Max Weber's Theory
Max Weber and modernization in the U.S.A.
The concept of modernization has not escaped the controversy that has surrounded most ideas that have come up in the process of giving the globe a new face that is different from the one that was there before. Modernization happens around us on a daily basis and it is a continuous process that accompanies the human life. There is a general agreement that things like the industrial cities are modern cities. Modernization is therefore generally understood as the process in which people adopt new, more productive ways and means in almost all economic sectors. In order to sustain or uphold these shifts in the economic levels there is need to have a value system that gives emphasis to rationality, specialization, efficiency, cosmopolitanism as well as a keen interest in the prospective of having a future that is better than the current world…...
mlaReferences
Francis X. Hezel, (1987). The Dilemmas of Development: The Effects of Modernization on Three Areas of Island Life. Retrieved April 20, 2011 from http://www.micsem.org/pubs/articles/justice/frames/dildevfr.htm
John Kilcullen (1996). Max Weber: on Bureaucracy. Retrieved April 20, 2011 from http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y64l09.html
Kathy Henry, (2007). The Development of Sociology and Modernity. Retrieved April 20,
2011 from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Development-of-Sociology-and-Modernity&id=504788
The author describes how journalism is in itself a form of political power but that major news media are really controlled by capitalists.
One of the salient issues Weber discusses in "Politics as a Vocation" is the ethical dimension of political life. Weber focuses on three main qualities that politicians need in order to be effective: "passion, a feeling of responsibility, and a sense of proportion." Weber also refers to what he calls the "ethic of the Sermon on the Mount" as a guide for political thought. The ethic of the Sermon of the Mount offers a reasonable means to exert just and dignified political control. Finally, Weber distinguishes between the "ethic of ultimate ends" and the "ethic of responsibility," which are two different ways of approaching morality in politics. The two are not mutually exclusive, according to the author, for the politician must sometimes justify the means in order…...
He determines that "the age old problem of theodicy consists of the very question of how it is that a power which is said to be at once omnipotent and kind could have created such an irrational world of undeserved suffering, unpunished injustice and hopeless stupidity." (Gerth et al., 122) Here, he inclines the understanding that religious institutions may serve to most as a preexistent institution by which the individual conscience may be explored.
ith that in mind, eber allows us to turn our attention to America, which would be a significant influence on his writing and on his endorsement of capitalism. To his perspective, the resonance between Protestant value and the capitalist principles of the United States would be a natural integration of two social characteristics defined by context. The frontier would be a sensible place for the theretofore hierarchically diminished Protestant to assume a new approach to social…...
mlaWorks Cited
Gerth, H.H.; Mills, C.W. & Weber, M. (1958). From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. Oxford University Press.
Steinhauer, J. (2005). When the Joneses Where Jeans. The New York Times. Online at http://forums.nytimes.com/top/opinion/readersopinions/forums/classmatters/whenthejoneseswearjeans/index.html.
Weber, Max. (1930). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Caitalism. [tran. Talcott Parson]. Charles Scribner's Sons.
The University of Michigan's use of race as a "plus" indicator for applicants, and its employment of said rule on both applicants Gratz and Hamacher, is an example of a wertrational ideal type. The consideration of race as a qualifier or an ideal type itself in the University's admission rules is a rational step in order to satisfy or achieve an irrational goal. The rule does not, as the Supreme Court decision elaborated, in any way demonstrate consideration of racial diversity except for the fact that the University admits individuals who belong to underrepresented minorities. This being the case, it is irrational that such rule should be employed, and included still after annual revisions of the University's admission policies. This case serves as an example of how the wertrational ideal type is present in social phenomenon, and can provide reflections on how policies and rules are crafted, applied, and…...
For the author, the Church had "institutional preconditions" that made capitalism emerge and develop for as early as the High Middle Ages which occurred between the 14th and 15th centuries. The Church organization showed several features that were also manifested in Protestantism, or more generally, in nations that have developed a capitalist economic society: (1) the growth of rationalized technology and (2) institutional transformation.
In terms of the growth of rationalized technology, Collins asserted that the gradual shift from the use of windmills, water mills, and engines for processing agricultural products (also called the "mill-building craze") gave way to innovations in machinery, where the 14th century was characterized to have produced mechanized tools for agricultural production (48). Apart from these technologies, the organization of the Church itself, including its laws and tenets demonstrate how the clergy and its faithful followers "entered into a contractual relationship that not only gave oaths…...
mlaBibliography
Collins, R. (1986). Weberian sociological theory. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Giddens, a. (1970). "Marx, Weber and the development of capitalism." Sociology, Vol.4.
Weber, M. (1958). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. NY: Scribner's Press.
