Max Weber
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{{otheruses4||the painter|Max Weber (artist)|the politician|Max Weber (politician)|the general|Max Weber (general)}}
{{Infobox Person
| name = Maximilian Weber
| image = Max Weber 1894.jpg
| image_size = 180px
| caption = [[Germany|German]] [[political economy|political economist]] and [[sociologist]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1864|4|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Erfurt]], [[Prussian Saxony]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1920|6|14|1864|4|21|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Munich]], [[Bavaria]]
| death_cause = [[Pneumonia]]
}}
'''Maximilian Carl Emil Weber''' ({{pronounced|maks 'veːbɛɐ}}) ([[21 April]] [[1864]] – [[14 June]] [[1920]]) was a [[Germany|German]] [[political economy|political economist]] and [[sociology|sociologist]] who was considered one of the founders of the [[modern]] study of [[sociology]] and [[public administration]]. He began his career at the [[University of Berlin]], and later worked at the universities of [[Freiburg]], [[Heidelberg]], and [[Munich]].
Weber's major works deal with [[Rationalization (sociology)|rationalization]] in [[sociology of religion]] and [[Political sociology|government]].<ref>Weber wrote his books in [[German language|German]]. Original titles printed after his death (1920) are most likely [[Anthology|compilations]] of his unfinished works (note the 'Collected Essays...' form in titles). Many [[translation]]s are made of parts or selections of various German [[original]]s, and the names of the translations often do not reveal what part of German work they contain. Weber's work is generally Iquoted according to the critical [http://www.mohr.de/mw/index_e.html ''Gesamtausgabe''] (collected works edition), which is published by Mohr Siebeck in [[Tübingen]], Germany. For an extensive list of Max Weber's works see [[list of Max Weber works]].</ref> His most famous work is his essay ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'', which began his work in the sociology of [[religion]]. In this work, Weber argued that religion was one of the non-exclusive reasons for the different ways the cultures of the [[Occident]] and the [[Orient]] have developed, and stressed importance of particular characteristics of [[ascetic]] [[Protestantism]] which led to the development of [[capitalism]], [[bureaucracy]] and the [[rational-legal]] state in [[the West]]. In another major work, ''[[Politics as a Vocation]]'', Weber defined the [[state]] as an entity which claims a [[monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force]], a definition that became pivotal to the study of modern Western [[political science]]. His analysis of [[bureaucracy]] in his ''[[Economy and Society]]'' is still central to the modern study of organizations. His most known contributions are often referred to as the '[[Weber Thesis]]'.
==Biography==
Weber was born in [[Erfurt]] in [[Thuringia]], [[Germany]], the eldest of seven children of Max Weber Sr., a prominent [[Liberalism|liberal]] [[politician]] and [[civil service|civil servant]], and Helene Fallenstein, a moderate [[Calvinist]].<ref>[http://www.riseofthewest.net/thinkers/weber03.htm Biography of Max Weber]. Retrieved July 13, 2007.</ref> Weber Sr.'s engagement with public life immersed the family home in [[politics]], as his salon received many prominent [[academia|scholars]] and public figures.
The young Weber and his brother [[Alfred Weber|Alfred]], who also became a sociologist and economist, thrived in this intellectual atmosphere. Weber's 1876 Christmas presents to his parents, when he was thirteen years old, were two historical essays 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".<ref>Sica, Alan (2004). ''Max Weber and the New Century''. London: Transaction Publishers, p. 24. ISBN 0-7658-0190-6.</ref> 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 began university studies. It seemed clear that Weber would pursue advanced studies in the [[social sciences]].
[[Image:Max weber and brothers 1879.JPG|thumb|left|Max Weber and his brothers, Alfred and Karl, in 1879]]
In 1882 Weber enrolled in the [[University of Heidelberg]] as a [[law]] student.<ref name="Bendix1">{{cite book |last=Bendix |first=Reinhard |authorlink=Reinhard Bendix |title=Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&sig=g-kn8gtBIRvG-ss0I_-BmrBz9YE |date=[[July 1]] [[1977]] |publisher=University of California Press |id=ISBN 0-520-03194-6 |pages=pp. 1 }}</ref> Weber joined his father's duelling fraternity, and chose as his major study Weber Sr.'s field of law. Along with his law coursework, young Weber attended lectures in [[economics]] and studied [[medieval history]] and [[theology]]. Intermittently, he served with the [[Reichswehr|German army]] in [[Strasbourg]].
In the autumn 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 Göttingen]] and short periods of further military training, Weber stayed at his parents' house; first as a student, later as a junior barrister, and finally as a Dozent at the University of Berlin. In 1886 Weber passed the examination for "[[Referendar]]", comparable to the [[bar association]] examination in the [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[United States|American]] [[legal system]]s. Throughout the late 1880s, Weber continued his study of history. He earned his law doctorate in 1889 by writing a [[doctoral dissertation]] on legal history entitled ''[[Zur Geschichte der Handelsgesellschaften im Mittelalter|The History of Medieval Business Organisations]]''.<ref name="Bendix1" /> 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]]''.<ref name="Bendix2">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&sig=SieKjdgz3D2sHx8CUBXW4PSeoDQ |pages=pp. 2 }}</ref> Having thus become a "[[Privatdozent]]", Weber was now qualified to hold a German professorship.
