youngest" [[German Historical School]]. His most valued contribution to the field is his famous work, ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.'' This seminal essay discussed the differences between [[religion]]s and the relative wealth of their followers. Weber's work paralleled [[Werner Sombart]]'s treatise of the same phenomenon, which, however, located the rise of [[capitalism]] in [[Judaism]]. Weber acknowledged that capitalist societies had existed prior to [[John Calvin|Calvinism]]. However, he argued that in those cases, religious views did not support the capitalist enterprise, but rather limited it. Only the [[Protestant]] ethic, based on Calvinism, actively supported the accumulation of capital as a sign of [[God]]'s [[grace]]. |
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| − | The doctrine of Interpretative Sociology is as well-known as it is controversial and debated. This thesis states that social, economic and historical research can never be fully [[Induction (philosophy)|inductive]] or [[descriptive (philosophy)|descriptive]] as one must always approach it with a conceptual apparatus. This apparatus Weber identified as the "[[Ideal Type]]". The idea can be summarized as follows: an ideal type is formed from characteristics and elements of the given [[phenomena]] but it is not meant to correspond to all of the characteristics of any one particular case. It is interesting to compare Weber's Ideal Type to [[Ferdinand Toennies]]' concept of the "[[Normal type|Normal Type]]".
| + | Weber's other main contributions to economics (as well as to [[social science]] in general) is his work on methodology: his theories of ''Verstehen'' (known as "understanding" or "interpretative sociology") and of antipositivism (known as "humanistic sociology"). |
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| − | Weber conceded that employing "Ideal Types" was an [[abstraction]] but claimed that it was nonetheless essential if one were to understand any particular social phenomena because, unlike physical phenomena, they involve human behaviour which must be interpreted by ideal types. This, together with his antipositivistic argumentation can be viewed as the methodological justification for the assumption of the "[[rational economic man]]" (''[[homo economicus]]'').
| + | Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification, with "social class," "status class," and "party class" (or political class) as conceptually distinct elements. |
| − | | + | * Social class is based on an economically determined relationship to the [[market]] (owner, [[rent|renter]], employee, etc.). |
| − | Max Weber formulated a [[three-component theory of stratification]], with [[social class]], [[status class]] and [[party class]] (or political class) as conceptually distinct elements. | + | * Status class is based on non-economic qualities like honor, prestige, and religion. |
| − | * Social class is based on economically determined relationship to the [[market]] (owner, [[renting|renter]], employee etc.). | |
| − | * Status class is based on non-economical qualities like [[honour]], [[prestige]] and religion. | |
| | * Party class refers to affiliations in the political domain. | | * Party class refers to affiliations in the political domain. |
| − | All three dimensions have consequences for what Weber called "life chances". | + | All three dimensions have consequences for what Weber called "life chances." |
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| − | Weber's other contributions to economics were several: these include a (seriously researched) economic [[Die Römische Agrargeschichte in ihrer Bedeutung für das Staats- und Privatrecht|history of Roman agrarian society]], his work on the dual roles of [[idealism]] and [[materialism]] in the history of [[capitalism]] in his [[Economy and Society : An Outline of Interpretive Sociology|Economy and Society]] (1914) which present Weber's criticisms (or according to some, revisions) of some aspects of [[Marxism]]. Finally, his thoroughly researched [[Wirtschaftsgeschichte|General Economic History]] (1923) is perhaps the Historical School at its empirical best. | + | Weber felt that economics should be a broad science covering not only economic phenomena, but also non-economic phenomena that might influence the economy ("economically relevant phenomena") and non-economic phenomena that, to some extent, had been influenced by economic phenomena ("economically conditioned phenomena") (Weber 1949: 64–66). The name that Weber gave to this broad type of economics was “social economics." Weber’s thought in this area provided a platform for productive interdisciplinary dialogue between economists and sociologists. To understand Weber’s perspective, one cannot ignore the value he placed on economic history and economic sociology in the study of economic theory. |
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| − | == Interpretations of Weber's liberalism == | + | == Contribution and Legacy == |
| − | {{wikify}}
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| − | Max Weber's sociological achievements are well known. Weber is today widely considered as an eminent founder of modern social science, rivaled only by the figures of Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx. Students of Weberian thought have paid less attention to Weber's extensive and often passionate engagement with the politics of his day. This is especially so in the United States, where most of Weber's voluminous political writings have not been published in translation, or have been translated only recently in a piecemeal form. European intellectuals have given more attention to his political thought.
