Max Weber

Max Weber's works

"The Methodology of the Social Sciences"
"The Religion of China, The Religion of India, and Ancient Judaism"
"The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" (brings together capitalism and religion)

Social Action

Instrumental-Rational action - Behavior where means and ends if action are rationally related

Ideal Types of Authority

Traditional action - determined by beliefs and habits
Affective action - determined by emotion
Substantive Action -
Instrumental-Rational action - When the means and ends of an action are related

Two types of power

authority and coercion

Bureaucracy

Inevitable, needed, require large numbers of people and patterned behavior
Advantages,

disadvantages (test)
- dehumanization
- depersonalization
- Disenchantment

iron cage of bureaucracy

all of our settings become dehumanizing

Class (shared market) <-> Status (Cultural groups)<->Parties <-> Class

Weberian sociology

society isn't always subject to universal laws and peoples actions aren't always predictable

Traditional VS. Rational Capitalism (Old Types)

Traditional capitalism - people earned money to spend money
Rational capitalism - people earned money to make more money

Life politics

Politics of choice and lifestyle

2 Types of social organization

Patrimonial (old), Bureaucracy (new)

Weber

Anti-positivist,

Ideal types

Historical - built on past
Logical - logically possible kinds of (research interest)

Instrumental - Rational action

Behavior where means and ends of an action are rationally related

Religon

One god, magic is direct and religion, ethical monotheism

Organized Social Class

Organized in immediate economic groups
Large numbers of people in the same class position
Technical conditions of organization met

Status and Party

Status entails an effective claim to social esteem; positive or negative privileges

4 types of social action

traditional, affectional, value-rational, instrumental rational (mcdonaldization)

3 D's

Depersonalization, disenchantment, dehumanization

How to re-enchant a disenchanted world

Extravaganza, simulation, imposion, spectacular uses of time+space

How to achieve stability

efficiency, predictability, calculability, technological control

3 cultural groups

Classes, parties (power), statuses

From polytheism to monotheism

due to the need to centralize power by monarchs, to reduce number of pathways to god to maintain social control

What are ideal types?

Analytical constructs that don't exist in the real world

2 Shifts in religion

Magic -> religion
Due to surpluses and the symbolization the control by the clergy
Polytheism -> Monotheism
reduces number of pathways to god and maintaining social control

Upshots of Weberian theory

Difficulty in forming emancipatory parties

Ideal types

Rationalization, authority, social action,

Traditional, effective, instrumental,

traditional - custom, new - rational legal - procedure, charismatic

5 features of bureaucracy

Size of population, task complexity, market use and money economy, use of mass democracy, volume of rationalized and complicated culture, communication and transportation technology