Central Thesis:
Max Weber had several major themes in his theory of society:
1. He believed Religion and Class were the key dynamic factors that influence society.
2. Class and Inequality: Class, Status and Power. He argued that social inequality in modern society was more complicated than this. Second, He argues that differences in the amount of social power or status differences are also important aspects of inequality in modern societies. Lastly, Weber believed that modern society was dominated, not only by owners of capital, but also by those with political power.
3. Bureaucracy and Rationality: He argued that modern society is distinguished from pre modernism by the way we think, feel and operate in the world. For Weber the key contrast
For Max Weber, each social action has meaning associated with it, in the sense that the individual does not act as a robot, or on the basis of instinct or stimulate. His views were consistent with a macro-sociological point of view.
Materialist or Idealistic:
Weber’s viewed were definitely idealistic. Weber believed that people viewed the world through tradition and rationality. He believed that people’s ideas and beliefs molded the social structures and material conditions around them.
Conflict or Consensus:
Conflict Theory is clearly the theory with Weber. The distribution of power and how individuals obtain it are very clear and unjust. People will only be subordinate when conditions are fair and can help support a family. However, those in high ranking positions maintain power, although they will also always be under a higher powered individual.
Determined or Free-will:
No, members of society did not have the freedom to act as they pleased. Power, class, income, and wealth were all determined. Bureaucracy and economic conditions dictated individuals life chances and the opportunities they have to succeed in
In analyzing the institution of power so closely, the author has brought to light a multiple
In the reading “Class, Status, Party,” by Max Weber, Weber illustrates how the three subjects of class, status, and party all intertwine and intersect one another. Weber pointed out that class, status, and party all have a direct link to power and the social order which exists within a society. Lastly, author, Weber, tended to categorize the three subjects by repeatedly using the ideas of power and honor. Weber directly stated that classes, status groups, and parties are all based upon the distribution of power in a community.
1b. Provide an analysis of pages 298-303 (starting at […] on 298 and ending at “employer’s organized life. […]”) of Weber’s “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” in the Calhoun reader. Identity with specific reference to the text what is the key argument that Weber develops in this section.
Marx Weber was one of the greatest theorist in history. In his work we can see how his thinking about rationality has developed and what impact it has on the modern society. Marx in his work showed a relationship between production, exchange and raises questions about social class, culture and self-identity. To answer the question why Marx`s claim that in capitalist modernity `all that is solid melts into air” I will look at history of class conflict, what makes the bourgeoisie a revolutionary class and the role of exploitation. Also I will look at changes from feudalism to capitalism and what are the implication of this `melting` process for modern society.
The realtion of social class to power, is a belief about equality of opportunity that seems to be ignore by former upper social mobility. According to Domhoff's statement about the relation of social class to power, "No group or class had power in America, but only influence". In other words, the upper class are more noticeable and accesible because they share a commmon viewpoint on issues on important new foreign and domestic policies. This leads to the corporate rich who developed to institute the policies they favor like, the Collective power that pursue common goals in community or nation and Distributive power that is the ability of a group or social class within a community or nation to be successful in conflict on issues of concern to it. Social class is mainly based on income, occupation, and education. For example,the educational system of the upper class is different from the majority of public schools the population attend to, because the upper class "receives a distinctive education to prepare them for future leaders of America" (pg 46). This shows how the upper class have more advantage over any other class because they have more opportunities to study in these schools to become part of governmental leaders. Members of the upper class have power based on their wealth.
Weber's theory also identified economic category as important in defining class structures, but rather than focusing on class divisions he focused on the individual and their opportunities. Weber picks out the significant thing here, that both classes will meet in a market. The ruling or privilege class as purchaser of labour and as a vendor. The working or vulnerable class as someone who must sell his services or starve.
Rationality is this idea by Weber that it is potentially what created capitalism. Formal rationality is the set of pre-determined criteria that we use to make decisions and conduct activities. He basically says that as humans, we set goals for ourselves and we take whatever steps necessary to reach those goals. These steps though, have to be rational i.e. they are based off of our past experiences, logic or even science. Weber best describes this through the Protestant Ethic, in which he speaks of traditional capitalism, and rational capitalism.
