MAX WEBER: BIOGRAPHY, THOUGHTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Max Weber (1864-1920) was a German sociologist, philosopher, jurist, and economist, whose ideas strongly influenced social theory and social research. His contribution to sociology is immense and continues to influence intellectual minds, which is why he is considered the father of modern sociology.

Weber's main intellectual concern was to glimpse the processes of secularization, rationalization and disenchantment that he related to the emergence of modernity and capitalism.

Weber was fiercely independent, refusing to submit to any ideological lines. Although he repeatedly entered the political arena, he was not really a political man, someone who was capable of compromising in pursuit of his goals.

Weber considered that the world of modernity had been abandoned by the gods, because man had driven them away: rationalization had replaced mysticism.

He was responsible for the advent of the study of religion, social science, politics, and economics in a sociological context in Germany, which was affected by instability and political upheaval.

It provided the West with an opportunity to study the economic and political ambitions of the Far East and India through their respective religions and cultures.

While Max Weber is best known and recognized today as one of the leading scholars and founders of modern sociology, he also accomplished much in the field of economics.

Biography

Max Weber was born on April 2, 1864 in Erfurt, Prussia, to his parents Max Weber Sr. and Helene Fallenstein.

Early years

He was the eldest son of seven siblings and was an extraordinarily bright boy. His father was a prominent lawyer politically affiliated with the pro-Bismarck "national liberals."

Weber's house was frequented by eminent intellectuals, politicians, and academics. The environment in which Max grew up was fueled by philosophical and ideological debates. After finishing high school, Weber enrolled in 1882 at the University of Heidelberg, where he studied law, philosophy and economics.

He had to interrupt his studies after three semesters, to complete his service in the army, resuming his education in 1884, at the University of Berlin. In 1886 he passed his bar exam and in 1889 he received his Ph.D. in laws.

Adult life

In 1893, Weber married Marianne Schnitger, a distant cousin, and began his academic career teaching economics at the University of Freiburg in 1894. The following year he returned to Heidelberg, where he was offered the teaching position.

Weber's inaugural address in Freiburg in 1895 marked the climax of his career, where he made an analysis of the political situation in Germany after studying the working class and liberals for five years. In his speech, he brought forth the concept of liberal imperialism.

The year 1897 was difficult for Weber, after the death of his father he suffered a serious mental collapse and experienced episodes of depression, anxiety and insomnia, which made him unable to work.

Plagued by mental illness, he was forced to spend the next five years in and out of mental institutions. He finally recovered in 1903. He returned to work, being an editor at a renowned social science journal.

His essays fueled his fame, inspired various intellectual minds, and made Max Weber a household name.

Final years

He continued teaching until 1918 and was also active in politics, defending sobriety and unanimous decisions.

He wanted to build additional volumes on Christianity and Islam, but did not do so when he was infected with the Spanish flu. Weber assisted in the writing of the new constitution and in the founding of the German Democratic Party.

He died of a lung infection on June 14, 1920. His Economy and Society manuscript was left unfinished, but it was edited by his wife and published in 1922.

Management thinking

Rational-legal bureaucratic model

Weber wrote that modern bureaucracy, in both the public and private sectors, is based primarily on the general principle of precisely defining and organizing the general powers of the various offices.

These powers are supported by laws or administrative regulations. For Weber this means:

- A rigid division of labor, clearly identifying the regular tasks and duties of the particular bureaucratic system.

- Regulations describe firmly established chains of command, duties, and the ability to compel others to do so.

- The hiring of people with particular and certified qualifications supports the regular and continuous execution of the assigned duties.

Weber points out that these three aspects constitute the essence of bureaucratic administration in the public sector. In the private sector, these three aspects constitute the essence of the bureaucratic management of a private company.

Weber believed that even under socialism the workers would work in a hierarchy, but now the hierarchy would merge with the government. Instead of a dictatorship of the worker, it envisaged the dictatorship of the official.

Main features

- Specialized roles.

- Recruitment based on merit; that is, verified through open competition.

- Uniform principles of placement, promotion and transfer in an administrative system.

- Make a career with a systematic salary structure.

- Subjection of official conduct to strict rules of discipline and control.

- Supremacy of abstract rules.

Types of authority

Weber believed that the exercise of authority is a universal phenomenon and that there are three types of domination that characterize authority relationships, which are charismatic, traditional and legal domination.

These types indicate the relationships between a supreme ruler (for example, a prophet, king, or parliament), an administrative body (for example, disciples, royal servants, or officials), and the ruled masses (for example, followers, subjects, or citizens).

Under charismatic domination, the ruler's exercise of authority is based on extraordinary qualities that both he and his followers believe are inspired by some transcendent power, With traditional domination, the ruler is subject to an immemorial custom that also sanctions his right to the arbitrary exercise of his will. Under legal domination, the exercise of authority is subject to a generalized system of rules.

Thought in sociology

Weber's early works were related to industrial sociology; however, his greatest fame comes from his later work on the sociology of religion and the sociology of government.

Weber's sociological theories generated a great stir in twentieth-century sociology. He developed the notion of "ideal types," which were examples of situations in history that could be used as reference points to compare and contrast different societies.

Sociology of religion

In 1905 he published his acclaimed essay "The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism." In this essay he related the growth of capitalism to the Protestant forms of money accumulation.

It showed how the goals of certain Protestant denominations, particularly Calvinism, shifted to rational means of economic gain as a way of expressing that they had been blessed.