| + | Weber's sociological theories had a great impact on twentieth-century [[sociology]]. He developed the notion of "ideal types," which were examples of situations in history that could be used as reference points to compare and contrast different societies. This approach analyzes the basic elements of social institutions and examines how these elements relate to one another. His study of the [[sociology of religion]] allowed for a new level of cross-cultural understanding and investigation. |
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| − | Weber's political ideas have inspired controversy in Germany for decades. His conception of democracy has been the subject of particularly heated debate. Weber's rejection of the Wilhelmine regime's authoritarian political structure and his advocacy of parliamentary and democratic reform have led many scholars to consider him as a liberal. Compared to most of his contemporaries in the late-Wilhelmine era, he was. There is, still, a problematic aspect to this characterization. Raymond Aron writes:
| + | Through his celebrated work, ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,'' Max Weber was one of the first scholars to emphasize the [[moral]] and [[religion|spiritual]] dimensions of [[economics|economic]] behavior. His analysis of the spiritual and moral conditions for successful economic productivity continues to be a source of inspiration to modern social scientists and other thinkers. |
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| − | "He was not a liberal in the American sense. He was not even, strictly speaking, a democrat in the sense that the French, the English, or the Americans gave the term. He placed the glory of the nation and the power of the state above all else." 1
| + | His insights and understanding concerning the weaknesses of [[capitalism]] have also had long-lasting impact. He concluded that the capitalist spirit was born more from psychological tensions that Calvinist theological obligations tended to create in the minds of the faithful, than as a result of pure religious devotion. According to Weber, the [[anxiety]] and inner loneliness resulting from the Calvinist doctrine of [[predestination]] created an all-consuming, driving force in the minds of believers, compelling them to essentially enslave themselves with materialistic pursuit while simultaneously creating an unprecedented increase in economic development. |
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| − | There is no doubt that Weber wished to preserve many freedoms championed in the "age of the Rights of Man."2 It is also certain that he rejected the philosophical basis for most Western formulations of Enlightenment liberalism.3 Weber conceived "parliamentarization" primarily for selecting leaders4 who could increase the power of the German nation.5
| + | However, he also observed that once capitalism became divorced from its religious sentiment, it developed into a secular ethic with "inexorable power," leading him to denigrate capitalists as "specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart." |
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| − | Wolfgang J. Mommsen initiated an intense debate by arguing this in the 1959 German publication of Max Weber and German Politics 1890-1920.6 Mommsen exposed themes in Weber's thought that marred the sociologist's liberal reputation. Weber had been an extreme nationalist, and in his early career had called "in almost violent language for a hard-headed policy of imperialist expansionism."7 His sociological idea of charismatic authority was evident in his political views, and "appeared to be disturbingly close to fascist notions of plebiscitary leadership."8 Even his theory of "leader-democracy" seemed flawed, as it "lent itself all too readily to an authoritarian reinterpretation" :9
| + | Weber was fiercely independent, refusing to bend to any ideological line. Although he repeatedly entered the political arena, he was not truly a political man, one who is able to make compromises in the pursuit of his aims (according to Weber's own definition). |
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| − | "...one will have to admit in all honesty that Weber's teachings concerning charismatic leadership domination coupled with the radical formulation of the meaning of democratic institutions, have contributed their share to making the German people inwardly ready to acclaim the leadership position of Adolf Hitler."10
| + | Weber regarded the world of modernity as having been deserted by the gods, because man had chased them away—rationalization had replaced [[mysticism]]. He saw the future world as one without feeling, passion, or commitment, unmoved by personal appeal and personal fealty, by grace and by the ethics of charismatic heroes. In many ways the twentieth century fulfilled his deepest fears, yet it also saw the birth of incredible development in all areas of human life. |
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| − | Max Weber's call for the democratic reform of the Wilhelmine state, and his involvement in the drafting of the Weimar constitution, had led German intellectuals in the 1950's to consider him as an authority who could justify the democratic character of the new Federal Republic.11 Mommsen's thesis, that Max Weber supported parliamentary democracy as a means to serve the power interests of the German nation-state, met a sharp response. In Raymond Aron's words, this removed "the new German democracy of a 'founding father/ a glorious ancestor, and a spokesman of genius."12
| + | Weber's last words were reported to be: "The Truth is the Truth" (Coser 1977: 242–243). This intellectual giant, suffering from deep tensions caused by his relationships with his family, and by the oppressive political atmosphere, was finally limited by circumstance in how much truth he could uncover. |
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| − | The uniqueness of the German post-war context does much to explain the relative lack of attention received by Jacob Peter Mayer's scathing 1944 critique of Max Weber, Max Weber and German Politics: a study in political sociology. First published in England, this work never appeared in German translation.13 Mayer had been an archivist for the Social Democratic Party and the primary book reviewer for the Vorworts, the SPD party paper. Such activities made him a target of Nazi persecution, from which he escaped to England. There he became involved with the Labour Party and was a member of the faculty at the London School of Economics during the last part of the war.14
| + | == Major Works == |
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| − | Mayer labelled Weber's philosophy the "new Machiavellianism of the steel age." The conception of the state that Weber supported was identified as a middle phase in the destructive tradition of German realpolitik - a tradition that extended from Bismarck to Hitler.15 Mayer drew attention to the "tragic" satisfaction with which Weber embraced "the empty character" of Heinrich Rickert's neo-Kantian philosophy of value.16 Weber's value theory was thus indicted as a nihilistic contribution to the rise of National Socialism. Britain's experience with the Second World War may partly explain why Mayer's study failed to raise as much controversy there as did Mommsen's work in post-war Germany.
| + | *Weber, Max. 1922/1968. ''Economy and Society.'' Edited by Max Rheinstein. Translated by Edward Shils and Max Rheinstein. New York: Simon and Schuster. |
| − | | + | *Weber, Max. 1946/1958. ''From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology.'' Translated and edited by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0195004620 |
| − | Weber's political views have been considered to threaten the reputation of his sociology. Guenther Roth, Reinhard Bendix, and Karl Loewenstein have defended Weberian sociology by arguing that it stands separate from his political convictions.17 They consider Weber's famous distinction between scientific value-neutrality and evaluative politics to support this claim. In their view, Weber's politics are insignificant to the interpretation of his sociology. This position was rejected by Mommsen.