In the years between the completion of his dissertation and habilitation, Weber took an interest in contemporary [[social policy]]. In 1888 he joined the "[[Verein für Socialpolitik]]",<ref name="WaSI">Gianfranco Poggi, ''Weber: A Short Introduction'', Blackwell Publishing, 2005, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0745634907&id=c5a2LWRh7uEC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=Weber+1888+Verein&sig=tn_CbtDguweC_BqJE6przIhsSYw Google Print, p.5]</ref> the new professional association of German economists affiliated with the [[Historical school of economics|historical school]], who saw the role of economics primarily as the solving of the wide-ranging social problems of the age, and who pioneered large-scale statistical studies of economic problems. He also involved himself in politics, joining the left leaning [[Evangelical Social Congress]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Wolfgang Justin
Mommsen|title=Max Weber and German Politics, 1890–1920|year=1984|publisher=University of Chicago
Press|isbn=0226533999|pages=19}}</ref> In 1890 the "Verein" established a research program to examine "the Polish question" or [[Ostflucht]], meaning the influx of foreign farm workers into [[eastern Germany]] as local labourers migrated to Germany's rapidly [[Industrial Revolution|industrialising]] cities. Weber was put in charge of the study, and wrote a large part of its results.<ref name="WaSI"/> The final report was widely acclaimed as an excellent piece of [[empirical]] research, and cemented Weber's reputation as an expert in [[agricultural economics|agrarian economics]].
[[Image:Max and marienne weber 1894.JPG|thumb|Max Weber and his wife Marianne in 1894]]
In 1893 he married his distant cousin [[Marianne Weber|Marianne Schnitger]], later a [[feminism|feminist]] and author in her own right,<ref name="Marianne">[http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/weber.html Marianne Weber]. Last accessed on 18 September 2006. Based on Lengermann, P., & Niebrugge-Brantley, J.(1998). The Women Founders: Sociology and Social Theory 1830–1930. New York: McGraw-Hill.</ref> who was instrumental in collecting and publishing Weber's journal articles as books after his death. The couple moved to Freiburg in 1894, where Weber was appointed professor of economics at [[Albert-Ludwigs-Universität|Freiburg University]],<ref name="Bendix2"/> before accepting the same position at the [[University of Heidelberg]] in 1896.<ref name="Bendix2"/> Next year, Max Weber Sr. died, two months after a severe quarrel with his son that was never resolved.<ref name="EESoc-7">''Essays in Economic Sociology'', Princeton University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-691-00906-6, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0691009066&id=WaV7Q35jy_AC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=Weber+father+1897&sig=Vn8HESDQxkYniFLOZay3NPeMDQ0 Google Print, p.7]</ref> After this, Weber became increasingly prone to nervousness and insomnia, making it difficult for him to fulfill his duties as a professor.<ref name="Bendix2"/> His condition forced him to reduce his teaching, and leave his last course in the fall of 1899 unfinished. After spending months in a sanatorium during the summer and fall of 1900, Weber and his wife traveled to Italy at the end of the year, and did not return to Heidelberg until April 1902.
After Weber's immense productivity in the early 1890s, he did not publish a single paper between early 1898 and late 1902, finally resigning his professorship in fall 1903. Freed from those obligations, in that year he accepted a position as associate editor of the [[Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik|Archives for Social Science and Social Welfare]]<ref name="Bendix3">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=63sC9uaYqQsC&vid=ISBN0520031946&pg=PA3&lpg=PA2&sig=ow6l2JcRLE_K1x4lws1fhNFlwWY |pages=pp. 3 }}</ref> next to his colleagues [[Edgar Jaffé]] and [[Werner Sombart]].<ref name="WJS">[http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/WEBERP2.HTML The Early Academic Career]. Last accessed on 18 September 2006. Based on Coser, 1977:237–239.</ref> In 1904, 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,<ref name="EESoc-22">''Essays in Economic Sociology'', Princeton University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-691-00906-6, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0691009066&id=WaV7Q35jy_AC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=Weber+Protestant+ethic+most+famous&sig=iEqDl685hRMeErd8YKrfAQMs4fE Google Print, p.22]</ref> and laid the foundations for his later research on the impact of [[culture]]s and [[religion]]s on the development of [[economic system]]s.<ref>Iannaccone, Laurence (1998).
