Bio: (1864-1920) German sociologist and economist. Max Weber (Maximilian Carl Emil Weber) studied history and law at the Universities of Heidelberg and Berlin and received his doctoral and habilitation degrees at the University of Berlin. Weber became a professor of economics at the University of Freiburg in 1893, and two years later became head of the Department of Economics at the University of Heidelberg. After only a few years spent in the professorship, he had to leave that position due to mental health problems. After leaving his academic career, Weber, together with Werner Sombart, became the first editor of the Archives für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik (Archives of Social Sciences and Social Policy) in 1904. It was not until 1918 that Weber continued his teaching career at the universities of Vienna and Munich, but soon died. Weber's very extensive opus covers a wide range of social sciences: sociology, economics, law, political science, religion, history, etc.

                  Epistemological and Theoretical foundations

Weber's sociological approach combines the epistemological and theoretical foundations of two directions that were very widespread in the German social sciences at the end of the nineteenth century - formal sociology, on the one hand, and historicism and hermeneutics, on the other. Formal sociology, developed by Simmel, Tönnies, and Wiese, was based on the premise that individual characteristics of individuals should be abstracted, and, instead, generalized and a priori categories, that is, pure social forms, should be developed and systematized. Historicism and hermeneutics, whose most important representatives are Dilthey and Heinrich Rickert, start from the assumption that there is an essential difference between the social and natural sciences, both in subject matter and in the methods that can be applied to the study of the subject.

The social sciences study values ​​and meanings, and they should be used to understand and interpret subjective human behavior, while the natural sciences aspire to establish general deterministic relations. Thus, the social sciences study what is unique and unrepeatable in a culture at a certain historical moment. Weber takes the view from formalism that it is necessary to develop and systematize generalized social forms, which he did by developing an "ideal-type approach" and creating many classifications. On the other hand, Weber partially takes over the premise of historicism, about the essential difference between the social and natural sciences. Weber also believes that it is necessary to understand individual psychological motives, goals, and values, but also to interpret and document culturally and historically unique phenomena.          

Weber believes that the goal of social science is to build a network of abstract concepts and to investigate objectively existing causal relationships in individual events. Through the study of causal relationships in individual events, we can determine general social rules. The starting point for studying individual events is human "social action". Social action is any behavior that has meaning for a person who performs a social action and includes failing to perform an activity, as well as suffering from an external situation. Another condition for a behavior to be viewed as social action is that the actor must take into account the behavior of others and coordinate his social actions with it. Human social action is the only thing we can really understand because it has its objective, external side, which we can directly observe, but also because it has an internal, subjective side, which we can understand and interpret. That is why social action is the basic unit of sociological analysis.

Human social action is voluntary, however, it can be a product of conscious and intentional desire, just as it can be a product of unconscious motives. Unconscious motives are influenced by culture and tradition, as external factors, but also personal emotional states, as internal factors. Weber believes that fully conscious and intentional social action is just a borderline case and that people are much more likely to act instinctively or routinely. In that sense, every social action can be directed by several different factors: values, goals, emotions, and rationality. These factors are expressed in different proportions in any particular social action of an individual, but they are also shaped in different ways by the broader cultural and historical context of social action.

                                   Method of „Understanding“

The scientific study of social action requires the application of the cognitive method of „understanding“ (verstehen). Understanding is made possible by the fact that there is an identity between the subject (researcher) and the object (individual that is studied) of cognition, and therefore understanding has a higher degree of clarity and certainty compared to other forms and methods of cognition. The identity of the subject and the object of knowledge, in essence, means that scientists, as well as people whose work is the object of the study, have similar psychology. This is what enables scientists to understand the subjective meaning that social action has for the person who performs the social action. Understanding has both an intellectual and an emotional component.

This means that we can understand the rational aspect of one's social actions, while at the same time understanding the emotional motives of that social action. Understanding social action, as a sociological method, allows us to create causal explanations of individual events. On the other hand, creating causal explanations of complex processes requires the application of a comparative-historical method, while a thought experiment, also, serves as a research aid. A special type of sociological concept, in Weber's approach, is "ideal types". Ideal types represent abstract sociological concepts that allow us to classify the subjective side of human social action (both conscious and unconscious; both rational and emotional) according to their type into different categories. Ideal types can serve hypothetical-analytical understanding, or serve descriptive and historical explanations.

