Monday, October 05, 2015 © 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender1 SYA 3010 Sociological Theory: Max...

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© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 1

SYA 3010 Sociological Theory:

Max Weber



Max Weber

1864-1920 Pronounced

“vey-bear” German Protestant Mother was a

strong Calvinist Father was a

German bourgeoisiepolitician



Max Weber

Paradigm: PluralistClass of Theories: Divergent

Interests Sociology is properly concerned with

individuals, not just structure(Perdue 1986:173)Perdue, William D. 1986. Sociological Theory: Explanation, Paradigm, and

Ideology. Palto Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.



Max Weber:Social Action

Max Weber conceived of sociology as a comprehensive science of social social actionaction. In his analytical focus on

individual human actors he differed from many of his predecessors whose

sociology was conceived in social-structural terms. Spencer concentrated on the evolution of the body socialbody social as

analogous to an organism.




Durkheim’s central concern was with institutional arrangements that maintain the cohesioncohesion of social

structures. Marx’s vision of society was informed by his preoccupation with the conflicts between social social classesclasses within changing social

structures and productive relations.




In contrast, Weber’s primary focus was on the subjective meanings that human actors attach

to their actions in their mutual orientations within specific social-historical contexts. Behavior devoid of such meaning, Weber

argued, falls outside the purview of sociology.Coser (1971:217)Coser, Lewis A. 1971. Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in

Historical and Social Context. New York: Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich.




Review Handout

Weber’s Model of Social System




Four Major Types of Social ActionPurposeful or Goal-oriented

Rational Action Both goal and means are rationally

chosenExample: An engineer who builds a bridge

by the most efficient technique of relating means to ends




Value-oriented Rational Action Striving for a substantive goal, which in

itself may not be rational but which is nonetheless pursuedExample: Attainment of salvation




Emotional or Affective Motivation Action Anchored in the emotional state of the

actor rather than in the rational weighing of means and endsExample: Participants in the religious

services of a fundamentalist sect




Traditional Action Guided by customary habits of thought,

by reliance on “the eternal yesterday”Example: The behavior of members of an

Orthodox Jewish congregation




Weber was primarily concerned with modern Western society, in which, as he saw it,

behavior had come to be dominated increasingly by goal-oriented rationality, whereas in earlier periods it tended to be motivated by tradition, affect, or value-oriented rationality. His studies of non-

Western societies were primarily designed to highlight this distinctive Western

development.




Karl Mannheim stated:Max Weber’s whole work is in

the last analysis directed toward the question “Which social factors have brought about the rationalization of

Western civilization?”



Max Weber:Ideal Types

Ideal Types An ideal type is an analytical construct that serves

the investigator as a measuring rod to ascertain similarities as well as deviations in concrete cases. It provide the basic method for comparative study. An ideal type is not meant to be a moral ideal.

There can be an ideal type of a brothel or a chapel. It is not a statistical average

Average Protestants in a given region or at a give time may be quite different from ideal typical Protestants

Used to develop hypotheses




Three levels of Ideal Types First are the ideal types rooted in

historical particularities, such as the “western city,” “the Protestant Ethic,” or “modern capitalism,” which refer to phenomena that appear only in specific historical periods and in particular cultural areas.




A second kind involves abstract elements of social reality--such concepts as “bureaucracy” or “feudalism”--that may be found in a variety of historical and cultural contexts.

Finally, there is a third kind of ideal type. . .”rationalizing reconstructions of a particular kind of behavior. According to Weber, all propositions in economic theory, for example, fall into this category. They all refer to ways in which man would behave were they actuated by purely economic motives, were they purely economic men.



Max Weber:Authority

AuthorityThree main modes of authority

(claiming legitimacy) Rational-legal authority

Authority may be based on rational grounds and anchored in impersonal rules that have been legally enacted or contractually established.



Max Weber:Authority

Traditional authorityBased on the belief in the sanctity of tradition,

of “the eternal yesterday.” It is not codified in impersonal rules, but inheres in particular persons who may either inherit it or be invested with it by a higher authority

Charismatic authorityRests on the appeal of leaders who claim

allegiance because of their extraordinary virtuosity, whether ethical, heroic, or religious.