Zeitlin, I. (1968). Ideology and the development of sociological theory. NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Max eber's book "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" deals with the idea of capitalism as having been partially influenced by Protestant thinking. hile some might be inclined to believe that there is a strong difference between religious ideas and capitalist ideas (with the latter being primarily meant to influence people to become rich), the reality is that there is a powerful connection between the two schools of thought.
Economic conditions today have been influenced by early Protestant thinking and one can easily find parallels in religious principles promoted in Calvinist circles. Calvinists' belief that God provides people with resources based on the strength of their relationship with him influenced people belonging to the community to focus on increasing their finances on account of how such behavior would be perfectly rational in the eyes of God.
Evidence
Catholics through the ages have been passionate about improving their relationship with the…...
mlaWorks cited:
Weber, Max, "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism"
Max eber's sociological theory, discuss impact Mcdonaldization society relates today's culture. Do agree disagree sociologist George Ritzer
McDonaldization seen from a sociological point-of-view
Max eber's sociological theory provides people with the opportunity to have a better understanding of how the process of McDonaldization affected cultural values today. eber emphasized that society was the product of people getting actively involved in building a set of rules and a community that promotes certain values. eber promoted social actions as one of the principal concepts that should be studied through sociology. hen considering how individuals perform actions that they associate with a meaning, it seems that the McDonaldization process is obviously supported by society as a result of the perceived benefits it provides people with.
eber's sociological theory alongside of the idea of McDonaldization virtually promotes the belief that people are gradually becoming robots. Bureaucracy comes to dominate the social order as most individuals consider…...
mlaWorks cited:
Collins, Randall. (1986). Weberian Sociological Theory. Cambridge University Press
Ritzer, George, (2000). The McDonaldization of Society: New Century Edition. SAGE Publications.
Max eber's "THE PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM," "Religious Affiliation and Social Stratification," discusses the relationship between the religion and financial status. eber associated financial status with Protestantism and with the idea of people wanting to have more financial independence as a result of detaching themselves from the Catholic Church. The writer does, however, emphasize that it would be difficult and almost impossible to verify this theory, considering that Protestants also inherited great wealth and their participation in capitalism might thus be coincidental and with no connection to their religious preferences.
From eber's point-of-view, Catholics are more likely to promote abstinent values and to focus on respecting traditions while Protestants are generally appreciative toward change and welcome attitudes that increase their social and financial status. Catholicism apparently influences people to focus less on material values and more on preserving their cultural values. In contrast, Protestants grow up learning…...
mlaWorks cited:
Weber, Max, "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism," (The Scribner Library)
Max eber's book "THE PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM," "The Spirit of Capitalism," addresses a series of factors that come together in forming the idea representing the economic system. eber uses an excerpt written by Benjamin Franklin in an attempt to provide more information concerning the concept as seen from the perspective of one of the most important individuals in the history of capitalism. Franklin goes at emphasizing the role that money play in making people wealthier. He addresses ideas involving time being equivalent to finances, credit being money, and money being essential in producing more money.
Modern capitalism promotes the idea that people need to raise as much money as they possibly can, as this is apparently one of their principal duties as members of a capitalist economic system. eber's use of Franklin's excerpt is generally meant to put across information with regard to how a person…...
mlaWorks cited:
Weber, Max, "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism"
Public Administration
Max Weber is a strong supporter and advocate for bureaucracy which he defines as "the means of carrying community action over into rationally ordered social action… an instrument of socializing relations of power, bureaucracy has been and is a power instrument of first order." (Weber, 1946). His point-of-view is however debatable with the question whether public administrators should be restricted to only laid down rules in the discharge of their duties as or should they have some amount of discretion always arising. In his argument, Weber states that there are three types of authority that facilitate evolution of societies, these are traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational authority. He bases his concept on the legal-rational authority, this authority believes in the legitimacy of normative rules and that those elevated to authority through such rules have a right to issue commands. His presentation is that of an ideal bureaucracy whose major features…...
mlaREFERENCES
Crozier, M. (1964), "The Bureaucratic Phenomenon," Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Merton, R. (1952), "Bureaucratic Structure and Personality in Reader in Bureaucracy," New
York: Free Press.
Stillman, R.J. (2000), Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Spirit Capitalism
Max eber's philosophy in regards to Protestantism, precisely Calvinism, had a lot to do in the progress of a spirit of capitalism in the western part of Europe has had a deep consequence on the rational of sociologists and historians ever since its publication in 1904. Numerous historians value its use of social theory to past proceedings and admire it for its effort to clarify why capitalism flourished in United States and Europe and not as much in other dwellings. Immanuel allerstein, for example, depicted deeply on eber for clarifications of the development of capitalism into the contemporary financial world-organization in his classic three volume masterpiece, which was called the Modern orld-System (Giddens, 2007). Max eber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is considered to be the study of the relationship that occurs between the morals of severe Protestantism and the presence of the spirit of contemporary…...
mlaWorks Cited
Awney, R.H., 2001. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism.. New York: Brace & World, Inc..
