Max Weber  “The social Causes of the Decline of Ancient Civilization” In, The Agrarian Sociology of Ancient Civilizations (1976) 

Brief introduction First published in an Encyclopedia under the title Agrarian Conditions in Antiquity in 1909 Translated in English by R.I. Franck in 1976, who changed the title to The Agrarian Sociology of Ancient Civilizations because of the sociological nature of the book Weber’s essay on the ‘Social causes of the decline of Ancient civilization’ is a classical illustration of socio-structural analysis

Text Summary: of the decline… Careful analysis and interpretation of historical primary sources leads Weber to identify typical characteristics of the civilisation of Antiquity  Oikos theory It is urban, coastal and based upon slavery Slave enterprises produce for the market after meeting their own needs: the slave owner has the capacity to develop production based on division of labour The expansion of trade “increased the growth of oikoi (…) based on unfree labour (…)” (p. 394)

Summary (continues) Unsustainable economic structure: dependent on regular supply of slaves, which eventually stopped  turning point in the development of ancient civilisation No slaves hunt, so slaves allowed to have property and families and children who become slaves  slaves are now more like unfree serf servicing owner’s land It is thus impossible to maintain market production on the estates, which became more and more self-sufficient “The later Empire has all the characteristics of a medieval manor.” (p.403)

Meaning of the text Weber interprets history Idea: interpretation of action in terms of its subjective meaning should be united with and balanced by the interpretation of history Weber gives the world a subjective meaning The analysis of the decline of ancient civilisation is based on the limits slave production sets for capitalist development

Meaning (continues) Tendency: thinking Weber emphasizes agency over structure, idealism against materialism In fact, Weber goes beyond these dichotomies: they are not mutually excluding categories Weber’s contribution to sociology = multi-causal approach Subjective meaning of action within a cultural context of meaning

Conclusion Weber’s historical sociology is not a grand theory of history unlike Marx’s historical materialism Weber interprets history Multi-causal approach to analysis to correct the one- sidedness of materialist approach to social change Thank you

Bibliography Max Weber, “The Social Causes of the Decline of Ancient Civilization” in, The Agrarian Sociology of Ancient Civilizations (NLB, 1976) Philip Abrams, Historical Sociology (Open Books, 1982) Gerard Delanty & Engin Isin, Handbook of Historical Sociology (London: Sage, 2003) Jonathan Wiener, “Max Weber’s Marxism: Theory and Method in ‘The Agrarian Sociology of Ancient Civilizations”, Theory and Society, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 389-401.