Max Weber (1864-1920)

Weber, a German social scientist, had a major influence on modern sociology and the history of ideas, in general. Some of his areas of contribution were the following: important studies on social organization; the nature of the modern state, jurisprudence and ethics, authority and leadership, and most notably, the relation between religion and capitalist economics. Weber's degree in law and doctorate and economics earned him prestigious appointments in economics at the universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg, and Munich, but he had to sporadically leave his posts because of emotional breakdowns. He edited the influential Archive for Social Science and Social Policy and contributed many monographs to it. He wrote the multivolume study, Economy and Society, but most of it was published and translated posthumously. The above statement is relevant because it reflects the fact that Weber's critical acceptance has exceeded his lifetime, and t

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n society is based on rational thought" ; (4.) Weber showed that there was a link between Calvinism and the rise of industrial capitalism (thus demonstrating the power of ideas to help change society); (5.) Weber attempted to show that the rise in world bureaucracies was indicative of a rise in world rationality, and vice versa; and, finally, as if not to paint too optimistic a picture of the rise of such bureaucracies, (6.) Weber wrote of the human costs of bureaucratic efficiency. In other words, "Individuals are often treated as cases, and rigid rules can stifle human creativity. Weber's overall view of modern society is largely negative." Two of the above statements require closer examination. First, Weber's observation that rationality and bureaucracy are concurrent developments in a society (in his world view) requires some clarification. In Weber's view, Western civilization was marked by a steady trend toward organization, rationalization, and bureaucracy in government, politics, and social institutions. With bureaucracy came social stratification, for which he developed a model consisting of class--concerned with income and economic position; status--with rank, lifestyle, and prestige; and party--with political aff
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Approximate Word count = 2360
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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