Transcript SOC4044 Sociological Theory Max Weber Dr. Ronald Keith Bolender

Max Weber
1864-1920
1
Rationality and
Organization
Background
 Maximilian Karl Emil "Max" Weber
 Born in Erfurt, Germany (1864)
 Well-to-do family
 Eldest of eight children
 Sickly child
 Physical problems
 Mental problems
Family
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 His mother (Helene Fallenstein):
 Calvinist
 Very religious
 Concerned with social issues
 His father (Max Weber):
 Politician
 Lawyer
 Self-centered and authoritarian
Mr. and Mrs. Max Weber
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Family
5
 Parents had marriage problems
 Different beliefs and values
 Max Weber and his brother Alfred
became sociologists and
economists.
Max Weber
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 Weber
Pronounced:
“vay-bear”
 Max, Alfred, and Karl ->
(1879)
Max Weber’s Sociology
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Concerned with individuals, as
well as social structure
Macro
Micro

Max Weber: Sociology
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Comprehensive science of
Social Action
 Behavior versus Action
Behavior=
Move, react, eat etc.
 Action=Behavior + Meaning
Different from Other Theorists
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Spencer: Evolution of society as
analogous to an organism
 Natural laws of society
Durkheim: Society as an organism
 Maintaining cohesion of social
structures
 Social Solidarity
Different from Other Theorists
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Marx: Society influenced by economy
 Conflict between social classes
Malinowski: Society functions to meet
needs of individuals
 Holistic approach
Max Weber: Social Action
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Weber’s primary focus:
 Subjective meanings that humans attach to
their actions and interactions
 Within specific social contexts
Behavior without meaning is not sociology
Max Weber: Social Action
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Four Major Types of Social Action
1. Traditional Action
 Guided by custom or habit

Action is simply "always done"
 Example: Celebrating holidays
Max Weber: Social Action
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2. Emotional or Affective Action
 Motivated by emotional state
 Love, Anger, Happiness, Revenge
 Examples:
 Going
to college because your boyfriend
or girlfriend is attending that school
 Hitting a person out of anger
Max Weber: Social Action
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3. Value-oriented Rational Action
 Working toward a goal, which may not be
rational
 But is pursued through rational means
 Values: Ethical, Religious, Philosophical
 Not rationally "chosen“
 Example: Going to college because you
value learning and knowledge
Max Weber: Social Action
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4. Instrumental Rational
(Goal-oriented Rational Action)
 Goals & means are rationally chosen
 Example:
 Earning
a college degree in order to get a
good paying job
How to get rich
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz81sLCy--c
3/24 Max Weber: Social Action
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 Primarily concerned with modern
Western society
 Behavior increasingly dominated by
goal-oriented rationality
 In the past: Motivated by tradition,
affect, or value-oriented rationality
Rationalization
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 Rational calculation, Efficiency,
and Control (Ex. Bureaucracy)
 Replaces:
 Affective ties
 Spirituality
 Tradition
Max Weber: Ideal Types
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An ideal type not meant to refer to “best” or
to a “moral ideal”
e.g., Ideal type brothel or Ideal type chapel
 Analytical construct that provides a
basic method for comparative study
Max Weber: Ideal Types
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 Identifies “logically consistent”
features of social institution
 Compare “ideal type” to reality
 Used to develop research hypotheses
Ideal Type Bureaucracy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBCAlZPF0D0
Legitimation & Authority
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 Legitimation-> Turns coercion into
acceptable power
 Authority = Legitimate Power
 Three types of authority
 1. Legal-rational
 2. Traditional
 3. Charismatic
Max Weber: Authority
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1. Legal-rational authority
 Based on impersonal rules
 Rules are legally enacted or
contractually established
 Examples: Presidents, judges
Max Weber: Authority
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2. Traditional authority
Based
on belief in tradition
Passed down generation to
generation
 Examples: Kings, Queens, Parents,
Elders
Max Weber: Authority
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3. Charismatic authority
Allegiance
to leader
Leader’s characteristics
Quality of individual's personality
Source of change
 Examples: Martin Luther King Jr.,
Gandhi
Max Weber: Bureaucracy
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 Formal organization of large-scale
enterprises for example:
 Government
 Military
 Economy
 Religion
 Education
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBCAlZPF0D0
Max Weber: Bureaucracy
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Ideal-type Bureaucracy:
Clearly
defined division of labor
Rationality
Attention to implementing goals
of organization
Impersonal application of rules
Routinization of tasks
Max Weber: Bureaucracy
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Major advantage
 Calculability of results
Dysfunctions of bureaucracy
 Depersonalization
 Difficult to deal with individual cases
 Personnel are replaceable
 Information flows from top-down
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TypEb0tbFho
 George Tooker paintings illustrate rationality and modernity
Max Weber: Class, Status, and Party
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Method for Studying Social Stratification:
Sources of Power
 Social Class
 “…property…and
 Life
lack of property…”
chances
 Socio-economic category
Lower
class
Middle class
Upper class
Sources of Power: Class, Status, & Party
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 Status
Prestige
Honor
Evaluations
people make of one
another
Ranking desired behavior & traits
2009
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Max Weber: Party
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 Association that attempts to influence
social action
 Religious
 Political
 Age-based
 Race/Ethnicity
 Lobbyists
 Working toward a goal in a planned
manner (i.e., rationally)
Weber’s Contribution to Sociology
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◦ Stratification theory (class, status,
party)
◦ Bureaucracy & large scale organizations
◦ Power & Authority
◦ Sociology of law
◦ Sociology of religion
Weber’s Contribution to Sociology
Theory and Methodology
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 “Verstehen” helps in understanding
why certain behaviors occur
 Social Action: Subjective meanings
 Values: Role in relationships
Weber’s Contribution to Sociology
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 Multi-causality
 Complete
of Social Phenomena
Objectivity is Impossible
◦ Values & Value relevance
Weber’s Contribution to Sociology
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 Max Weber had more powerful positive
impact on a wide range of sociological
theories than any other sociological
theorist
 Created the German Association for
Sociology (1909)
 Starting Point for Careers:
 Karl Mannheim, Talcott Parsons, Robert
Merton and C. Wright Mills