| + | *Weber, Max. 1949. ''The Methodology of the Social Sciences.'' New York: Free Press. |
| − | | + | *Weber, Max. 1962. ''The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism.'' Free Press. |
| − | Mommsen established continuities between Weber's "value-neutral" sociology and his "evaluative" politics. The second edition of Max Weber and German Politics 1890-1920 argued that "values and science, in Weber's thought, were interdependent." Critics were dismissed as attempting "to shield Max Weber's sociological works against any possible criticism based on political aspects."18 Guenther Roth responded in a 1965 American sociological journal:
| + | *Weber, Max. 1967. ''Ancient Judaism.'' Free Press. ISBN 0029341302 |
| − | | + | *Weber, Max. 1968. ''The Religion of China.'' Free Press. ISBN 0029344506 |
| − | "Weber has been a major target for a series of critiques aimed at political sociology in general, if not at most of social science...As a German historian, Mommsen is, of course, far removed from the interest of American sociologists in Weber, but his treatment becomes questionable to them the moment he interprets Weber's sociological analysis as political ideology..."19
| + | *Weber, Max. 1993. ''Basic Concepts in Sociology.'' Translated and with an introduction by H.P. Secher. New York: Citadel Press (original work published 1962). ISBN 0806503041 |
| − | | + | *Weber, Max. 2001. ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,'' 2nd ed. Routledge (original work published 1904). ISBN 041525406X |
| − | Roth claimed that his "major intent" was "not to provide an historical defense of Weber but a review of critiques as they seem to bear on the raison d'etre of political sociology."20 He claimed that Weber:
| + | *Weber, Max. 2004. ''The Vocation Lectures: Science As a Vocation, Politics As a Vocation.'' Hackett Publishing Company. ISBN 0872206653 |
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| − | "...must appear relativist and Machiavellian to all those who, for ideological reasons, cannot recognize any dividing line between political sociology and political ideology...Weber emphatically insisted on such a distinction...his critics refuse to distinguish between his scholarship and his politics."21
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| − | Weber's sociological writings are, in Roth's view, divorced from his political ones. Raymond Aron has argued the opposite position. Aron does not consider Weber's sociology to stand above politics: | |
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| − | "Weber, both as a politician and sociologist, is a typical 'power-politician.' He belongs to the posterity of Machiavelli as much as to the contemporaries of Nietzsche...The struggle for power between classes and individuals seemed to him the essence...of politics. A people or a person without the will to power was, according to him, outside the sphere of politics."22
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| − | | |
| − | Notes
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| − | 1 Aron, Main Currents in Sociological Thought, v.2., translated by Richard Howard and Helen Weaver, Basic Books Inc., New York, 1967, p. 242
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| − | 2 cf. Weber, "Parliament and Government in a Reconstructed Germany," Economy and Society, v. 2, edited by Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1978, p. 1403.
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| − | 3 Turner and Factor, Max Weber and the dispute over reason and value, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Boston, 1984, pp.18, 66, 73; Mommsen, Max Weber and German Politics: 1890-1920; University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1984, p. 392; Weber, Economy and Society , v. 1, Roth and Wittich, eds., University of California Press, Berkeley, 1978, p. 6
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| − | 4 Marianne Weber, Max Weber: A Biography, translated by Harry Zorn, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1975, p. 586
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| − | 5 Aron, Main Currents in Sociological Thought, v.2., translated by Richard Howard and Helen Weaver, Basic Books Inc., New York, 1967, p. 242
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| − | 6 Mommsen, Max Weber und die Deutsche Politik 1890- 1920, J.C.B. Mohr, Tubingen. 1959,
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| − | 7 Mommsen, The Political and Social Theory of Max Weber, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1989, p. 191
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| − | 8 Ibid.
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| − | 9 Weber's ideas have been historically linked to the fascist theories of Carl Schmidt and Roberto Michels. Mommsen, The Political and Social Theory of Max Weber: Collected Essays , University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1989, pp. 42-3,191,193
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| − | 10 Mommsen, Max Weber und die Deutsche Politik 1890- 1920, J.C.B. Mohr, Tubingen. 1959, p. 410. The second edition deemphasized Weber's ideological link to fascism. Stephen P. Turner and Regis A. Factor consider Mommsen's revision as an attempt to defuse Herbert Marcuse's neo-Marxist thesis that Weber's bourgeois "concept of reason" necessarily terminates in the "irrational charisma" of fascist dictatorship. Turner and Factor, Max Weber and the dispute over reason and value, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Boston, 1984, p. 208; cf. Mommsen, Max Weber and German Politics 1890-1920, 2nd edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1984, p. 433
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| − | 11 Mommsen, Max Weber and German Politics: 1890-1920, 2nd edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1984, p. 416
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| − | 12 Aron, Main Currents in Sociological Thought, v.2, translated by Howard and Weaver, Basic Books Inc., New York, 1967, p. 248
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| − | 13 Mommsen, Max Weber and German Politics: 1890-1920, 2nd edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1984, p. 417; Mayer, Max Weber and German Politics: A study in political sociology, Faber and Faber Limited, London, 1944
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| − | 14 Turner and Factor, Max Weber and the dispute over reason and value, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Boston, 1984, p. 158
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| − | 15 Mommsen, Max Weber and German Politics: 1890-1920, 2nd edition, University of Chicago
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| − | Press, Chicago, 1984, p. 417; Mayer, Max Weber and German Politics: A study in political sociology,
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| − | Faber and Faber Limited, London, 1944, pp. 83, 89-91
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| − | 16 Mayer, Max Weber and German Politics: A study in political sociology, Faber and Faber Limited, London, 1944, pp. 30,91-90
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| − | 17 Mommsen, The Political and Social Thought of Max Weber, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1989, p. 3; Mommsen, Max Weber and German Politics: 1890-1920, 2nd edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1984, pp. 418-9; Turner and Factor, Max Weber and the dispute over reason and value, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Boston, 1984, p. 180; David Beetham also supports this distinction, though less emphatically, in Max Weber and the Theory of Modern Politics, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1985, p. 30
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| − | 18 Mommsen, Max Weber and German Politics: 1890-1920, 2nd edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1984, p. 419
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| − | 19 Roth, Guenther, "Political Critiques of Max Weber: Some Implications for Political Sociology" American Sociological Review, April 1965, v. 30, no. 2, pp. 214, 220n
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| − | 20 Ibid., p. 214
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| − | | |
| − | ==Works==
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| − | | |
| − | Note: Weber wrote his books in [[German language|German]]. Original titles printed after his death (1920) are most likely compilations of his unfinished works (note the 'Collected Essays...' form in titles). Many translations are made of parts or selections of various German originals, and the names of the translations often do not reveal what part of German work they contain.