[http://scholar.google.com/scholar?num=100&hl=en&lr=&q=cache:5nuZGw5sEuIJ:gunston.doit.gmu.edu/liannacc/Downloads/Iannaccone%2520-%2520Introduction%2520to%2520the%2520Economics%2520of%2520Religion.pdf "Introduction to the Economics of Religion"]. ''Journal of Economic Literature'' '''36''', 1465–1496.</ref> This essay was the only one of his works that was published as a book during his lifetime. Also that year, he visited [[United States]] and participated in the [[Congress of Arts and Sciences]] held in connection with the [[World's Fair]] ([[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]]) at [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]]. Despite his successes, Weber felt that he was unable to resume regular teaching at that time, and continued on as a private scholar, helped by an inheritance in 1907.<ref name="Bendix3"/> In 1912, Weber tried to organise a left-wing political party to combine social-democrats and liberals. This attempt was unsuccessful, presumably because many liberals feared social-democratic revolutionary ideals at the time.<ref name="TPaSToMW">[[Wolfgang J. Mommsen]], ''The Political and Social Theory of Max Weber'', University of Chicago Press, 1992, ISBN 0-226-53400-6, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0226534006&id=kgF9bjMoocYC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=Weber+1912+socialist&sig=AeL6fb399L7S_Mg0xvwigRHnZsQ Google Print, p.81,] [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0226533999&id=fcNJc-p2bjwC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&vq=Poland&dq=Max+Weber+hospital&sig=l3OeQlt7f9ePLosslRvI8gNY87Q p. 60,] [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0226533999&id=fcNJc-p2bjwC&pg=PA327&lpg=PA327&dq=Weber+Munich+left+1919&sig=kdzDUJ3wQb6DDhBiKmypM6S-XcY]
p. 327.]</ref>
[[Image:Max Weber 1917.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Max Weber in 1917]]
During the [[World War I|First World War]], Weber served for a time as director of the army hospitals in Heidelberg.<ref name=Kaesler>[[Dirk Kaesler|Kaesler, Dirk]] (1989). ''Max Weber: An Introduction to His Life and Work''. University of Chicago Press, p. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0226425606&id=shR9fsW9W8oC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=Max+Weber+hospital&sig=38uV8JO6Z_TpXVF_FnjO9HdY3KE 18.] ISBN 0-226-42560-6</ref><ref name="Bendix3"/> In 1915 and 1916 he sat on commissions that tried to retain German supremacy in Belgium and Poland after the war. Weber's views on war, as well as on expansion of the German empire, changed throughout the war.<ref name=Kaesler/><ref name="TPaSToMW"/><ref>Gerth, H.H. and [[C. Wright Mills]] (1948). ''From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology''. London: Routledge (UK), ISBN 0415175038</ref> He became a member of the [[Workers' council|worker and soldier council]] of Heidelberg in 1918. In the same year, Weber became a consultant to the [[German Armistice Commission]] at the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and to the commission charged with drafting the [[Weimar Constitution]].<ref name="Bendix3"/> He argued in favour of inserting [[Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)|Article 48]] into the [[Weimar Constitution]].<ref>Turner, Stephen (ed) (2000). ''The Cambridge Companion to Weber.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN052156753X&id=XfGZ3ivPR4cC&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=Weber+Article+48&sig=HOzFBwFSo6UbjqiH4CYktsAgm8k p. 142.]</ref> This article was later used by [[Adolf Hitler]] to institute rule by decree, thereby allowing his government to suppress opposition and obtain [[dictatorship|dictatorial]] powers. [[Weber and German politics|Weber's contributions to German politics]] remain a controversial subject to this day.
Weber resumed teaching during this time, first at the [[University of Vienna]], then in 1919 at the [[University of Munich]].<ref name="Bendix3"/> In Munich, he headed the first German university institute of sociology, but ultimately never held a personal sociology appointment. Weber left politics due to right-wing agitation in 1919 and 1920. Many colleagues and students in Munich argued against him for his speeches and left-wing attitude during the [[German Revolution]] of 1918 and 1919, with some right-wing students holding protests in front of his home.<ref name="TPaSToMW"/> Max Weber contracted the [[Spanish flu]] and died of [[pneumonia]] in Munich on [[June 14]], [[1920]].
