Sociology Essay - Max Weber - what were Max Webers sociological views and were they justified? PDF

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Sociology Essay - Max Weber - what were Max Webers sociological views and were they justified?...

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What were Max Weber's sociological views and were they justified?

• substance - infrastructure monetary system train activity - true all over the world. this particular type of capitalism happen here not other places. something unique in the west. • other parts of the worlds - peoples religious beliefs - people work to satisfy needs - no motivation to work more. • normative- norms and values here that might have caused it. religions often cause norms • catholics are very other worldly - sights set on next world. material accumulation in this world wouldn't really help. • calvins were particularly frugal and hard working • salvation anxiety - cant express doubt. motivated to be hard working person. • giving to poor- would be wasting gods precious stuff on the damned. • protestant work ethic • bedrock of capitalism - eventually becomes capitalist system. • marx - emergence of trading opportunities - move towards opportunities to make money, • free movement labour, feudal system broke down, need for flexible labour. • embedded logic to it - not religion • individual is building block of society • what they do and why they do it • individual action conspire to create social phenomena - not necessarily deliberately —> social change • descriptive understanding - ‘that man is climbing a tree’ • deep understanding - why that man is climbing a tree • how did weber know why people were doing what they were doing. how did he know calvinists had salvation anxiety. • constant problem of being an insider or an outsider - insider so engrained in it you can objectively look at it, outsider cant ever understand from point of view of insider. • hard methodology • dont see durkheims and webers as polar opposites • in sociology we now know that we need both approaches. dynamics of society • not unilateral • debate between structure and agency - is it structure of society controlling individual , or is it individual thinking and engaging in society that cause change in the society. • giddens - structuration theory - interaction between individual and society as constant feedback loop • durkheim - acknowledges person committing suicide depends on individual as well • weber - acknowledge religion affects their thoughts, which is a structure Max Weber was a German economist, politician and sociologist that was prominent during the late 19th and early 20th century. During his time he produced a wide variety of works, contributing to the understanding of the economy and society as a whole. ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ is considered to be a key text in both economic sociology and general sociology. As one of the main founders of the study of sociology, Max Weber's work have been extremely influential, shaping how we view Western societies today. In this essay i will be exploring Weber's thoughts and ideas about the development of societies in the West, in particular the rise of capitalism in conjunction with religious changes. Max Weber contradicted Emile Durkheim in his way of thinking about the study of sociology and his methodology. Durkheim wanted sociology to be acknowledged as a science in its own right, and so looked for a way to study social phenomena in an objective nature. Durkheim also believed that in order to understand social phenomena, you must look at the running of the society as a whole, using 'social facts' to explain phenomena. In contrast, Weber did not think that it was possible to have a specific set of objective rules in sociology. Weber explained that 'there is no absolutely "objective" scientific analysis of culture...all knowledge of cultural reality...is always knowledge from particular points of view'. Weber believed that in order to understand social phenomena, it is important to ok at the individuals as well as culture. This idea is called 'methodological individualism', which is the view that collectivities such as cooperations and societies should be seen as the result of the actions of the individuals within the collectivities. In his book 'Economy and Society', Weber argued that only individuals 'can be treated as

agents in a course of subjective understandable action'. He believed that social action must be understood through how individuals subjectively relate to one another, a view called anti-positivism, which Weber referred to as 'verstehen'. This study of social action through interpretive means means that you must look at the subjective meaning that individuals attach to their actions. Even if social actions have objective means, they have an underlying subjectivity that sociologists must accept. Weber argued that the Western world went through a process called rationalisation, where there was a shift towards an individual cost-benefit calculation, as well as a bureaucratic organisation of large organisations within the society. This shift towards a rational understanding of reality, with emphasis on intellectualism, inevitably led to the disenchantment of societies. Weber believed that bureaucracy and private enterprise were concrete manifestations of formal modern rationality. This rationalisation and movement towards bureaucracy was associated with the rise of capitalism within the West. Something that caught Weber's attention was the unique cultural phenomena observed in the Western world. He was particularly interested in comparative studies as methodology for the field of sociology. Max believed that comparing societies allowed us to look at what cultural phenomena were unique to that particular society, and from this, hypotheses can be formed to explain the phenomena. The most striking difference that Weber noticed was that Western civilisation was the only civilisation that developed their own cultural phenomena, but importantly believed theirs to have universal value and significance. The study of science is a good example of this, as we do not consider any other science other than our own to be valid, due to their lack of rational and systematic methodology. The same can be seen in the rise of the modern rational state, and the development of bureaucracy and trained officials, as these are all cultural phenomenon unique to the West, and ones we view as superior to others. However, Weber was most interested in the emergence of rationalisation and capitalism in the Western world, and wanted to understand why this unique system had emerged in Europe and not in Asia. In his book ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’, Weber attempted to provide an explanation for the rise of capitalism in the West. His observations of occupational statistics showed a correlation between religion and occupation, with a significantly high proportion of business leaders and owners, as well as higher skilled labourers said to be of Protestant religion. Weber partly explained this observation through historical circumstances, as richer areas tended to convert to Protestantism during the Protestant Reformation. It seems plausible that these economically developed areas would be more favourable to a revolution, as freedom from economic traditions might be associated with doubt in religious traditions. However, Weber argued that the Protestant Reformation only saw a substitution in religious influence and belief, and so this could not explain the pattern seen. Therefore, Weber sought to understand why Protestants have a much stronger tendency to develop economic rationalism in comparison to Catholics, and he believed that that the answer lay in the Protestant religion itself and its characteristics. Weber associated the ethics of ascetic Protestantism with what he called the 'spirit of capitalism'. The spirit of capitalism is not simply egocentrism and not simply the want to earn money. The capitalist ethic includes the idea that earning money reflects virtue and proficiency in a calling. This obligation that each individual feels about their professional activity is what drives capitalism. Earning greater amounts of money is seen completely as an end in itself. Weber argued that a capitalistic economic system depends on the unnatural inclination of the workers to increase their productivity. This want to increase productivity is not a result of a love of money, but of a love of labour. This love of labour and work, Weber argued, comes from a pride in ones occupation, and this work ethic is instilled upon us by ascetic Protestantism. It was thought that man could best serve God by working as hard and efficiently as possible, and that this love for working hard for oneself translated into a love for virtues such as frugality, honest and caution. These were the values needed for a dependable labour force in a capitalist system, and Weber though that without these values, capitalism would not have successfully grown. Thus, Weber concluded that it was the Protestant work ethic that caused the spirit of capitalism and the development of the capitalist rational state. Max used the writings of Benjamin Franklin as an example of this way of thinking advocated by the Protestant religion. Franklin said that "money can beget money...the more there is of it, the more it produces every turning, so that the profits rise quicker and quicker." In his writings, Franklin encouraged people to pay their debts on time, and encouraged individuals to present themselves as confident, industrious and trustworthy people.