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| − | For an extensive list of Max Weber's works, please see [[list of Max Weber works]].
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| − | | |
| − | ==Attacks from conservatives==
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| − | | |
| − | Despite, or perhaps because of, Weber's influence on modern economics and sociology, aspects of his work have been criticized.
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| − | During his own lifetime, Weber was critical of the neoclassical economic approaches of authors such as [[Carl Menger]] and [[Friedrich von Weiser]], whose formal approach was quite different from his own historical sociology. The work of these authors eventually led to the creation of the [[Austrian School]] of economics, and it is not surprising that today those influenced by that school continue to take issue with Weber's work. This includes followers of [[Friedrich von Hayek]] and, more recently, authors [[Daniel Yergin]] and [[Joseph Stanislaw]]. In their pro-globalization book [[The Commanding Heights]], they attack Weber for claiming that only Protestantism could lead to a work ethic, pointing to the "[[Tiger Economies]]" of Southeastern Asia. On the other hand, [[Ludwig von Mises]], Hayek's teacher and a key figure in the Austrian School, was sympathetic to Weber's work; and another of Mises's pupils, the philosopher [[Alfred Schutz]], was substantially influenced by Weber at least as much as by Austrian School thought.
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| − | Similarly, Weber's 'Protestant Ethic' thesis has been criticized by many historians of the period. In his biography of [[Benjamin Franklin]], for instance, [[Walter Isaacson]] dismissed Weber's work on the Protestant ethic as a "Marxist" argument despite Weber's criticism of many of Marx's ideas.
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| | == References == | | == References == |
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| − | Weber's work is generally quoted according to the critical [http://www.mohr.de/mw/mwg.htm ''Gesamtausgabe''] (collected works edition), which is published by [[Mohr Siebeck]] in [[Tübingen]], Germany.
| + | * Bendix, Reinhard. 1978. ''Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait.'' University of California Press. ISBN 0520031946 |
| − | | + | * Coser, Lewis. 1977. ''Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context.'' Harcourt. ISBN 0155551302 |
| − | * [[Reinhard Bendix|Bendix, Reinhard]] (1960). ''Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait''. Doubleday. | + | * Kaesler, Dirk. 1989. ''Max Weber: An Introduction to His Life and Work.'' University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226425606 |
| − | * [[Dirk Kaesler|Kaesler, Dirk]] (1989). ''Max Weber: An Introduction to His Life and Work''. University of Chicago Press. | + | * Mommsen, Wolfgang. 1974. ''Max Weber und die Deutsche Politik 1890–1920.'' J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck). ISBN 0226533999 |
| − | * [[Wolfgang Mommsen|Mommsen, Wolfgang]] (1974). ''Max Weber und die Deutsche Politik 1890-1920''. J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck) | + | * Roth, Guenther. 2001. ''Max Webers deutsch-englische Familiengeschichte.'' J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck) |
| − | * Roth, Guenther (2001). Max Webers deutsch-englische Familiengeschichte. J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck) | + | * Swedberg, Richard. 1999. [http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_4_58/ai_58496750 “Max Weber as an Economist and as a Sociologist.”] ''American Journal of Economics and Sociology'' October 1999. |
| − | * [[Marianne Weber|Weber, Marianne]] (1929/1988). ''Max Weber: A Biography''. New Brunswick: Transaction Books. | + | * Weber, Marianne. 1929/1988. ''Max Weber: A Biography.'' New Brunswick: Transaction Books. |
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| − | * [http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_4_58/ai_58496750 Richard Swedberg, "Max Weber as an Economist and as a Sociologist"], ''American Journal of Economics and Sociology''
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | *[[Civil religion]] | |
| − | *[[Political religion]]
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| − | *[[Liberalism]]
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| − | *[[Contributions to liberal theory]]
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| − | *[[List of economists]]
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| − | *[[List of sociologists]]
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| − | *[[Speeches of Weber]]
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| − | *[[Spirit of capitalism]]
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| | ==External links== | | ==External links== |
| | + | All links retrieved November 8, 2022. |
| | | | |
| − | Texts of Weber works:
| + | * [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/WEBER/cover.html ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism''] |
| − | * [http://www.uni-potsdam.de/u/paed/Flitner/Flitner/Weber/index.htm Large collection of the German original texts]
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| − | * [http://www.ne.jp/asahi/moriyuki/abukuma/weber_texts.html Large collection of English translations]
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| − | * [http://www.cpm.ehime-u.ac.jp/AkamacHomePage/Akamac_E-text_Links/Weber.html Another collection of English translations] | |
| − | * [http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/sociosite/topics/weber.html Yet another collection of English translations]
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| − | * [http://ssr1.uchicago.edu/PRELIMS/Theory/weber.html English translations of many of Weber's works, unfortunately merged into one very long unformatted file]
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| − | | |
| − | About Weber:
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| − | * [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/weber.htm Biography entry and link section]
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| − | * [http://www.ualr.edu/~jdrobson/idealtype.htm Weber on Ideal Types]