==Achievements==
Along with [[Karl Marx]] and [[Émile Durkheim]],<ref name="WPet">[[William Petersen]], ''Against the Stream'', Transaction Publishers, ISBN 0-7658-0222-8, 2004, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0765802228&id=FHlTJ6HbY50C&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=weber+founder+of+sociology&sig=zxYCUTaFFvrlqcIX4guqG8pPyfU Google Print, p.24]</ref> Weber is regarded as one of the founders of modern sociology, although in his times he was viewed primarily as a historian and an economist.<ref name="WPet"/><ref name="PRBaehr">[[Peter R. Baehr]], ''Founders Classics Canons'', Transaction Publishers, 2002, ISBN 0-7658-0129-9, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0765801299&id=iRrnCPe66PYC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=weber+founder+of+sociology&sig=2j-I_jptUjtqaKbiCjJpQgt0ohM Google Print, p.22]</ref> Whereas 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]], [[hermeneutic]], tradition.<ref name="JKRhoads">John K. Rhoads, ''Critical Issues in Social Theory'', Penn State Press, 1991, ISBN 0-271-00753-2, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0271007532&id=XVhOtKF3fKsC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=Weber+antipositivist&sig=ZLl08PAGOCL2Z-B-aEn9zhhldfI Google Print, p.40]</ref> Those works started the antipositivistic revolution in [[social science]]s, which stressed the difference between the social sciences and natural sciences,<ref name="JKRhoads"/> especially due to human [[social actions]] (which Weber differentiated into [[Traditional action|traditional]], [[Affectional action|affectional]], [[Value-rational action|value-rational]] and [[Instrumental action|instrumental]]<ref name="Ferrante">[[Joan Ferrante]], ''Sociology: A Global Perspective'', Thomson Wadsworth, 2005, ISBN 0-495-00561-4, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0495005614&id=Idjxdi1IlFAC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=Weber+Traditional+affectional+value+rational+instrumental&sig=Ib8EP0Ze_EPQgij7ns6lUSbNs2U Google Print, p.21]</ref>). 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 (sociology)|rationalisation]] in ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'', in which he shows how the aims of certain [[ascetic]] [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Religious denomination|denominations]], particularly [[Calvinism]],<ref name="Bendix60">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&vq=Calvinism&sig=2VcBXYzS4AikEHxnscx0ArVRB_0 |pages=pp. 60–61 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Andrew J. Weigert">Andrew J. Weigert, ''Mixed Emotions: Certain Steps Toward Understanding Ambivalence'', SUNY Press, 1991, ISBN 0-7914-0600-8, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0791406008&id=uH0srBp2W4YC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=Weber+economic+gain+bless&sig=853zYScipBcElF-771zljhzXzVU Google Print, p.110]</ref> 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.
It should be noted that many of his works famous today were collected, revised, and published [[posthumous work|posthumously]]. Significant interpretations of Weber's writings were produced by such sociological luminaries as [[Talcott Parsons]] and [[C. Wright Mills]].
===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 (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]].<ref name="Bendix285">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA285&lpg=PA285&sig=VYtdrBYGinacJyetbio7RM3L0G0 |pages=pp. 285 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="BendixChapter9">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA285&lpg=PA285&sig=VYtdrBYGinacJyetbio7RM3L0G0
|pages=Chapter IX: Basic Concepts of Political Sociology }}</ref>
His goal was to find reasons for the different development paths of the cultures of the [[Occident]] and the [[Orient]], although without judging or valuing them, like some of the contemporary thinkers who followed the [[Social Darwinism|social Darwinist]] paradigm; Weber wanted primarily to explain the distinctive elements of the [[Western civilization]].<ref name="BendixChapter9"/> In the analysis of his findings, Weber maintained that [[Calvinist]] (and more widely, [[Protestantism|Protestant]]) religious ideas had had a major impact on the [[social innovation]] and 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 systematisation of [[government]] [[Public administration|administration]], and economic [[Business|enterprise]].<ref name="BendixChapter9"/> In the end, the study of the sociology of religion, according to Weber, merely explored one phase of the freedom from [[magical thinking|magic]], that "disenchantment of the world" that he regarded as an important distinguishing aspect of [[Western culture]].<ref name="BendixChapter9"/>
====''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism''====
[[Image:Die protestantische Ethik und der 'Geist' des Kapitalismus original cover.jpg|thumb|Cover of the original German edition of ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]''.]]
{{main|The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism}}
Weber's essay ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' (''Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus'') is his most famous work.<ref name="EESoc-22"/> 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. In ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'', Weber puts forward the thesis that Calvinist ethic and ideas influenced the development of [[capitalism]]. This theory is often viewed as a reversal of Marx's thesis that the economic "base" of society determines all other aspects of it.<ref name="Bendix60"/> Religious devotion has usually been accompanied by rejection of mundane affairs, including economic pursuit.<ref name="Bendix57">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&vq=mundane+affairs&sig=VbBzIfyolsHTqPJ6ttJDIqYcQzE
|pages=pp. 57}}</ref> Why was that not the case with Protestantism? Weber addresses that [[paradox]] in his essay.
According to Weber, one of the universal tendencies that those individuals had to fight was the desire to profit.
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.<ref name="Bendix54">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=|pages=pp. 54}}</ref>
Weber showed that certain types of Protestantism – notably Calvinism – favoured rational pursuit of economic gain and worldly activities which had been given positive spiritual and moral meaning.<ref name="Bendix60"/> 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. A common illustration is in the cobbler, hunched over his work, who devotes his entire effort to the praise of God. In addition, the Reformation view "calling" dignified even the mundanest professions as being those that added to the common good and were blessed by God, as much as any "sacred" calling could. This Reformation view, that all the spheres of life were sacred when dedicated to God and His purposes of nurturing and furthering life, profoundly affected the view of work.