Dickson, T. A M.H.V., 2005. "In Search of 'The Spirit of Capitalism': Weber's Misunderstanding of Franklin,." Sociology, 23(1), pp. (81-89).
Giddens, A., 2007. Capitalism and Contemporary Social Theory: An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim, and Max Weber.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Green, R.W., 2004. Protestantism and Capitalism: The Weber Thesis and Its Critics.. Boston: D. C Heath and Company,.
Weber and BureaucracyIntroductionAuthority and power are concepts integral to the way society is organized and managed. These concepts are so crucialbut also so differently interpreted by scholars and theoriststhat they have been the subject of extensive debate and analysis in sociology and political science. For instance, one scholar and theorist was Max Weber, who proposed various ideal types of leadership and authority to support a working society. Considering Webers approach to the problem, this essay examines the main sources of authority in the world today, drawing upon common knowledge of current events as well as upon my own personal experiences. The essay will also discuss Weber's classification of authority and his ideas on rationalization and bureaucracy. To illustrate these ideas, the essay will use an example of a university and an example of a corporation where I work. In the end, the paper will provide an assessment of whether Weber's…...
mlaReferences
Simmons, Tony. Revitalizing the Classics: What Past Social Theorists Can Teach Us Today. Fernwood Publishing: Halifax and Winnipeg. 2013.
Ritzer, George and Jeffrey Stepnisky. Classical Sociological Theory. 10th ed. Sage Publications. 2018..
Society was more complex than a world divided merely into workers, aristocrats, and clergy, and contained many classes, from workers to owners to civil servants to politicians to aristocrats. Marx saw the major difference after the Industrial Revolution to be that of a shift from agriculture to industry, although the inequities and exploitation of the class possessing the means of production remained constant. But as a result of the complexity created through industrialization, eber believed social power had become more diffuse. Social power and classes were not based simply upon land ownership, money and wealth. Social power also rested in social prestige and political power and influence. (Bartle, "Community Empowerment: Lecture Notes, Marx and eber -- Inequality, 2006) Social classes were not fixed entities. A person's power and class allegiance could shift quite rapidly, depending upon one's immediate context.
eber might argue, for example that some persons who are not…...
mlaWorks Cited
Bartle, Phillip. "Community Empowerment: Lecture notes -- Max Weber." Last Updated 23 Apr 2006. [6 Jul 2006]
http://www.scn.org/cmp/modules/soc-webr.htm
Bartle, Phillip. "Community Empowerment: Lecture notes -- Marx and Weber -- Inequality." Last Updated 23 Apr 2006. [6 Jul 2006]
eber's Analysis Of Vocation In The Modern, Secular Protestant orld
In both his essays on "Science as a Vocation" and "Politics as a Vocation," the father of sociology Max eber advances the idea that the development of a Protestant religious ideology created modern, secular notions of what constituted a vocation. At the time of his writing, eber stated, it had become increasingly accepted that there was an equal validity of the vocations of science and politics, as opposed to the sole existence of a vocation of faith in service of God. Before Protestantism, religious dogma and religious bureaucratic institutions alone determined scientific truth. Religious internal politics also influenced national politics and political affairs. Now, Protestantism allowed for the creation of a private, religious sphere of the sacred that was intrinsically separate from a public, secular sphere of academic or political thought.
This rendering science and politics as potentially respectable vocations and also…...
mlaWorks Cited
Weber, Max. "Science as a Vocation" and "Religion as a Vocation." From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. Translated and edited. New York: Oxford University Press, 1946. Retrieved from Dead Sociologist's Society Website at and http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/polvoc.html.http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/scivoc.html
Durkheim called the unfortunate mental state produced by modernity "anomie." Anomie is best expressed as the state of alienation felt by the modern urbanite, dwelling far away from traditional family structures and religious rituals. "Anomie is impossible whenever interdependent organs are sufficiently in contact and sufficiently extensive. If they are close to each other, they are readily aware, in every situation, of the need which they have of one another, and consequently they have an active and permanent feeling of mutual dependence." (Durkheim, p.184, cited by Dunman, 1996)
In contrast to eber, rather than fearing too many constraints as a result of industrialization, Durkheim believed that the dangers of alienation lay in having no connections or confines within accepted laws of family, culture, and traditional governance. (Dunman, 1999) Durkheim felt that a lack of societal limits on behavior in an anonymous, modern society led to sadness and despair, which he…...
mlaWorks Cited
Dunman, Joe. "The Emile Durkheim Archive." Created 1996. Updated 2003. [12 Jul 2006]
http://durkheim.itgo.com/anomie.html
Elwell, Frank. "Max Weber's Home Page." 1996. [12 Jul 2006]
http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Weber/Whome.htm
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