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| − | * [http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/WEBRPER.HTML Max Weber - The person]
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| − | * [http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/WEBERW3.HTML More of Weber on Ideal Types]
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| | * [http://www.criticism.com/md/weber1.html An essay on Max Weber's View of Objectivity in Social Science] | | * [http://www.criticism.com/md/weber1.html An essay on Max Weber's View of Objectivity in Social Science] |
| − | * [http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y64l09.html Max Weber: On Bureaucracy — A study guide developed for a political theory course which draws from several works by, or about, Weber thoughts on bureaucracy]
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| − | * [http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y64l10.html Max Weber: On Capitalism As above, but on capitalism]
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| − | * [http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/soc/courses/soc2r3/weber/weberidx.htm Some of Weber concepts in the form of a list]
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| − | * [http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Weber/Whome.htm Max Weber's HomePage "A site for undergraduates"]
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| − |
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| − | Images:
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| − | * [http://www.staff.uni-marburg.de/~kaesler/max.html Dirk Kaesler's Max Weber gallery]
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| | + | {{Historical School economists}} |
| | {{Credit|25850826}} | | {{Credit|25850826}} |
Maximilian Weber (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern "antipositivistic" study of sociology and public administration. His major works deal with the sociology of religion and government, but he also wrote much in the field of economics. His most recognized work is his essay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, which began his work in the sociology of religion. Weber argued that religion was one of the primary reasons for the different ways the cultures of the Occident and the Orient have developed. Weber stated that the modern world was devoid of gods, because we had chased them away, and he feared that loss of religious ideals and commitment had endangered human society, causing it to become a prison in which humankind would be trapped in a soulless existence.
While the twentieth century in many ways proved him correct, stronger personal faith in God might have allowed Weber to realize that God would not abandon humankind.
Life and career
Maximilian Weber was born in Erfurt, Germany, the eldest of seven children of Max Weber Sr., a prominent politician and civil servant, and his wife Helene Fallenstein. While both his parents came from Protestant families, it was his mother who held strong religious commitments and exemplified the Calvinistic sense of duty. His younger brother, Alfred, was also a sociologist and economist. Max grew up in a household immersed in politics, and his father received a long list of prominent scholars and public figures in his salon. At the time, Max proved to be intellectually precocious.
Max Weber and his brothers Alfred and Karl in 1879.
In 1882, Weber enrolled in the University of Heidelberg as a law student. Weber chose as his major study his father's field of law. Apart from his work in law, he attended lectures in economics and studied medieval history. In addition, Weber read a great deal in theology. In the fall of 1884, Weber returned to his parents' home to study at the University of Berlin. In 1886, he passed the examination for "Referendar," comparable to the bar examination in the American legal system. He earned his doctorate in law in 1889, writing his dissertation on legal history entitled The History of Medieval Business Organisations.
Max Weber and his wife Marianne in 1894.
Weber first became engaged to his cousin, Emmy Baumgarten, who was in ill health both physically and mentally. After six years, during which he suffered agonizing doubts and feelings of guilt, Weber finally broke the engagement. In 1893, he married his distant cousin, Marianne Schnitger, later a feminist and author in her own right, who after his death in 1920, was decisive in collecting and publishing Weber's works as books. In 1894, the couple moved to Freiburg, where Weber was appointed professor of economics at Freiburg University, before accepting the same position at the University of Heidelberg in 1897. That same year, his father died two months after having a severe quarrel with him. Following this incident, Weber was more and more prone to "nervousness" and insomnia. He spent several months in a sanatorium in the summer and fall of 1900.
After his immense productivity in the early 1890s, he finally resigned as a professor in the fall of 1903. In 1904, Max Weber began to publish some of his most seminal papers, notably his essay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. It became his most famous work, and laid the foundations for his later research on the impact of cultures and religions on the development of economic systems.
In 1915 and 1916, he was a member of commissions that tried to retain German supremacy in Belgium and Poland after the war. Weber was a German imperialist and wanted to enlarge the German empire to the east and the west.
In 1918, Weber became a consultant to the German Armistice Commission at the Treaty of Versailles and to the commission charged with drafting the Weimar Constitution. He argued in favor of inserting Article 48 into the Weimar Constitution. This article was later used by Adolf Hitler to declare martial law and seize dictatorial powers.
From 1918, Weber resumed teaching, first at the University of Vienna, then in 1919 at the University of Munich. In Munich, he headed the first German University institute of sociology. Many colleagues and students in Munich despised him for his speeches and left-wing attitude during the German revolution of 1918 and 1919. Right-wing students protested at his home.
Max Weber died of pneumonia in Munich on June 14, 1920.