Capitalism in Northern Europe arose during the time that the Protestant reformation emerged, with this Protestant religion taking over the Catholic religion, which was formerly dominant. The Protestant work ethic influenced a large number of people, encouraging them to take part in the secular world rather than the previous religiously dominated world. It advocated developing individual enterprises, taking part in trade and accumulating individual wealth for investment. It was this Protestant mindset that influenced the development of capitalism. Certain branches of the Protestant religion had advocated worldly activities that supported and assisted economic gain, as these activities were seen as morally and spiritually significant. There was an emphasis on the most mundane professions adding to common good - so all being useful and blessed by God. The Reformation lead to an idea of a 'calling' ('Beruf' in German), giving worldly activities a religious significance, and so the this religiously justified worldly activities, encouraging individuals to fulfil their obligations to God through their occupational 'calling'. Weber identified the four major forms of Protestantism as: Calvinism, Pietism, Methodism, and Baptist sects. The Roman Catholic Church wanted individuals to accept the churches sacraments and submit to their clerical authority, promising these individuals salvation. The Reformation took away these assurances, and so many religious individuals had troubles adjusting to this, leading to psychological impacts. Protestants began looking for other signs that they were saved. When considering the impact of the Reformation on the development of the capitalistic state, Weber argued that Calvinism was the most important. Calvinism taught a doctrine of double predestination, where God had already chosen who was chosen for salvation who who was chosen for damnation. Calvin's followers felt the need to dispel any doubt that they were not chosen by God for salvation, and so there was a change in attitude where a lack of self-confidence indicated a lack of faith and a sign of damnation. Therefore, there was a loss of the assurance of God's grace replaced by self-confidence, and a measure of this self-confidence became worldly, individual success. 'The God of Calvinism demanded of his believers not a single good works, but a life of good works combined into a unified system'. The new attitudes and values brought in by the Protestant Reformation broke down the traditional economic system, replacing it with a capitalistic system. Although capitalism was not the end goal of Protestantism, it emerged as a byproduct of the doctrines of faith in the religion that encouraged hard work, planning and self-denial in the pursuit of worldly richesAlthough capitalism was not the end goal of Protestantism, it emerged as a byproduct of the doctrines of faith in the religion that encouraged hard work, planning and self-denial in the pursuit of worldly riches. Rationalisation occurred after this, with modern capitalism growing out of the religious pursuit of wealth, and moving towards a rational means of existence. At some point, the underlying religious movement behind the spirit of capitalism became unreliable, leaving only rational capitalism. However, Weber argued that once capitalism was in place, the Protestant values were not needed for the system to successfully continue, and that their work ethic took on a life of its own without religion involved. Furthermore, Weber thought that this spirit of capitalism is not limited to Western culture, as it is an attitude held by individuals, meaning any society would have the capacity for capitalism. Although his work highlighted the relationship between he Protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism, Weber did accept that the Protestant Reformation was only one contributing factor to the cause of modern economic conditions, with other factors including the value of scholarship, the increase in entrepreneurship ventures and the rational systemisation of government administration. In fact, Weber went as far as to say that capitalism itself had an impact on the development of religious ideas. However, when looking at the issues arising from a capitalist society, Weber was not interested in the exploitation associated with capitalism, nor the struggles of the proletariat. He saw a contradiction between the needs of the formal modern rationality and the needs of the autonomy of the individuals within the capitalist society. The nature of a capitalist society, with state administration and formal economic activity, are at odds with the emancipatory aspirations of modernity. Weber believed that the development of capitalism has lead to an imprisonment of individuals within the system. Capitalist rationality creates an increasingly constraining and coercive context, and that this effect is now independent of religion and religious ideas. Weber said that 'the Puritan wanted to be a person with a vocational calling; today we are forced to be'. The system of rational production built by the modern capitalist structure is what lead to the loss of personal autonomy. Weber's famous words summed up his beliefs about capitalism: "According to Baxter, the concern for material goods should lie upon the shoulders of his saints like 'a lightweight coat that could be thrown off at any time.' Yet fate allowed a steel-hard casing to be forged from this coat."

To conclude, Weber was a key proponent of methodological anti-positivism, and this view of the study of social action through interpretive means influenced his work on society and economy as a whole. Though Weber was influential across many academic disciplines, his work on the Protestant work ethic and the spirit of capitalism was particularly important. His explanation of the emergence of capitalism emphasised the influence that religion can have on individual views and actions, leading to vast changes in social systems as a whole....