SOC4044 Sociological Theory: Max Weber

1. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 1 SOC4044 Sociological Theory:Max Weber Note Lecture and Presentation for SOC4044 Sociological Theory Note Lecture and Presentation for SOC4044 Sociological Theory

2. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 2 Max Weber 1864-1920 Pronounced �vey-bear� German Protestant Mother was a strong Calvinist Father was a German bourgeoisie politician

3. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 3 Max Weber Paradigm: Pluralist Class of Theories: Divergent Interests Sociology is properly concerned with individuals, not just structure (Perdue 1986:173) Perdue, William D. 1986. Sociological Theory: Explanation, Paradigm, and Ideology. Palto Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.

4. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 4 Max Weber:Social Action Max Weber conceived of sociology as a comprehensive science of social action. In his analytical focus on individual human actors he differed from many of his predecessors whose sociology was conceived in social-structural terms. Spencer concentrated on the evolution of the body social as analogous to an organism.

5. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 5 Max Weber:Social Action Durkheim�s central concern was with institutional arrangements that maintain the cohesion of social structures. Marx�s vision of society was informed by his preoccupation with the conflicts between social classes within changing social structures and productive relations.

6. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 6 Max Weber:Social Action In contrast, Weber�s primary focus was on the subjective meanings that human actors attach to their actions in their mutual orientations within specific social-historical contexts. Behavior devoid of such meaning, Weber argued, falls outside the purview of sociology. Coser (1971:217) Coser, Lewis A. 1971. Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

7. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 7 Max Weber:Social Action Review Handout Weber�s Model of Social System

8. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 8 Max Weber:Social Action Four Major Types of Social Action Purposeful or Goal-oriented Rational Action Both goal and means are rationally chosen Example: An engineer who builds a bridge by the most efficient technique of relating means to ends

9. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 9 Max Weber:Social Action Value-oriented Rational Action Striving for a substantive goal, which in itself may not be rational but which is nonetheless pursued Example: Attainment of salvation

10. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 10 Max Weber:Social Action Emotional or Affective Motivation Action Anchored in the emotional state of the actor rather than in the rational weighing of means and ends Example: Participants in the religious services of a fundamentalist sect

11. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 11 Max Weber:Social Action Traditional Action Guided by customary habits of thought, by reliance on �the eternal yesterday� Example: The behavior of members of an Orthodox Jewish congregation

12. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 12 Max Weber:Social Action Weber was primarily concerned with modern Western society, in which, as he saw it, behavior had come to be dominated increasingly by goal-oriented rationality, whereas in earlier periods it tended to be motivated by tradition, affect, or value-oriented rationality. His studies of non-Western societies were primarily designed to highlight this distinctive Western development.

13. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 13 Max Weber:Social Action Karl Mannheim stated: Max Weber�s whole work is in the last analysis directed toward the question �Which social factors have brought about the rationalization of Western civilization?�

14. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 14 Max Weber:Ideal Types Ideal Types An ideal type is an analytical construct that serves the investigator as a measuring rod to ascertain similarities as well as deviations in concrete cases. It provide the basic method for comparative study. An ideal type is not meant to be a moral ideal. There can be an ideal type of a brothel or a chapel. It is not a statistical average Average Protestants in a given region or at a give time may be quite different from ideal typical Protestants Used to develop hypotheses

15. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 15 Max Weber:Ideal Types Three levels of Ideal Types First are the ideal types rooted in historical particularities, such as the �western city,� �the Protestant Ethic,� or �modern capitalism,� which refer to phenomena that appear only in specific historical periods and in particular cultural areas.

16. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 16 Max Weber:Ideal Types A second kind involves abstract elements of social reality--such concepts as �bureaucracy� or �feudalism�--that may be found in a variety of historical and cultural contexts. Finally, there is a third kind of ideal type. . .�rationalizing reconstructions of a particular kind of behavior. According to Weber, all propositions in economic theory, for example, fall into this category. They all refer to ways in which man would behave were they actuated by purely economic motives, were they purely economic men.

17. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 17 Max Weber:Authority Authority Three main modes of authority (claiming legitimacy) Rational-legal authority Authority may be based on rational grounds and anchored in impersonal rules that have been legally enacted or contractually established.

18. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 18 Max Weber:Authority Traditional authority Based on the belief in the sanctity of tradition, of �the eternal yesterday.� It is not codified in impersonal rules, but inheres in particular persons who may either inherit it or be invested with it by a higher authority Charismatic authority Rests on the appeal of leaders who claim allegiance because of their extraordinary virtuosity, whether ethical, heroic, or religious.

19. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 19 Max Weber:Authority This typology of various forms of authority relations is important on several counts. Its sociological contribution rests more especially on the fact that Weber, in contrast to many political theorists, conceives of authority in all its manifestations as characteristic of the relation between leaders and followers, rather than as an attribute of the leader alone.

20. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 20 Max Weber:Bureaucracy Bureaucracy Formal organization of the officialdom of large-scale enterprise (e.g., government, military, economic, religious, educational), the ideal-type of such as organization characterized by: Clearly defined division of labor Rationality (i.e., a business-like attention to implementing goals of the organization) Impersonal application of rules Routinization of tasks to the degree that personnel are easily replaceable

21. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 21 Max Weber:Bureaucracy This bureaucratic coordination of the actions of large numbers of people has become the dominant structural feature of modern forms of organization. Only through this organizational device has large-scale planning, both for the modern state and the modern economy, become possible.

22. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 22 Max Weber:Bureaucracy Yet Weber also noted the dysfunctions of bureaucracy. Its major advantage, the calculability of results, also causes depersonalization. It is difficult to deal with individual cases.

23. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 23 Max Weber:Study of Religion Major works The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Two Parts: 1904 and 1905) The Religion of China (1913) The Religion of India (1916-1917) Ancient Judaism (1917) These major works were based on the question: Why did modern capitalism initially occur in the West and not in other parts of the world? (Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:162-163) Turner, Jonathan H., Leonard Beeghley, and Charles H. Powers. 1998. The Emergence of Sociological Theory. 4th ed. Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth Publishing Company. (Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:164-168)(Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:164-168)

24. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 24 Max Weber:Study of Religion Review Handout Weber�s Causal Argument for the Emergence of Capitalism (Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:164-168)(Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:164-168)

25. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 25 Max Weber:Study of Religion The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is part of an exercise in historical hypothesis testing in which Weber constructed a logical experiment using ideal types as conceptual tools.

26. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 26 Max Weber:Study of Religion Theology has an enormous impact on behavior---even economical and social behavior.

27. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 27 Max Weber:Study of Religion Occupational statistics in those nations of mixed religious composition seemed to show that those in higher socioeconomic positions were overwhelmingly Protestant. Weber was not attempting to prove a relationship between Protestantism and economic success (that was a given), but rather to explain the relationship.

28. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 28 Max Weber:Study of Religion Weber developed a historical ideal type called Spirit of Capitalism. This ideal type has four components: Work is valued as an end in itself Trade and profit are indicators of personal virtue A methodically organized life governed by reason indicates a righteous state of being Delayed gratification is a virtue

29. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 29 Max Weber:Study of Religion Weber focused on the Calvinist�s form or Protestantism Calvinist�s theology/doctrine had four consequences on the Spirit of Capitalism: Predestination Lack of certainty of salvation created inner loneliness and isolation

30. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 30 Max Weber:Study of Religion People looked for signs of being among the elect Absolute duty to consider themselves chosen Intense worldly activity creates self-confidence All believers were expected to lead methodical and ascetic lives unencumbered by irrational emotions, superstitions, or desires of the flesh

31. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 31 Max Weber:Study of Religion Why did John Wesley call his group �Methodists?� Why do many evangelical and fundamentalist groups have �standards� and/or rules that appear rather �strict?� No dancing Avoid theaters, movies, dramas No card playing, use of dice of any kind

32. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 32 Max Weber:Study of Religion Among the Calvinist and many of the other Protestant groups-----wealth was �automatically� accumulated through intense �economic activity� but was not to be �shown.� The accumulation was to be converted into �sound� assets. The Amish are a perfect illustration of the Spirit of Capitalism as studied by Weber.

33. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 33 Max Weber:Study of Religion Even though the strict nature of early Protestant groups are all but gone----the residues are evident in today�s society.

34. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 34 Max Weber:Study of Religion Review Handout Weber�s Quasi-Experimental Design in the Study of Religion This same thing is happening to many people who were originally from Mexico who become evangelical or Pentecostal in the United States. Refer to TV program. This same thing is happening to many people who were originally from Mexico who become evangelical or Pentecostal in the United States. Refer to TV program.

35. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 35 Max Weber:Class and Status Class and Status Method for studying stratification of populations for sociological purposes. Class ��property�and lack of property�� is the basis of all class situations Class is a type of socioeconomic category Rational behavior

36. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 36 Max Weber:Class and Status Status Evaluations people make of one another Rank order of desired behavior and traits Value-oriented behavior

37. Tuesday, June 12, 2012 � 1998-2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 37 Max Weber:Class and Status Examples If we use the class groups of low, blue collar, lower middle class, middle class, upper middle class, wealthy and the statuses of low, middle, high---what are the class and status levels of the following: College Presidents Teachers Medical Doctors Investment Bankers Pastors