1. Max Weber (1864-1920) studied the characteristics of modern life
Saw the modern world in terms of
rational achievements
the loss of the human spirit

2. Max Weber (1864-1920) Rationalization –
An increasing, long-range tendency in all areas of life
to replace the mystical, the subjective, and the sentimental
with the logical, the objective, and the scientific.

3. Max Weber (1864-1920) Rationalization (examples)
greater value on rational thinking than on intuition
higher salaries of scientists, in contrast to artists
structure of modern organizations

4. Max Weber (1864-1920) Bureaucracy prime example of rationalization
A form of social structure
that aims to use people and resources
rationally and efficiently

5. Max Weber (1864-1920) Bureaucracy
Specialization of tasks and division of labor
Formal system of rules/procedures
Written documentation kept in files
Clearly defined structure of authority (hierarchy)

6. Max Weber (1864-1920) Bureaucracy
Specialized administrative staff (maintains records and communication)
Impersonal orientation toward clients and employees
Career employment

7. Max Weber (1864-1920) Research Methodology –
Social sciences are different from the natural sciences
study human beings, not objects
require their own method
May be pursued with passion

8. Max Weber (1864-1920) Research Methodology –
Verstehen (“to understand”)
Sympathetic understanding
Viewing a situation from the viewpoint of the actor within it
Subjective approach, but rational and systematic

9. Max Weber (1864-1920) Differed from Durkheim
Less concerned with objectivity than with understanding the meaning of social phenomena to the individuals experiencing them
Greater emphasis on viewing social structures historically than on examining their present functions

10. Max Weber (1864-1920) Differed from Marx
Emphasized the role of ideas in generating social structures
(Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism)
Saw social class as one kind of inequality, in addition to status and power

11. Max Weber (1864-1920) Class an economic category
related to life chances
determined by market factors
Power
Ability to get one’s way with others, even against their will
May be determined by economics or political party

12. Max Weber (1864-1920) Status social honor
different from individual respect earned by personal qualities
– given on the basis of position
may be related to occupation
may be used to explain ethnic or racial discrimination

13. Max Weber (1864-1920) Forms of Authority traditional
by heredity (king)
rational-legal
tied to position (bureaucrat)
charismatic
derived from personality of leader
emerges in a time of crisis
(economic, political, moral)

14. Max Weber (1864-1920) Protestant Ethic
Demostrates how ideas derived from a religion (Calvinism)
influenced development of an economic system (Capitalism)
Predestination
Virtues of the elect (hard work, thrift, honesty, punctuality, self-control)
Reinvestment of profits
Utilitarian motive

15. Max Weber (1864-1920) Protestant Ethic emphasizes ideas
does not exclude material factors
forms part of a larger sociology of religion that includes analysis of social class in relation to belief

16. Max Weber (1864-1920) Summary – Characteristics of Weber’s work
A profound humanism (concern over loss of the human spirit)
Strong sense of history (studying structures in process)
Passion for knowledge – thorough

17. Max Weber (1864-1920) Summary – theme of rationalization
Verstehen – understanding; an attempt to make sense of the world
Rounding out of dialectical materialism
Emphasis on role of ideas
Broader class analysis