Max Weber 2

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Max Weber 2

• Applying Sociological Knowledge
• Understanding Capitalism and Modernity

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ISSUES

• 1. Webers view of modern society
• - The Iron Cage
• 2. Weber applies his methods
• - How good are his methods?
• 3. Weber versus Marx
• - Differences similarities

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OUTLINE

• Webers life
• Webers view of modern society
• Webers methods recap
• Applying methods to modern society
• Weber Marx
• Weber the rise of capitalism
• (Weber Marx again)
• The Iron Cage
• Evaluation

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Webers Life

• Born in Germany 1864 1920
• Rapid social change / industrialisation
• Development of government bureaucracy
• Politics German nationalist
• But anti-authoritarian
• Studies history, economics, religious studies,
  sociology
• Against positivism / For interpretivism

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Webers view of modern society

• Modernity very unlike other societies
• 2) Capitalism (but view differs from Marxs)
• - Psychology of capitalism
• 3) Highly rationalised
• Ways of thinking science, calculation
• Beliefs secularisation
• Ways of organising people bureaucracy

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Webers Methods Recap

• Interpretivism
• Study what people think / why they act
• Verstehen / Empathic understanding
• Neo-Kantian methodology
• Reality is complex
• Must simplify reality
• Must build ideal types e.g. bureaucracy

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Webers Methods Recap

• Sociology study of social action
• 4 types of action
• Habitual (traditional)
• Affective (emotional)
• Value rational (beliefs)
• Instrumental (or goal) rational (calculation /
  efficiency)
• Any actual action a mixture of some or all

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Webers Methods Recap

• Types of Authority
• Authority legitimate power
• Power of rulers to get ruled
• to do things
• Ruled see power of rulers as legitimate
• 3 types of authority
• Traditional / charismatic / legal-rational

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Webers Methods Recap

• Value freedom
• All studies are biased must admit biases
• Dont pass off your biases as the truth
• Value relevance
• Reality vastly complicated
• Researcher must choose what to emphasise, what to
  downplay or miss out
• Researchers interests shaped by personal
  cultural factors

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Webers Methods Recap

• One-sided viewpoints
• Reality complicated multiple factors
• Researcher can only look at some things
• Any research is one-sided
• 2 problems
• Being unaware your research is one-sided
• Passing off a one-sided viewpoint as the truth

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Applying Methods to Modern Society

• Development of modern society many factors
• In one study must select some factors
• e.g. Protestant Ethic study religious factors
• Overall multi-dimensional analysis
• Look at as many factors as possible
• e.g. religion, economics, politics, bureaucracy
• - Try to relate them all together

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Applying Methods to Modern Society

• Ideal Types
• Reality complex must simplify
• Ideal type perfect model of a thing
• Allows us to
• See things more clearly
• Compare model against reality
• Protestant Ethic
• Spirit of Capitalism
• Bureaucracy

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Applying Methods to Modern Society

• Wants to look at as many factors as possible
• BUT inevitability of value relevance having to
  be selective
• Webers focus (1) (of 3)
• Look at ways people think their motivations for
  acting

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Applying Methods to Modern Society

• Emphasises role of new ways of thinking in
  creating a new sort of society
• New ways of thinking motivate new ways of acting
• New religion Protestantism (Luther, Calvin)
• New way of thinking 1 more calculating mindset
• New way of thinking 2 making money is moral
• Protestant Ethic helps create new
• Capitalist Spirit
• - Calculating most efficient ways to make profits

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Applying Methods to Modern Society

• Webers focus (2)
• Sees modern society as highly rational
• 1) Dominance of instrumental rationality
  calculating most efficient ways of achieving
  goals
• 2) Ways of thinking
• - scientific mindset
• - capitalist search for profit
• 3) Social organisation bureaucracy
• Emphasises rational factors
• Downplays irrational factors

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• Webers focus (3)
• Western Europe North America
• since 16th century unique unprecedented social
  changes
• most human history slow change, tradition
• a) Rise of capitalist society
• Industrialisation / new classes
• capitalists workers
• b) Secularisation
• c) Democratisation

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• Focus (3)
• WHY DID THESE CHANGES HAPPEN IN THE WEST AND
  NOWHERE ELSE??
• Compare West to India, China Japan
• Find what is unique to the West
• Answer ways of thinking / religion
• Eastern religions emphasise tradition / not
  dynamic / dont encourage social change
• Western religions Judaism, Christianity /
  emphasise change social transformation
• West is religiously dynamic, East static

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Weber Marx

• Ideal factors religion, values, ways of
  thinking, culture (superstructure)
• Material factors economy, production, division
  of labour (economic base)
• Marx material factors more important than ideal
  factors
• Social change material factors change first,
  then ideal factors follow
• Changes in economic base ? changes in social
  superstructure

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Marx the rise of capitalist society

• Changes in Economic Base
• 1) New technology from farming to factories
• 2) New classes capitalists workers
• 3) Capitalists take wealth power
• away from aristocracy
• LEADS TO
• Changes in Social superstructure
• (i.e. changes in all other parts of society
• e.g. politics, law, family, media, etc.)