Weber and German politics
Weber thought that the only way that German culture would survive was by creating an empire. He influenced German policy towards eastern Germany. In 1894, he proposed closing the border to Polish workers from Russia and Austria-Hungary. However, in 1895, impressed by the attitude of the Russian liberal party, which wanted to change Russian nationalism by accepting ethnic minorities as Russians, he reversed his position.
Weber advocated democracy as a means for selecting strong leaders. He viewed democracy as a form of charisma where the "demagogue imposes his will on the masses." For this reason, the European left has been highly critical of Weber for, albeit unwittingly, preparing the intellectual groundwork for Adolf Hitler's leadership.
Weber was strongly anti-socialist, despising the anti-nationalist stance of the Marxist parties. He was surprised that the communists in Russia (who dissolved the old elite and bureaucracy) could survive for more than half a year.
Weber was very opposed to the conservatives who tried to hold back the democratic liberation of the working classes. Weber's personal and professional letters show considerable disgust for the anti-Semitism of his day. It is doubtful that Weber would have supported the Nazis had he lived long enough to see their activities.
Achievements
Max Weber was—along with Karl Marx, Vilfredo Pareto, and Émile Durkheim—one of the founders of modern sociology. Whereas Pareto and Durkheim, following Comte, worked in the positivist tradition, Weber created and worked, like Werner Sombart, in the antipositivist, idealist, and hermeneutic tradition. Those works started the antipositivistic revolution in social sciences, which stressed the difference between the social sciences and natural sciences, especially due to human social actions. Weber's early work was related to industrial sociology, but he is most famous for his later work on the sociology of religion and sociology of government.
Max Weber began his studies of rationalization in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, in which he showed how the aims of certain Protestant denominations, particularly Calvinism, shifted towards the rational means of economic gain as a way of expressing that they had been blessed. The rational roots of this doctrine, he argued, soon grew incompatible with and larger than the religious, and so the latter were eventually discarded. Weber continued his investigation into this matter in later works, notably in his studies on bureaucracy and on the classifications of authority.
Theories
Sociology of religion
Weber's work on the sociology of religion started with the essay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and continued with the analysis of The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism, The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism, and Ancient Judaism.
His three main themes were the effect of religious ideas on economic activities, the relation between social stratification and religious ideas, and the distinguishable characteristics of Western civilization.
His goal was to find reasons for the different development paths of the cultures of the Occident and the Orient. In the analysis of his findings, Weber maintained that Puritan (and more widely, Protestant) religious ideas had had a major impact on the development of the economic system of Europe and the United States, but noted that they were not the only factors in this development. "Disenchantment of the world" was identified by Weber as an important distinguishing aspect of Western culture.
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Weber's essay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is his most famous work. Here, Weber put forward the controversial thesis that the Protestant ethic influenced the development of capitalism. Religious devotion had usually been accompanied by rejection of worldly affairs, including economic pursuit. Why was that not the case with Protestantism? Weber addressed this paradox in his essay, finding his answer in the religious ideas of the Reformation.
Weber argued that certain Protestant ideas, particularly John Calvin's understanding of predestination that sinful people cannot know directly whether they are part of God's elect to whom the grace of salvation is offered, favored rational pursuit of economic gain and worldly activities. Resultant insecurity on the part of Protestants, and their fear of eternal damnation, led them to seek signs indicating God's direction for their lives and affirmation of their correct behavior. Thus, hard work followed by financial success came to be the hallmark of God's grace. Coupled with traditional religious asceticism, these ideas encouraged people to accumulate wealth. It was not the goal of those religious ideas, but rather a byproduct—the inherent logic of those doctrines and the advice based upon them, both directly and indirectly, encouraged planning and self-denial in the pursuit of economic gain.
According to Weber, this "spirit of capitalism" not only involved hard work and entrepreneurialism on the part of Protestants, but also a sense of stewardship over the resulting gains. For if money is not sought after for luxury or self-indulgence, but as moral affirmation, economizing and reinvesting in worthy enterprises become normal economic practices.
The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism
The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism was Weber's second major work on the sociology of religion. Weber focused on those aspects of Chinese society that were different from those of Western Europe and especially contrasted with Puritanism, and posed the question, why did capitalism not develop in China?
As in Europe, Chinese cities had been founded as forts or leaders' residences, and were the centers of trade and crafts. However, they never received political autonomy and its citizens had no special political rights or privileges. This is due to the strength of kinship ties, which stems from religious beliefs in ancestral spirits. Also, the guilds competed against each other for the favor of the emperor, never uniting in order to fight for more rights. Therefore, the residents of Chinese cities never constituted a separate status class like the residents of European cities.
Weber emphasized that instead of metaphysical conjectures, Confucianism taught adjustment to the world. "Superior" men (literati) should stay away from the pursuit of wealth (though not from wealth itself). Therefore, becoming a civil servant was preferred to becoming a businessman and granted a much higher status.
Chinese civilization had no religious prophecy nor a powerful priestly class. The emperor was the high priest of the state religion and the supreme ruler, but popular cults were also tolerated (however the political ambitions of their priests were curtailed). This forms a sharp contrast with medieval Europe, where the church curbed the power of secular rulers and the same faith was professed by rulers and common folk alike.
According to Weber, Confucianism and Puritanism represent two comprehensive but mutually exclusive types of rationalization, each attempting to order human life according to certain ultimate religious beliefs. However, Confucianism aimed at attaining and preserving "a cultured status position" and used it as means of adjustment to the world, education, self-perfection, politeness, and familial piety.
