Max Weber Readings And Commentary On Modernity

by Kalberg, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780631214892
• ISBN10: 0631214895
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-02-11
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This unique volume gathers Weber's writings on a broad array of themes, from the nature of work, to the political culture of democracy, to the uniqueness of the West, to the character of the family and race relations, to the role of science and the fate of ethical action in the modern world. Gathers Weber's writings in a comprehensive collection, organized by topic. Rejuvenates a central, pivotal theme of Weberian thought: "How do we live?" and "How can we live in the industrial society?" Connects Weber's writings to contemporary issues through modern essays and editorial introductions.

Author Biography

Stephen Kalberg is Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston University and one of the world's leading Weber scholars. He is the author of Max Weber's Comparative Historical Sociology (1993) and translator and editor of a new edition of Weber's Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Blackwell, 2001).

Table of Contents

General Editor's Foreword

A Chronology of Max Weber's Life

Glossary

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Max Weber: the Confrontation with Modernity

Max Weber: the Person

Foundational Features of Weber's

"Interpretive Understanding"

Sociology: its Aim and the Centrality of Subjective Meaning, the Four Types of Social Action, and Value-Freedom and Value-Relevance

Research Strategies and Procedures: Ideal Types, Model-Building, Societal Domains, and the "Locating" of Social Action

The Vision of "Society": Ideal Types, Societal Domains, Open Models, and the Interweaving of Past and Present

Weber's Multicausality: Social Carriers and Values

Modern Western Rationalism I: Weber's Model

Modern Western Rationalism II: Empirical Variation

Fears About the Future and Proposals for Social Change

Weber on Modernity and Weber's Sociology: An Assessment

A Note on Weber's Mode of Writing

The Uniqueness of the West

The "Rationalism" of Western Civilization

The Uniqueness and Origins of the Modern Western Work Ethic

The Religious Origins of the Vocational Calling: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Continuous Ethical Discipline: The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism

The Economy and the Specialized Nature of Work in the Modern Epoch

Market and Planned Economies: Modern Capitalism's Substantive Conditions

The Separation of the Worker from the Means of Production, the Spread of Officialdom, and Organizational Discipline in the Factory

The "Cultivated Man" and the "Specialist": Certificates and the Origin of Ideas in Science

Old and New Civilizations: Contrasting Rural Social Structures in Germany and.the United States

Stratification and Inequality

"The Distribution of Power Within the Group: Class, Status, Party"

Germany as a Nation of Commoners: "National Character and the Junkers"

The Counterbalancing of Economic and Social Inequality by Universal Suffrage

Authority in the Modern Epoch: the Bureaucracy

Power and Authority: When and Why Do People Obey?

The Bureaucracy I: Formal Rationality, External Structure, Ethos, and Inequality

The Bureaucracy II: the Impact Upon Society

Past and Present: Charismatic Authority and its Routinization

The Nation, the Modern State, and Modern Law

The Nation: A Sentiment of Solidarity and the "National" Idea

The State, its Basic Functions, and the Economic Foundations of Imperialism

From Particularistic Law to Formal Legal Equality and the Rights of Individuals

The Circumscription of Ethical Action Today and Weber's Response

The Antagonism of the Economy and Political Domains to Ethical Action

A "Casing of Bondage" and the Rule of Functionaries: the Call for Political Leadership, Strong Parliaments, and an Ethic of Responsibility

The Political Culture of American Democracy: The Influence of the "Sect Spirit"

The Autonomy of the Individual in the Sect and the Capacity to Form Democratic Communities: Tolerance and Freedom of Conscience

On "Race," the Complexity of the Concept of Ethnicity, and Heredity

On "Race" Membership, Common Ethnicity, and the "Ethnic Group"

The Meaning, Value and Ethical Neutrality of Science: "Science as a Vocation" and Other Writings

The Meaning and Value of Science: Disenchantment, "Progress," and Civilized Man's Meaninglessness

Ethical Neutrality in the Classroom and the Usefulness and Limits of an Empirical Science

The Opposition of Salvation Religions to Science and Modern Culture

Modern Readings

Private Authority and Work Habits: England and Russia

The Data Protection Act: A Case of Rationalization

The McDonaldization of Society

Hitler

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