He argued that the rational roots of this doctrine soon became incompatible and larger than the religious ones. Therefore, the latter were ultimately discarded.

Weber recognized that capitalist societies had existed before Calvinism. However, he indicated that religious views did not support capitalist enterprise, but limited it.

Only the Protestant ethic, based on Calvinism, actively supported capital accumulation as a sign of God's grace.

Religion in China and India

Through the works The Religion of China (1916), The Religion of India (1916), and Ancient Judaism (1917-1918), Weber provided the Western world with an in-depth study of the religions of the parts of the world where the ambitions of imperialism Westerners were at stake.

This approach looks at the basic elements of social institutions and examines how these elements are related to each other. His study of the sociology of religion enabled a new level of intercultural understanding and investigation.

Social economy

Weber believed that economics should be a broad science that encompassed not only economic phenomena, but also non-economic phenomena.

These non-economic phenomena could influence the economy (economically relevant phenomena) or could be influenced by economic phenomena (economically conditioned phenomena).

The name Weber gave to this broad type of economy was social economy. Weber's thinking in this area provided a platform for productive interdisciplinary dialogue between economists and sociologists.

Stratification

Max Weber formulated a theory of stratification of three components, with social class, status class and political class being conceptually distinct elements. These three dimensions have consequences for what Weber called "life chances."

Social class

It is based on an economically determined relationship with the market (owner, lessee, employee, etc.).

Status class

It is based on non-economic qualities, such as honor, prestige, and religion.

Political class

Refers to affiliations in the political domain.

Anti-positivist revolution

Max Weber was, along with Karl Marx, Pareto, and Durkheim, one of the founders of modern sociology. While Durkheim and Pareto, following Comte, worked in the positivist tradition, Weber created and worked in the anti-positivist, hermeneutical, and idealistic tradition.

His works began the anti-positivist revolution in the social sciences, which emphasized the contrast between the natural sciences and the social sciences, essentially due to human social actions.

Contributions

Max Weber's contributions to the field of sociology were of great importance and have led many authors to classify him as one of the great institutionalizers of this field.

His work helped turn sociology from an academically exotic product to a legitimized discipline at the university level. Due to the type of contributions that Weber made with his sociology works, he is considered a representative of the “third ways”.

Max Weber, 1864 - 1920

The third ways are political approaches that are neither Marxist nor anti-Marxist. This characteristic of his work led Weber to be one of the most influential sociologists in history.

Weber's work has had a great impact on the subsequent development of different sociological issues. These include religion, education, law, organization, the family, and even ethno-sociology.

Theoretical literature on sociology

The most important contributions that Weber made was the theoretical development of sociology in his book Economy and Society. According to various scholars of this discipline, this book is the most representative of 20th century sociology.

Weber also published other books that are key in the teaching of any academic sociology program. Among these books are: The Protestant Ethics and The Spirit of Capitalism, Sociology of Religion and The Methodology of Social Sciences .

Rationalism in sociology

Weber, in his explanation of human relations and the meaning of the world and history, marks a difference between the old interpretative conception and his empirically rational explanation of the world.

According to this, Weber developed concrete concepts for historical interpretation. These concepts contained, in addition to empirical knowledge, a rational interpretation.

It was for this reason that Weber's theories differed from traditionally metaphysical interpretations.

Contributions to politics

Many of Weber's contributions to sociology were in the field of politics. According to Weber, the greatest political value was found in the national state, which subsequently generated various criticisms.

In several of his political ideas Weber was identified as a continuator of Machiavelli's thought.

These ideas were not very well received among European sociologists, however they sparked important debates that led to the further development of political sociology worldwide.

Sociology in religion

One of Weber's most recognized contributions to sociology is his work on sociology in religion. His studies in the field led to the publication of his work "Sociology of Religion."

Some authors close to religious sociology have come to call Weber a "Christian sociologist." This, based on the work that Weber did in this field and his respect for religiosity.

This occurs despite the fact that Weber expressly said that he did not have much affinity with religious thought.

Influence on current Sociology

The contributions that Weber made to sociology from his scientific knowledge continue to have wide reception for the elaboration of modern sociological theories.

This is mainly explained by the confrontation that, without directly intending it, Weber's theories maintained with the old sociological tradition. It was this characteristic of his thinking that defined him as a representative of the "third ways."

References

1. Agulla JC Max Weber and today's Sociology. Mexican Journal of Sociology. 1964; 26 (1): 1–9.
2. Espinosa EL The Sociology Of The Twentieth Century. Spanish Journal of Sociological Research. 2001; 96: 21–49.
3. Glejdura S. Review: The Centennial of Max Weber. Spanish Magazine of Public Opinion. 1965; 1: 305–307.
4. Sharlin A. Retrospective: Max Weber. The Journal of Modern History. 1977; 49 (1): 110-115.
5. Swatos W. Kivisto P. Max Weber as "Christian Sociologist." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 1991; 30 (4): 347–362.
6. Famous Economists (2018). Max Weber. Taken from: famouseconomists.net.
7. New World Encyclopedia (2013). Max Weber. Taken from: newworldencyclopedia.org.
8. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2018). Max Weber. Taken from: en.wikipedia.org.
9. van Vliet (2017). Max Weber. Taken from: toolshero.com.
10. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2018). Weber, Max. Taken from: encyclopedia.com.
11. Sociology Group (2017). Max Weber Biography and Contributions to sociology. Taken from: sociologygroup.com.