The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism
The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism was Weber's third major work on the sociology of religion. In this work, he dealt with the structure of Indian society, the orthodox doctrines of Hinduism and the heterodox doctrines of Buddhism, the modifications brought by the influence of popular religiosity, and finally with the impact of religious beliefs on the secular ethic of Indian society.
The Indian social system was shaped by the concept of caste. It directly linked religious belief and the segregation of society into status groups. The caste system consisted of the Brahmins (priests), the Kshatriyas (warriors), the Vaisyas (merchants), the Sudras (laborers), and the untouchables.
Weber paid special attention to Brahmins and analyzed why they occupied the highest place in Indian society for many centuries. With regard to the concept of dharma, he concluded that the Indian ethical pluralism is very different both from the universal ethic of Confucianism and Christianity. He noted that the caste system prevented the development of urban status groups.
Next, Weber analyzed Hindu religious beliefs, including asceticism and the Hindu worldview, the Brahman orthodox doctrines, the rise and fall of Buddhism in India, the Hindu restoration, and the evolution of the guru. He noted the idea of an immutable world order consisting of the eternal cycles of rebirth and the deprecation of the mundane world, and found that the traditional caste system, supported by the religion, slowed economic development.
He argued that it was the Messianic prophecies in the countries of the Near East, as distinguished from the prophecy of the Asiatic mainland, that prevented the countries of the Occident from following the paths of development marked out by China and India. His next work, Ancient Judaism was an attempt to prove this theory.
Ancient Judaism
In Ancient Judaism, his fourth major work on the sociology of religion, Weber attempted to explain the "combination of circumstances" that was responsible for the early differences between Oriental and Occidental religiosity. It is especially visible when the interworldly asceticism developed by Western Christianity is contrasted with mystical contemplation of the kind developed in India. Weber noted that some aspects of Christianity sought to conquer and change the world, rather than withdraw from its imperfections. This fundamental characteristic of Christianity (when compared to Far Eastern religions) stems originally from the ancient Jewish prophecy.
Stating his reasons for investigating ancient Judaism, Weber wrote that
Anyone who is heir to the traditions of modern European civilization will approach the problems of universal history with a set of questions, which to him appear both inevitable and legitimate. These questions will turn on the combination of circumstances which has brought about the cultural phenomena that are uniquely Western and that have at the same time (…) a universal cultural significance.
Weber analyzed the interaction between the Bedouins, the cities, the herdsmen, and the peasants, including the conflicts between them and the rise and fall of the United Monarchy. The time of the United Monarchy appears as a mere episode, dividing the period of confederacy since the Exodus and the settlement of the Israelites in Palestine from the period of political decline following the Division of the Monarchy. This division into periods has major implications for religious history. Since the basic tenets of Judaism were formulated during the time of Israelite confederacy and after the fall of the United Monarchy, they became the basis of the prophetic movement that left a lasting impression on Western civilization.
Weber noted that Judaism not only fathered Christianity and Islam, but was crucial to the rise of modern Occident state, as its influences were as important to those of Hellenistic and Roman cultures.
Sociology of politics and government
In the sociology of politics and government, Politics as a Vocation is considered to be Weber's most significant essay. Therein, Weber unveiled the definition of the state that has become so pivotal to Western social thought: the state is that entity which possesses a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force, which it may elect to delegate as it sees fit. Politics is to be understood as any activity in which the state might engage itself in order to influence the relative distribution of force. A politician must not be a man of the "true Christian ethic," understood by Weber as being the ethic of the Sermon on the Mount, that is to say, the injunction to turn the other cheek. An adherent of such an ethic ought rather to be understood to be a saint, for it is only saints, according to Weber, that can appropriately follow it. The political realm is no realm for saints. A politician ought to marry the ethic of ultimate ends and the ethic of responsibility, and must possess both a passion for his avocation and the capacity to distance himself from the subject of his exertions (the governed).
Weber distinguished three pure types of political leadership domination and authority: charismatic domination (familial and religious), traditional domination (patriarchs, patrimonialism, feudalism), and legal domination (modern law and state, bureaucracy). In his view, every historical relation between rulers and ruled contained elements that can be analyzed on the basis of this tripartite distinction. He also noted that the instability of charismatic authority inevitably forces it to "routinize" into a more structured form of authority.
Many aspects of modern public administration are attributed to Weber. A classic, hierarchically organized civil service of the continental type is called "Weberian civil service," although this is only one ideal type of public administration and government described in his magnum opus, Economy and Society (1922). In this work, Weber outlined his description of rationalization (of which bureaucratization is a part) as a shift from a value-oriented organization and action (traditional authority and charismatic authority) to a goal-oriented organization and action (legal-rational authority). The result, according to Weber, is a "polar night of icy darkness," in which increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in an "iron cage" of rule-based, rational control.
Weber's studies of bureaucracy also led him to his accurate prediction that socialism in Russia would, due to abolishing the free market and its mechanisms, lead to over-bureaucratization (evident, for example, in the shortage economy) rather than to the "withering away of the state" (as Karl Marx had predicted would happen in a communist society).
Economics
While Max Weber is best known and recognized today as one of the leading scholars and founders of modern sociology, he also accomplished much in the field of economics. However, during his lifetime, economics was not nearly as developed as it is today.