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 the essay has provided the perspective for a broad comparison of religion and society, which he continued in his later works.<ref name="Bendix49">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&sig=5_6_YcPUQvbgsE5Qo2--jiKG13s
|pages=pp. 49}}</ref> The phrase "[[Protestant work ethic|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 generalised to apply to [[Japan]]ese people, [[Judaism|Jews]] and other [[Christianity|non-Christians]].
==== ''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 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.<ref name="Bendix98">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA98&lpg=PA98&sig=t3xXCX62I1U32zKS6pMnahMoJds
|pages=pp. 98–99}}</ref>
By 200 BC, the Chinese [[state]] had developed from a loose [[federation]] of [[feudalism|feudal]] states into a unified [[empire]] with [[Patrimonialism|patrimonial]] rule, as described in the ''[[Warring States Period]]''.<ref name="Bendix98"/> 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 [[Autonomous entity|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.<ref name="Bendix99">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA98&sig=7F1LzrvcYwZ9dI2SX55qfdwCM1w
|pages=pp. 99–100}}</ref>
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 fees 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.<ref name="Bendix99"/>
Weber emphasised that Confucianism tolerated a great number of popular cults without any effort to systematise 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.<ref name="Bendix124">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&sig=WQ1yKx2ovtTPH2jVwLX3YZIguzE
|pages=pp. 124}}</ref>
Chinese civilisation had no religious [[prophecy]] nor a powerful [[priest]]ly class. The emperor was the [[wiktionary:High priest|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.
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.
Confucianism tolerated [[magic and religion|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.<ref name="Bendix126">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA126&lpg=PA126&sig=W8LCXdCyev0kq3nLLEWI402HXi8
|pages=pp. 126–127}}</ref>
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):
* 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.
* sale of land was often prohibited or made very difficult.
* 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 rationalisation of work processes.
* 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.<ref name="Bendix98"/>
According to Weber, Confucianism and Puritanism represent two comprehensive but mutually exclusive types of rationalisation, 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.<ref name="Bendix135">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA135&lpg=PA135&sig=I03DzTNe5crq_k7DBQfuySrk5es
|pages=pp. 135–141}}</ref>
====''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 deals with the structure of [[India]]n 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.<ref name="Bendix142">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&sig=qB7kMtwHdeX_SDZVw3dl3llByos
|pages=pp. 142–158}}</ref>
The ancient 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) and the [[Shudra]]s (labourers). Then he describes the spread of the caste system in India due to conquests, the marginalisation of certain [[tribe]]s and the subdivision of castes.<ref name="Bendix142"/>
Weber pays special attention to [[Brahmin]]s 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.<ref name="Bendix181">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA181&lpg=PA181&sig=ErUx1c-wEDPzEK39nRLlVUbOh2c
|pages=pp. 181}}</ref>
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]].<ref name="Bendix181"/>
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 Western countries from following the paths of China and India, and his next work, [[Ancient Judaism (book)|Ancient Judaism]] was an attempt to prove this theory.<ref name="Bendix199">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA199&lpg=PA199&sig=x4IgGFYFsyQIwLzt4UC7acO9Rpc
|pages=pp. 199}}</ref>
====''Ancient Judaism''====
In ''[[Ancient Judaism (book)|Ancient Judaism]]'', his fourth major work on the sociology of religion, Weber attempted to explain the "combination of circumstances" which resulted in the early differences between [[Oriental]] and [[Occidental]] [[religiosity]].<ref name="Bendix200">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA200&lpg=PA200&sig=jY4jOrcK-AOz7Cd7jJT2bpVGP5E
|pages=pp. 200–201}}</ref> It is especially visible when the interworldly [[asceticism]] developed by Western [[Christianity]] is contrasted with mystical contemplation of the kind developed in [[India]].<ref name="Bendix200"/> Weber noted that some aspects of Christianity sought to conquer and change the world, rather than withdraw from its imperfections.<ref name="Bendix200"/> This fundamental characteristic of Christianity (when compared to [[Far East]]ern religions) stems originally from ancient Jewish [[prophecy]].<ref name="Bendix204">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA204&lpg=PA204&sig=MUTQ-OsMDD2XoCtD0QKEgc5-vgk
|pages=pp. 204–205}}</ref> Stating his reasons for investigating ancient Judaism, Weber wrote that
<blockquote>Anyone who is heir to the traditions of modern European civilisation 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.<ref name="Bendix200"/></blockquote>
Further on he adds:
<blockquote>"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".<ref name="Bendix204"/></blockquote>
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 [[Canaan (region)|Canaan]] 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 civilisation.<ref name="Bendix213">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA213&lpg=PA213&sig=7XdSNQg92j0uPY5TEi7w6wK3ut8
|pages=pp. 213}}</ref>
Weber discusses the organisation 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. 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. [[Reinhard Bendix]], summarising ''Ancient Judaism'', writes that
<blockquote>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 civilisation.<ref name="Bendix256">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber |url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA256&lpg=PA256&sig=7zO8zBdWs5fxSy8X2jFsBox8DY8