                                   Types of Human Action

Weber applies the ideal type method to classify the types of human social action. The basic types of social action are: 1) goal rational, 2) value rational, 3) affective, and 4) traditional. Goal-rational social action is aimed at choosing the most efficient means to achieve the set goals, but other possible goals are taken into account, as well as the resources that should be used to achieve the goal. Value-rational social action is aimed at achieving a goal, which is important in itself, regardless of the chances of success and resources spent because it is believed in the absolute value of that goal. Affective social action is directed by passions and emotions, so the meaning of social action is in itself, and not in achieving a specific goal. Traditional social action is completely shaped by the consistent following of established social rules, regardless of the final effect of that social action.

                              Moral Order and Power Relations

Weber also studied the normative order of society and the types of government that exist in different societies. The basic types of normative order are law and moral conventions (ethics). The law achieves the maintenance of the moral order by creating a special group of people who must enforce laws and sanction those who violate them. Moral conventions, on the other hand, are enforced diffusely because the whole society acts in such a way as to sanction those who violate moral rules. Individuals may view the moral order as legitimate or illegitimate. There are also relations of power and authority in society. Weber defines political power as "the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance, regardless of the basis on which this probability rest" (Weber, 1922a). Weber defines Authority as: “probability that certain commands (or all commands) from a given source will be obeyed by a given group of persons”  (Weber, 1922a). While power relations can be a product of circumstances, authority relations are never a product of chance because authority represents institutionalized relations of superiority and subordination, so they are always part of the established moral order.

There are only three legitimate forms of authority: legal-rational, traditional, and charismatic. The difference between these three types of authority is in how authority is justified, but also according to how the administrative apparatus of society is organized. Legal-rational authority is historically a product of Western culture. It is characterized by the application of impersonal laws through official state bodies. The administrative apparatus is hierarchically and bureaucratically organized. All persons are subject to the same laws, including those performing the most important functions. In addition, there is a separation of official duty from the private life of those in administrative positions, as well as the separation of public property from personal property. Apart from the level of the modern state, the rational authority also appears in several different types of organizations and institutions.

Traditional power rests on the sanctity of long-established norms and institutions, while, at the same time, there is a constant distrust in any type of change. The right to exercise power is not strictly separated from the person in power, and there is no clear distinction between private and public property. There are two main forms of traditional power: patrimonial, in which all subjects are completely dependent on the ruler and all those who occupy lower positions remain on them only while enjoying his favor; and feudal, in which the highest classes have their protected status and they form the administrative apparatus. The feudal nobility swears allegiance to the ruler but is freed from his arbitrariness.

The third form of authority is charismatic authority and this type is transitional because it occurs in periods of crisis and sudden social changes. Charismatic authority does not respect any restrictions and is always radical. The main examples of charismatic leaders are a prophet, a hero, and a demagogue. All who are below the charismatic leader owe their position only to their loyalty to the leader, while people submit to the leader only as long as he possesses charisma. This form of authority is more a relationship of power than authority. Charismatic power is very quickly transformed into a traditional, legal-rational, class form, or charisma itself is transformed.

                           Religion and the Rise of Capitalism

Two areas that Weber studied in great detail were religion and capitalism. His studies of religion are gathered in the three-volume book Sociology of Religion (1920-1921). Although Weber's studies of Judaism, the religions of India (Hinduism and Buddhism), and China (Taoism and Confucianism) are very significant, by far his greatest influence on sociology was his study of Protestantism in The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism (1920), the first volume of Sociology of Religion. In The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber combines his two important fields of interest - religion, and capitalism. He believes that each religion has its own economic ethics and that ethics implies practical incentives to perform a certain type of social action, based on a religious view of the world and life. Capitalism is also specifically marked by the inherent capitalist spirit, the main feature of which is the opposition to traditional economic social action. The capitalist spirit contains a positive view of work and the acquisition of material wealth. Emphasis is placed on effort, thrift, discipline, and innovation, while laziness, gaining wealth without work, and hedonistic spending are viewed negatively. In pre-capitalist economies, people worked only as much as they needed to achieve a standard of living that was satisfactory to them. The capitalist spirit led to the complete rationalization of economic life.

The greatest influence on the development of the capitalist spirit and the rejection of the traditional form of doing business had the emergence of Protestant religions and their teachings in the early 16th century. Of all the Protestant currents, the most important for the development of the capitalist spirit was ascetic Protestantism, and above all Calvinism. Protestantism emphasized the idea of ​​"vocation", that is, that work is the most sacred duty of man because it enables salvation through the fulfillment of duty to God and therefore represents the highest expression of ethical self-affirmation. Protestantism, by treating labor as a means of salvation, directly refutes the traditional view of labor as God's punishment for original sin. Protestantism believes that success in a business is a confirmation of God's election, but that economic success must be achieved through hard work, thrift, and honesty. With this approach to economics and work, Protestantism has made a key contribution to the emergence and spread of the capitalist spirit.