From the point of view of economists, Weber is a representative of the "Youngest" German Historical School. His most valued contribution to the field is his famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. This seminal essay discussed the differences between religions and the relative wealth of their followers. Weber's work paralleled Werner Sombart's treatise of the same phenomenon, which, however, located the rise of capitalism in Judaism. Weber acknowledged that capitalist societies had existed prior to Calvinism. However, he argued that in those cases, religious views did not support the capitalist enterprise, but rather limited it. Only the Protestant ethic, based on Calvinism, actively supported the accumulation of capital as a sign of God's grace.
Weber's other main contributions to economics (as well as to social science in general) is his work on methodology: his theories of Verstehen (known as "understanding" or "interpretative sociology") and of antipositivism (known as "humanistic sociology").
Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification, with "social class," "status class," and "party class" (or political class) as conceptually distinct elements.
- Social class is based on an economically determined relationship to the market (owner, renter, employee, etc.).
- Status class is based on non-economic qualities like honor, prestige, and religion.
- Party class refers to affiliations in the political domain.
All three dimensions have consequences for what Weber called "life chances."
Weber felt that economics should be a broad science covering not only economic phenomena, but also non-economic phenomena that might influence the economy ("economically relevant phenomena") and non-economic phenomena that, to some extent, had been influenced by economic phenomena ("economically conditioned phenomena") (Weber 1949: 64–66). The name that Weber gave to this broad type of economics was “social economics." Weber’s thought in this area provided a platform for productive interdisciplinary dialogue between economists and sociologists. To understand Weber’s perspective, one cannot ignore the value he placed on economic history and economic sociology in the study of economic theory.
Contribution and Legacy
Weber's sociological theories had a great impact on twentieth-century sociology. He developed the notion of "ideal types," which were examples of situations in history that could be used as reference points to compare and contrast different societies. This approach analyzes the basic elements of social institutions and examines how these elements relate to one another. His study of the sociology of religion allowed for a new level of cross-cultural understanding and investigation.
Through his celebrated work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber was one of the first scholars to emphasize the moral and spiritual dimensions of economic behavior. His analysis of the spiritual and moral conditions for successful economic productivity continues to be a source of inspiration to modern social scientists and other thinkers.
His insights and understanding concerning the weaknesses of capitalism have also had long-lasting impact. He concluded that the capitalist spirit was born more from psychological tensions that Calvinist theological obligations tended to create in the minds of the faithful, than as a result of pure religious devotion. According to Weber, the anxiety and inner loneliness resulting from the Calvinist doctrine of predestination created an all-consuming, driving force in the minds of believers, compelling them to essentially enslave themselves with materialistic pursuit while simultaneously creating an unprecedented increase in economic development.
However, he also observed that once capitalism became divorced from its religious sentiment, it developed into a secular ethic with "inexorable power," leading him to denigrate capitalists as "specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart."
Weber was fiercely independent, refusing to bend to any ideological line. Although he repeatedly entered the political arena, he was not truly a political man, one who is able to make compromises in the pursuit of his aims (according to Weber's own definition).
Weber regarded the world of modernity as having been deserted by the gods, because man had chased them away—rationalization had replaced mysticism. He saw the future world as one without feeling, passion, or commitment, unmoved by personal appeal and personal fealty, by grace and by the ethics of charismatic heroes. In many ways the twentieth century fulfilled his deepest fears, yet it also saw the birth of incredible development in all areas of human life.
Weber's last words were reported to be: "The Truth is the Truth" (Coser 1977: 242–243). This intellectual giant, suffering from deep tensions caused by his relationships with his family, and by the oppressive political atmosphere, was finally limited by circumstance in how much truth he could uncover.
Major Works
- Weber, Max. 1922/1968. Economy and Society. Edited by Max Rheinstein. Translated by Edward Shils and Max Rheinstein. New York: Simon and Schuster.
- Weber, Max. 1946/1958. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. Translated and edited by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0195004620
- Weber, Max. 1949. The Methodology of the Social Sciences. New York: Free Press.
- Weber, Max. 1962. The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism. Free Press.
- Weber, Max. 1967. Ancient Judaism. Free Press. ISBN 0029341302
- Weber, Max. 1968. The Religion of China. Free Press. ISBN 0029344506
- Weber, Max. 1993. Basic Concepts in Sociology. Translated and with an introduction by H.P. Secher. New York: Citadel Press (original work published 1962). ISBN 0806503041
- Weber, Max. 2001. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, 2nd ed. Routledge (original work published 1904). ISBN 041525406X
- Weber, Max. 2004. The Vocation Lectures: Science As a Vocation, Politics As a Vocation. Hackett Publishing Company. ISBN 0872206653
References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Bendix, Reinhard. 1978. Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait. University of California Press. ISBN 0520031946
- Coser, Lewis. 1977. Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context. Harcourt. ISBN 0155551302
- Kaesler, Dirk. 1989. Max Weber: An Introduction to His Life and Work. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226425606
- Mommsen, Wolfgang. 1974. Max Weber und die Deutsche Politik 1890–1920. J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck). ISBN 0226533999
- Roth, Guenther. 2001. Max Webers deutsch-englische Familiengeschichte. J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck)
- Swedberg, Richard. 1999. “Max Weber as an Economist and as a Sociologist.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology October 1999.
- Weber, Marianne. 1929/1988. Max Weber: A Biography. New Brunswick: Transaction Books.
External links
All links retrieved November 8, 2022.
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