|pages=pp. 256}}</ref></blockquote>
===Sociology of politics and government===
In the sociology of politics and government, one of Weber's most significant contribution is his ''[[Politics as a Vocation]]'' essay. 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]],<ref name="E-PoV">[[Daniel Warner]], ''An Ethic of Responsibility in International Relations'', Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1991, ISBN 1-55587-266-2, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1555872662&id=jNc4mc_MYdIC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=Politics+as+a+Vocation+state+monopoly&sig=A2fGYjQZKzeSk3r4ur0tDOYI-iU Google Print, p.9] </ref> which it may nonetheless elect to delegate as it sees fit. In this essay, Weber wrote that 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).<ref name="PaV">[[Randal Marlin]], ''Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion'', Broadview Press, 2002, ISBN 1-55111-376-7, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1551113767&id=Zp38Ot2g7LEC&pg=PA155&lpg=PA155&dq=%22Politics+as+a+Vocation%22+saint&sig=3CmACWeVAKadRBNMG5_PiXPYbzw Google Print.p155]</ref>
Weber distinguished three [[pure type]]s of political leadership, domination and authority: [[charismatic domination]] (familial and religious), [[traditional domination]] ([[patriarch]]s, [[patriarchy|patrimonalism]], [[feudalism]]), and [[legal domination]] (modern law and state, [[bureaucracy]]).<ref name="WolfJM">[[Wolfgang J. Mommsen]], ''The Political and Social Theory of Max Weber: Collected Essays'', University of Chicago Press, 1992, ISBN 0-226-53400-6, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0226534006&id=kgF9bjMoocYC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=three+pure+types+of+political+leadership&sig=8bZtqKf7wblrFaVgS1C2GfLJzUY Google Print, p.46]</ref> In his view, every historical relation between rulers and ruled contained such elements and they can be analysed on the basis of [[tripartite classification of authority|this tripartite distinction]].<ref name="Bendix296">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber
|url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA296&lpg=PA296&sig=rgKDAVzqxPnxpRJchkceEbMkp1g
|pages=pp. 296}}</ref> 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, utilising a bureaucratic structure.<ref name="Bendix303">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber
|url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0415174538&id=C_j_2nOUIpcC&pg=PA303&lpg=PA303&sig=Q6Mr8eDZ9P0m68uGEcc3gUwGZjw
|pages=pp. 303–305}}</ref> Thus this theory can be sometimes viewed as part of the [[social evolutionism]] theory. This ties to his broader concept of [[rationalization|rationalisation]] by suggesting the inevitability of a move in this direction.
Weber is also well-known for his critical study of the bureaucratisation of society, the rational ways in which formal social organizations apply the ideal type characteristics of a bureaucracy. It was Weber who began the studies of bureaucracy and whose works led to the popularization of this term.<ref name="BuSach">Marshall Sashkin, ''Leadership That Matters'', Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002, ISBN 1-57675-193-7, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1576751937&id=yskzrZKd4hkC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=weber+introduced+bureaucracy&sig=xCuV-G6uhczfzA5FSXc2iqsIc7U Google Print, p.52]</ref> Many aspects of modern [[public administration]] go back to him, and a classic, hierarchically organised [[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 organisation 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.<ref name="GRitzer">[[George Ritzer]], ''Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption'', Pine Forge Press, 2004, ISBN 0-7619-8819-X, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN076198819X&id=DznT_TbfKzMC&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=rationalization+%22iron+cage%22+%22polar+night+of+icy+darkness%22&sig=T4GVWJHDLYKbPVBg7lXN5KJFSb4 Google Print, p.55]</ref> Weber's bureaucracy studies also led him to his analysis – correct, as it would turn out, after [[Stalin|Stalin's]] takeover – that [[socialism]] in [[Russia]] would lead to over-bureaucratization rather than to the "[[withering away of the state]]" (as [[Karl Marx]] had predicted would happen in [[communism|communist]] society).<ref name="EHE"> [[Erik H. Erikson]], ''Childhood and Society'', W. W. Norton & Company, 1963, p. 401. ISBN 039331068X.</ref>
===Economics===
While Max Weber is best known and recognised today as one of the leading scholars and founders of modern sociology, he also accomplished much in other fields, notably [[economics]], although this is largely forgotten today among orthodox economists, who pay very little attention to his works. The view that Weber is at all influential to modern economists comes largely from non-economists and economic critics with sociology backgrounds. During his life distinctions between the social sciences were less clear than they are now, and Weber considered himself a historian and an economist first, sociologist distant second.<ref name="WPet"/><ref name="PRBaehr"/>
From the point of view of the economists, he is a representative of the "Youngest" German [[historical school of economics]].<ref name="capa">[http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/weber.htm Max Weber, 1864–1920] at the New School for Social Research</ref> 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 contribution 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'').<ref name="capa"/>
The doctrine of [[Interpretative Sociology]] is one of the main [[sociological paradigms]], with many supporters as well as critics. This thesis states that social, economic and historical research can never be fully [[Induction (philosophy)|inductive]] or descriptive as one must always approach it with a conceptual apparatus, which Weber termed "[[Ideal Type]]".<ref name="capa"/> The idea can be summarised 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. Weber's Ideal Type became one of the most important concepts in social sciences, and led to the creation of such concepts as [[Ferdinand Tönnies]]' "[[Normal type|Normal Type]]".