Max Weber:Authority

This typology of various forms of authority relations is important on several counts. Its

sociological contribution rests more especially on the fact that Weber, in contrast to many political theorists,

conceives of authority in all its manifestations as characteristic of the relation between leaders and followers, rather than as an attribute of the leader

alone.



Max Weber:Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy Formal organization of the officialdom of large-

scale enterprise (e.g., government, military, economic, religious, educational), the ideal-type of such as organization characterized by: Clearly defined division of labor Rationality (i.e., a business-like attention to

implementing goals of the organization) Impersonal application of rules Routinization of tasks to the degree that personnel are

easily replaceable




This bureaucratic coordination of the actions of large numbers of people has

become the dominant structural feature of modern forms of

organization. Only through this organizational device has large-scale planning, both for the modern state and the modern economy, become

possible.




Yet Weber also noted the dysfunctions of bureaucracy.

Its major advantage, the calculability of results, also

causes depersonalization. It is difficult to deal with individual

cases.



Max Weber:Study of Religion

Major works The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Two Parts:

1904 and 1905) The Religion of China (1913) The Religion of India (1916-1917) Ancient Judaism (1917)

These major works were based on the question: Why did modern capitalism initially occur in the West and not in other parts of the world? (Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:162-163)

Turner, Jonathan H., Leonard Beeghley, and Charles H. Powers. 1998. The Emergence of Sociological Theory. 4th ed. Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth Publishing

Company.




Review Handout

Weber’s Causal Argument for the Emergence of

Capitalism




The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is part of

an exercise in historical historical hypothesis testinghypothesis testing in which Weber constructed a logical experiment using ideal typesideal types

as conceptual tools.




Theology has an enormous impact on

behavior---even economical and social

behavior.




Occupational statistics in those nations of mixed religious composition seemed to show that those in higher socioeconomic positions were overwhelmingly Protestant.

Weber was not attempting to prove a relationship between Protestantism and economic success (that was a given), but rather to explain the relationship.




Weber developed a historical ideal typehistorical ideal type called Spirit of CapitalismSpirit of Capitalism. This ideal type has four components: Work is valued as an end in itself Trade and profit are indicators of personal

virtue A methodically organized life governed by

reason indicates a righteous state of being Delayed gratification is a virtue




Weber focused on the Calvinist’s form or Protestantism

Calvinist’s theology/doctrine had four consequences on the Spirit of Capitalism: Predestination Lack of certainty of salvation created

inner loneliness and isolation




People looked for signs of being among the electAbsolute duty to consider themselves chosenIntense worldly activity creates self-

confidence

All believers were expected to lead methodical and ascetic lives unencumbered by irrational emotions, superstitions, or desires of the flesh




Why did John Wesley call his group “Methodists?”

Why do many evangelical and fundamentalist groups have “standards” and/or rules that appear rather “strict?” No dancing Avoid theaters, movies, dramas No card playing, use of dice of any kind




Among the Calvinist and many of the other Protestant groups-----wealth was

“automatically” accumulated through intense “economic activity” but was not to be “shown.” The accumulation was to

be converted into “sound” assets.The Amish are a perfect illustration of the Spirit of Capitalism as studied by Weber.




Even though the strict nature of early Protestant

groups are all but gone----the residues are

evident in today’s society.




Review Handout

Weber’s Quasi-Experimental Design in the Study of Religion



Max Weber:Class and Status

Class and StatusMethod for studying stratification of

populations for sociological purposes.Class

“…property…and lack of property…” is the basis of all class situations

Class is a type of socioeconomic category Rational behavior




Status Evaluations people make of one another Rank order of desired behavior and

traits Value-oriented behavior




ExamplesIf we use the class groups of low, blue collar, lower

middle class, middle class, upper middle class, wealthy and the statuses of low, middle, high---what are the class and status levels of the following:

College PresidentsTeachersMedical DoctorsInvestment BankersPastors

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