                                            Bureaucracy

Weber is also known for his study of bureaucracy, which he viewed as the most rational mechanism for governing the state and other organizations and institutions. Bureaucracy enables efficient and systematic management of a large number of people and material resources. Although the rudiments of bureaucracy appeared with the first civilizations, it was not until the nineteenth century that bureaucratic management spread to all aspects of social life. This development and expansion of bureaucracy were made possible by the creation of a centralized state, an increase in traffic and communication systems, an increase in the monetary economy, an increase in tax revenues, and the development of the industry. The development of bureaucracy is most closely related to the development of a legal-rational type of authority. Within a bureaucratic organization, individuals are connected hierarchically, each position has specific powers and duties, and there are clear relationships of superiority and subordination. There are general formalized rules that all members must strictly follow. The duties and salary of each person are precisely defined, the prospects for progress within the organization are known, and job qualifications are acquired through schooling or special exams. Bureaucracy is guided by instrumental rationality, and its advantages are: predictability, speed, resource savings, and uniformity.

                            Stratification and Class Differences

Weber had a huge influence on the sociological study of inequality, and according to him, inequalities were expressed differently in different societies, but there are always inequalities in every society, that is, every society had heterogeneity in terms of the hierarchy of social positions. Weber believes that in every society there are three relatively independent dimensions of inequality, that is, stratification: 1) material wealth, 2) status (social reputation), and 3) political power. Social status refers to the unequal distribution of prestige and honor between different social strata, which he calls all "status groups" (stand in German). Status group differences tend to crystallize and persist over a long period. With the creation of clear and defined differences between status groups, there comes a great reduction in informal and close relations between members of different status groups, and this is most pronounced in limiting marriages strictly between members of the same status group. When the formalization of the status groups begins to be accompanied by a formal-legal distinction of status group privileges, and when such a process is accompanied by a religious justification, then the status groups are transformed into different castes.

In modern capitalism, the most significant economic inequalities are manifested through class differences. Weber does not see classes as communities, although they can form the basis for joint action. What makes different individuals members of a certain class is their unique position in the market. Those who have significant ownership of economic goods (real estate, land, livestock, mines, money, luxury goods, etc.) belong to either the rentier class or the entrepreneur class. People who do not have significant property, but only work for others, will be divided into different classes according to the type of profession they perform and the security of employment. In capitalism, the economic success of each individual, and therefore his class position and specific life chances, depends only on success in the market. In Weber's approach to classes, strata that are excluded from market competition (such as slaves) have only status group position, but not class position because each class position depends on market position, and slaves have no relationship with the market.

Main works

Zur Geschichte der Handelgesellschaften im Mittelalter (1889);

Die Römische Agrargeschichte in ihrer Bedeutung für das Staats- und Privatrecht  (1891);

Die Verhältnisse der Landarbeiter im ostelbischen Deutschland (1892);

Die Börse (1894-1896);

Der Nationalstaat und die Volkswirtschaftspolitik (1895);

Die Wirtschaftsethik der Weltreligionen (1915-1919);

Parlament und Regierung im neugeordneten Deutschland (1918);

Wissenschaft als Beruf (1919);

Geistige Arbeit als Beruf: Politik als Beruf (1919);  

Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus (1920);

Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Religionssoziologie, 3 vol. (1920-1921);

Gesammelte Politische Schriften (1921a);

Die rationalen und soziologischen Grundlagen der Musik (1921b);

Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft (1922a);

Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre (1922b);

Soziologische Grundbegriffe (1922c);

Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Soziologie und Sozialpolitik (1924);

Wirtschaftsgeschichte (1924);

Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte (1924);

Staatssoziologie (1956).

Works translated into English:

General Economic History - The Social Causes of the Decay of Ancient Civilisation (1950, in German 1927);

The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism (1951, in German vol. 1 of 1920-1921);

Ancient Judaism (1952, in German vol. 3 of 1920-1921);

The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism (1958, in German vol. 2 of 1920-1921);

Rational and Social Foundations of Music (1958, in German 1921b);

Basic Concepts in Sociology (1962, in German 1922c);

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: and Other Writings (2002, in German 1920);

The Vocation Lectures (2004); 

Weber: Political Writings (2005);

Collected Methodological Writings (Weber in Translation) (2014);

From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (2018);

Economy and Society: A New Translation (2019, in German 1922a);

Charisma and Disenchantment: The Vocation Lectures (2020).