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]]'').<ref name="capa"/>
Max Weber formulated a [[three-component theory of stratification]], with [[Social class]], [[Social status]] and [[Political party|party]] (or politicals) as conceptually distinct elements.<ref name="Bendix85">{{cite book |last=Bendix |title=Max Weber
|url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0520031946&id=63sC9uaYqQsC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&sig=m2qBtfP7dnRGf-y5JS1t-yvrJPo
|pages=pp. 85–87}}</ref>
* [[Social class]] is based on economically determined relationship to the [[market]] (owner, [[renting|renter]], employee etc.).
* Status is based on non-economical qualities like [[honour]], [[prestige]] and religion.
* Party refers to affiliations in the political domain.
All three dimensions have consequences for what Weber called "[[life chances]]".<ref name="Bendix85"/>
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) can be considered the Historical School at its empirical best.<ref name="capa"/>
==Critical responses to Weber==
===Influence from and on the Austrian school===
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. This includes followers of [[Friedrich von Hayek]] and, more recently, authors [[Daniel Yergin]] and [[Joseph Stanislaw]]. In their pro-globalization book ''[[Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy]]'', they attack Weber for claiming that only Protestantism could lead to a work ethic, pointing to the "[[Tiger Economies]]" of Southeastern Asia. (Likewise, Weber's blending of economics with Calvinism has been satirized by such works as "America's Keenest City" by Mongo.)
However, in these debates, it is easy to overlook that the methods advocated by these later generations of the Austrian School are heavily indebted to the work of Weber. His "action sociology", as they called it, was a frequent topic in the "Mises Circle", an influential group headed by [[Ludwig von Mises]], a key figure in the Austrian School. Among the attendees was a student of Mises, the philosopher of sociology [[Alfred Schutz]], who sought to clarify Weber's interpretive approach in terms of the analytic phenomenology of [[Edmund Husserl]]. Hence, although Schutz's work, especially ''The Phenomenology of the Social World'' (1932), is in effect a profound critique of Weber's method, it is nevertheless an attempt to further it. Hayek also frequently attended these discussions, and the subjective method advanced in his ''The Counter-Revolution of Science: Studies in the Abuse of Reason'' (1952) reflects these influences. [[Ludwig Lachmann]], a later member of the Austrian School, made explicit the Austrian School's indebtedness to the Weberian method.
Interestingly, given their methodological and sociological differences, Weber and Mises were not only acquainted, they shared an admiration for each other’s work. Mises considered Weber a "great genius" and his death a blow to Germany. Likewise, Weber comments that Mises’s ''[[Theory of Money and Credit]]'' is the monetary theory most acceptable to him. Weber accepted Ludwig von Mises's criticism of socialist economic planning and added his own argument. He believed that under socialism workers would still work in a hierarchy, but that now the hierarchy would be fused with government. Instead of dictatorship of the worker, he foresaw dictatorship of the official.
===Historical Critiques===
The economist [[Joseph Schumpeter]] argued that capitalism did not begin with the [[Industrial Revolution]] but in 14th century Italy.<ref>Schumpeter, Joseph: "History of Economic Analysis", Oxford University Press, 1954</ref> In [[Milan]], [[Venice]], and [[Florence]] the small [[Italian city-states|City-state]] governments lead to the development of the earliest forms of [[capitalism]].<ref>Rothbard, Muarry N.: "Economic Thought Before Adam Smith", Ludwig von Mises Press, 1995, pp. 142</ref> In the 16th century [[Antwerp]] was a commercial center of Europe. It was also noted that the predominantly Calvinist country of [[Scotland]] did not enjoy the same economic growth as Holland, England, and New England. In addition, it has been pointed out that Holland, which was heavily Calvinist, industrialized much later in the 19th century than predominantly Catholic Belgium, which was one of the centres of the Industrial Revolution on the European mainland.<ref>Evans, Eric J.: "The Forging of the Modern State: Early Industrial Britain, 1783-1870", Longman, 1983, pp. 114, ISBN 0-5824-8969-5.</ref>
Emil Kauder expanded Schumpeter's argument by arguing the hypothesis that [[Calvinism]] hurt the development of capitalism by leading to the development of the [[labor theory of value]]. Kauder writes "Any social philosopher or economist exposed to Calvinism will be tempted to give labor an exalted position in his social or economic treatise, and no better way of extolling labor can be found than by combining work with value theory, traditionally the very basis of an economic system."<ref>Kauder, Emil: "The Retarded Acceptance of the Marginal Utility Theory", Quarterly Journal of Economics 67(4), 1953</ref> In contrast, [[Catholic]] areas that were influenced by the [[School of Salamanca|late scholastics]] were more likely to adhere to the [[subjective theory of value]].