Marx’s analysis of social class is that there will always be a divide between the haves and the have not’s. He separates them into two classes the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie signifies the capitalist class, while proletariat signifies the working class. Max Weber’s defines class as “a group of people who have a similar level of economic resources”(p.244). He identifies two main elements of class, material resources, and skill knowledge in the marketplace. In contrast to Marx’s view on class Weber believed that class was not just based solely on ownership of means of production, but could also be based off ownership of other resources and the amount knowledge one has. Pierre Bourdieu’s view on class is that it is based on the concept of cultural capital meaning, “our tastes, knowledge, attitudes, language, and ways of thinking that we exchange in interaction with others”
In a society there are different authorities that we follow. According to Weber, there are three types of authorities which are are rational -legal authority, traditional authority, and charismatic authority. According to the article “Marx Weber: Traditional, Legal-Rational, and Charismatic Authority” by Dana Williams: rational-legal authority is powered by the belief that the law gives the legitimacy for example government officials; traditional authority is the belief that it is the traditional way and it is passed down for example the British Monarchy; lastly, charismatic authority is fueled by the liking of a person, it is also neutral meaning that it can go both ways (negative or positive) for example Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King
Karl Marx and Max Weber both expressed an interest in the social class. Social class as defined in the class is an individual’s relation to the organization of production. (Nakhaie 2015) Weber discusses class in the context of social stratification, which can be defined by many resources as “a society’s categorization of people into socioeconomic strata.” This social stratum is based on a person occupation, income, wealth and social status. Webers treatment of class and status indicates the manner in which the material basis of society is related to. It can be said that Weber identifies a variety of social classes; with the analysis of his classes overlapping his theory that rationalization comes to dominate modern societies and class systems. “Weber and Marx both regard society as characterized by conflicts over resources and power.” (Bratton and Denham 2014:255) Marx, on the other hand, had many views on social classes and class systems, however, his view of the capitalist stage of production consists of two classes that are seen as his most influential. The first of the two classes is the bourgeoisie or the “means of production”; this is the middle-class citizens who are seen as having materialistic values. The second is known as the proletariats, or the “working class”; they are seen as having collective values. As mentioned above, Weber agreed with Marx’ views on classes, however, our
Did Weber believe that, even though facts are one thing and values another, social and economic facts could be evaluated without the analysis being influenced by values? And what is the relation of objectivity to values? Could objectivity, for instance, be used to show that one value is superior to another? Or does objectivity apply only to the analysis of facts? Do one's values or perspective stem from human nature, metaphysical views, personal identity, or is it just as likely that they are a mere construct of culture?
This research will elaborate in detail the theories of Max Weber and explain his view of the perpetuation of social order, social inequality and social change. Lastly I will explain how Weber theories have impacted my view of society.
The first theorist to consider is Karl Marx. Marx has a uniqueness all of his own. His attention was normally directed towards capitalism in society. He studied the basis of inequality under capitalism. (Ritzer, 2004) When you look into Marx’s work on the dialectical method you can see one of the differences between his studies and Durkheim and Weber. It says, “ The dialectical thinker believes that it is not only impossible to keep values out of the study of the social world but also undesirable because to do so would produce a dispassionate, inhumane sociology that has little to offer to people in search of answers to the problems they confront.” (Ritzer, pg 46) I believe this is showing the depth of Marx because he is basically telling us that without your values when you study sociology you lose the passion of it.
Karl Marx and Max Weber are two of the most significant and influential theorists and sociologists of the 19th century. Both examined very similar ideas but had very different conclusions and are now famously known as ‘The Founding Fathers of Sociology’. One of the Crucial contributions to sociology is both sociologists views and findings on class and equality. Karl Marx found that class was categorised by the means of production. Almost half a century later Max Weber contrasted, class was based on three things Power, Wealth, And Prestige.
Distribution and exercise of power shape attitudes towards authority. How people sustain themselves economically, and how they manage to obtain the necessities of life, determines assigned roles of individuals and the relationships among them.