maxr weber
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Max Weber1864-1920 Katie GeneserHayden George
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BackgroundBorn 1864, Thuringia
Father was wealthy civil servant who was highly involved in both politics and academics
For Christmas one year he wrote two analytical essays to give to his parents as gifts
Attended law school
Spent some time in the military
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Background In 1893 he married Marianne Schnitger a feminist activist and author
Took a job as a professor eventually ending up at the University of Heidelberg
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Early Work Early on took an interest in contemporary social policy
Felt that the role of economics was the primary source of solving social problems
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InfluencesStrongly influenced by German Idealism Linked romanticism and Enlightenment politics
Kant, Freud, and Simmel
Strongly influenced by Marxs ideas of socialism and active politics Differed on the idea of utopian society
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Concepts and Contributions BureaucracyPre-conditionsGrowth in space and population
Growth in complexity of the administrative tasks being carried out Existence of monetary economy, requires a more efficient administrative system
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Concepts and Contributions BureaucracyCommunication and transportation policies make more efficient administration possible
Hierarchical organization
Delineated lines of authority in a fixed area of activity
Rules are implemented by neutral officials, not the power elite
Advancements depend on technical qualifications from organizations not individuals
Can be a threat to individual freedom
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Concepts and ContributionsRationalization The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and, above all, by the disenchantment of the world
Instead of the power elite holding society back, it is the laws, rules and regulations capitalism requires
Curtails peoples freedoms and traps them in bureaucratic society
Process is less welcome of individualism and dehumanizes people
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Concepts and ContributionsRationalization Zweckrational (i.e., formal) rationality. The rationality of means-ends relationships, wherein an identifiable goal is sought by pursuing reasonably defined means.
Wertrational (i.e., substantive) rationality. The rationality of non-goal oriented behavior, wherein behavior is pursued independently of the prospects of success.
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Concepts and Contributions Verstehen German word for interpretive understanding
Looking at society from your own point of view rather than from that of the indigenous culture
How people give meaning to the social world around them
Gives a subjective understanding about individual and group behavior
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Concepts and Contributions The Protestant Ethic The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905)
Emphasizes hard work, frugality, and prosperity as a display as a persons salvation in the Christian faith
Societies that are more Protestant tend to be more bureaucratic than capitalist and to Weber this is a good thing
Workers are more likely to be devoted to their craft and are less alienated
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Views on Society Bureaucratic SocietyRather than capitalism or communism, Weber thought society should be run through a system of well organized institutions
Society can be understood through empirical observation rather than quantitative research
Power is not just in the hands of the elite
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Relevancy Influenced Parsons, Habermas, and many others
Presented sociology as the science of human social action
Developed antipositivism; stressing the differences between social and natural sciences
Weber Bureaucracies: showed how there are bureaucratic elements of every part of society
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Limitations His specific explanations for society in his time are hard to generalize for other circumstances in society
Failed to see all the positive aspects of rationalization and deemed society to be doomed and trapped in an iron cage of its own making
Bureaucratic features of Webers ideal society might actually be inefficient (argued by Merton)
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