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Webers criticisms of Marx

• Marx has a one-sided viewpoint
• Emphasises material factors
• Thinks this is the whole story
• OVERemphasises material factors
• 2) UNDERemphasises ideal factors
• Especially religion Protestantism
• Doesnt examine new ways of thinking, new
  motivations
• Weber corrects this in Protestant Ethic study

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• 3) Marx is not multi-dimensional enough
• a) Emphasises economic factors
• But reality is complex many factors involved
• b) Must also look at political and cultural
  factors (especially, but not only, religion)
• c) Marxs story only starts in the 16th century
  must go back much further in time
• Rational thinking in West since ancient Greeks
• Bureaucracy since the ancient Romans
• Medieval Catholic Church is a bureaucracy

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Weber the rise of capitalism

• PROTESTANT ETHIC (PE)
• 16th century northern Europe
• Rebellion against Catholic teaching
• Luther and Calvin
• More pure version of Christianity
• Calvin damned and saved
• Chosen at birth
• Psychological anxiety (salvation anxiety)
• Do good works work hard

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EFFECTS OF PE ON SOCIETY

• Medieval economy
• - subsistence economy
• Attitudes
• - leisure more important than work
• work a necessary evil
• making money is immoral

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• Protestant Ethic (PE)
• - work hard to show you are good
• - making money a sign of virtue
• Over time work hard make money
• Spirit of Capitalism (SC)
• secular version of PE
• becomes automatic no religious aspect
• PE leads to SC leads to social transformation

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Spirit of Capitalism

• Main aim in life work hard, seek profits
• Capitalism exists in many societies,
• including pre-modern societies
• e.g. piracy make money by stealing
• 3) Modern capitalism (Spirit of Capitalism)
• Never-ending search for profits
• Calculate most efficient methods
• Keep accurate records book-keeping
• Dont waste profits reinvest in business
• Time is money

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Weber Marx again

• DISAGREEMENTS
• Marx material factors (economic base)
• Weber ideal factors as important (religion,
  Protestant Ethic) as material factors
• Weber
• 1) Marxs view TOO one-sided
• 2) Marx created an ideal-type (base-superstructure
  model )
• BUT Marx forgets its just a model, just one way
  of looking at things
• 3) Marx stresses class over other types of social
  group
• e.g. gender-based, ethnic-based, status-based

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Weber Marx again

• PARTIAL AGREEMENTS
• Weber Marx right to look at economic factors
• (appearance of new classes new technology)
• Weber must look at BOTH material and ideal
  factors
• Weber Marx on the right track but not
  multi-dimensional enough
• Weber against Marx?
• Weber correcting Marxs limitations
• Weber adds to Marx

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The Iron Cage

• Modern society created by rationalization
• processes
• 1) Increasing levels of instrumental rationality
• Scientific mindset
• Decline of religious belief
• (Disenchantment of the world)
• Instrumental rationality (calculation) KILLS OFF
  value rationality (beliefs values, esp.
  religious)

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The Iron Cage

• 2) Increasing bureaucratisation
• Bureaucracy ideal type
• a) Organising people with written rules
• b) Rules enforced impersonally
• c) Hierarchical organisation
• d) Specialisation of tasks
• Bureaucrats rule
• Spread of bureaucracy into all spheres of life
• e.g. family, private life

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The Iron Cage

• 3) Increasing impersonalization of social
  relations
• a) Calculation, not imagination feelings
• b) Actions more and more automatic
• Work hard, without knowing why
• Seek money, at expense of other things
• c) Division of labour
• Everyone is a specialist
• One-sided personalities
• (all people, not just workers)

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The Iron Cage

• SOLUTIONS
• Marx Communism
• - Government controls economy
• More and more bureaucracy
• Weber
• - try to salvage whatever individual freedoms are
  left
• - not much chance of this

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EVALUATION

• PROS
• More detailed account of rise of modernity than
  Marx
• ? more sophisticated than Marx?
• 2) Deals with more factors
• than Marx
• material AND ideal
• goes back further in history
• 3) Sophisticated methods
• (including admitting his own biases)

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CONS1) Too pessimistic about modern
society?2) Breaks His Own Rules? - Gives a
very negative one-sided account of modern
society- Presents it as the truth3) Problems
with methods ? problems with his view of rise
and nature of modern society