==See also==
*[[Interpretations of Weber's liberalism]]
*[[List of charismatic leaders as defined by Max Weber's classification of authority]]
*[[List of Max Weber works]]
*[[The Rejection and the Meaning of the World (book)]]
*[[Speeches of Weber]]
*[[Weber and German politics]]
*[[Sociology of law]]
== References ==
{{Reflist|3}}
==Further reading==
* [[Korotayev]] A., Malkov A., Khaltourina D. ''Introduction to Social Macrodynamics.'' Moscow: URSS, 2006. ISBN 5-484-00414-4 [http://urss.ru/cgi-bin/db.pl?cp=&lang=en&blang=en&list=14&page=Book&id=34250] (Chapter 6: Reconsidering Weber: Literacy and "the Spirit of Capitalism").
* Bernhard K. Quensel (2007), ''Max Webers Konstruktionslogik. Sozialökonomik zwischen Geschichte und Theorie''. Baden-Baden: Nomos. ISBN 978-3-8329-2517-8 [Revisiting MW's concept of sociology against the background of his juristic and economic provenance within the framework of "social economics".]
* [[Guenther Roth|Roth, Guenther]] (2001). Max Webers deutsch-englische Familiengeschichte. J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck). ISBN 3-16-147557-7
* [[Joachim Radkau|Radkau, Joachim]] (2005). ''Max Weber The most important Weber-biography on Max Weber's life and torments since Marianne Weber''.
* [[Richard Swedberg]] [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]]''
* William H. Swatos, ed. (1990), ''Time, Place, and Circumstance: Neo-Weberian Studies in Comparative Religious History.'' New York: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-26892-4
* Richard Swedberg, ''Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology''. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-07013-X
* [[Marianne Weber|Weber, Marianne]] (1926/1988). ''Max Weber: A Biography''. New Brunswick: Transaction Books. ISBN 0-471-92333-8
==External links==
{{Wikisource author}}
Texts of Weber works:
* [http://www.zeno.org/Soziologie/M/Weber,%20Max Large collection of the German original texts]
* [http://www.uni-potsdam.de/u/paed/Flitner/Flitner/Weber/index.htm Large collection of the German original texts]
* [http://www.ne.jp/asahi/moriyuki/abukuma/weber_texts.html Large collection of English translations]
* [http://www.cpm.ehime-u.ac.jp/AkamacHomePage/Akamac_E-text_Links/Weber.html Another collection of English translations]
* [http://www.sociosite.net/topics/weber.php A comprehensive collection of English translations and secondary literature]
* [http://ssr1.uchicago.edu/PRELIMS/Theory/weber.html English translations of many of Weber's works, merged into one very long unformatted file]
* [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/weber/index.htm Max Weber Reference Archive]
About Weber:
* [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/weber.htm Biography entry and link section]
* [http://www.ualr.edu/jdrobson/idealtype.htm Weber on Ideal Types]
* [http://media.pfeiffer.edu/lridener/DSS/Weber/WEBRPER.HTML Max Weber – The person]
* [http://media.pfeiffer.edu/lridener/DSS/Weber/WEBERW3.HTML More of Weber on Ideal Types]
* [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/y64l10.html Max Weber: On Capitalism As above, but on capitalism]
* [http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/soc/courses/soc2r3/weber/weberidx.htm Some of Weber concepts in the form of a list]
* [http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Weber/Whome.htm Max Weber's HomePage "A site for undergraduates"]
* [http://mises.org/journals/jls/18_1/18_1_1.pdf Mises versus Weber on Bureaucracy and Sociological Method] by William P. Anderson
* [http://www.econ.nyu.edu/cvstarr/seminars/callahan.pdf Reconciling Weber and Mises on Understanding Human Action] by Gene Callahan
{{ History of economic thought}}
{{featured article}}
{{Persondata
|NAME=Weber, Maximilian
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Weber, Max
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Founder of modern [[sociology]]
|DATE OF BIRTH={{birth date|1864|4|21|df=y}}
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Erfurt]], [[Germany]]
|DATE OF DEATH={{death date|1920|6|14|df=y}}
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Munich]], [[Germany]]
}}
{{BD|1864|1920|Weber, Max}}
[[Category:Max Weber| ]]
[[Category:19th century German philosophers]]
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[[Category:People from the Province of Saxony]]
[[Category:Sociologists of religion]]
[[Category:Anthropology of religion]]
[[Category:Theories of history]]
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[[Category:University of Munich faculty]]
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