Max Weber

Post-modern theology is highly suspicious of social theory and its secular origins. After all, the founder who gave us the word “sociology” also coined the term “positivism.” An alternative strategy is that of Bernard Lonergan, a theologian with a highly developed sociological imagination. He was quite aware of the secularity but devoted a life-time in trying to think through some of the key issues. His was a mind on the move and perhaps it is not surprising that his contribution has yet to be assimilated.
In this paper I shall take a look at a key text from Lonergan’s magnum opus, Insight. I will suggest that, in a sense, this may be regarded as “social physics” (another phrase from Auguste Comte). As we shall see, Lonergan’s thought wrestled with many issues of concern to the other founders of sociology: Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, and Max Weber, but his vision is quite original, and in fact, he will draw on Arnold J. Toynbee.
I do not believe Lonergan’s work is beyond criticism—as his later developments suggest—so I will try to identify some difficulties by examining closely some of those later changes. Before offering my appraisal, then, I will look at Lonergan’s social theory from five periods. First, I shall simply record his interest in the 1930s by referring to some work he retained in a file but never published. Then I shall give a more careful exposition of a chapter written in the early 1950s. I will suggest that Lonergan’s deployment of mathematical analogies to understand social theory underwent some changes and so I will look at that transition in the 1960s. I will then be able to take a glance at the new way Lonergan presented his ideas in Method in Theology (1972) and go on to sample a few developments in the last decade up to 1980. In my appraisal we will be able to see some of the strengths and weaknesses Lonergan encountered in his project of social physics and perhaps make a small increase to the stock of ideas myself.

Sheldon Pollock is the leading North American Indologist and his magnum opus, The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India, is a field-defining classic. Pollock takes himself to be a fierce critic of Max Weber, but in fact his comparative historical approach shares much with Weber, and where it is wanting Pollock's text would have benefited from more, not less, Weberian influence. Pollock's vision of language history and his views on religion and legitimation are considered in detail.

La pretensión implicada en este libro gira en torno a pensar si la racionalización como proceso de orientación de sentido y de consolidación de regularidades normativas y de observancias administrativas provenientes de las fuerzas sociales de las esferas de la vida social también se verifica en las prácticas culturales del rock (que parecieran estar orientadas, por lo menos en el plano discursivo, en oposición a las formas burocratizadas y rutinizadas de la vida social).

Online music streaming has become a rapidly increasing social phenomenon in past few years with as many as 103.1 million people currently paying for music streaming services worldwide. However, the literature highlights a specific issue regarding online consumer behaviour. Recent figures published by popular online streaming service providers show that the number of people that use music streaming services for free substantially eclipses this figure. Therefore, by using Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour Model, this study identifies which factors best determine a consumer’s willingness to pay for music online.
Through the use of quantitative, statistical methods, this study finds a strong association between a person’s age group and a willingness to pay for online music streaming. This study suggests that young people demonstrate a conscience for online music consumption activity due to an increased consciousness for normative social influences and are, therefore, more likely to engage in the social behaviour. Perhaps more importantly, this study demonstrates the usefulness of applying Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour Model to research within the social sciences due its demonstrated high construct validity in addition to its ability to explain the nature of social action within an Internet technology-related consumer behaviour context.
It is hoped that the findings of this study will be used to inform some of the key players within the music industries about taking a sociological approach to the understanding of online consumer behaviour. By gaining an understanding of the motivations behind a consumer’s willingness to pay for online music streaming, better marketing initiatives can be developed to improve the disparity between fee paying and fee free users.

While contemporary communication theorists often avoid the concept of charisma due to its status as an ineffable mystical quality or a natural knack for persuasion, this essay argues that charisma is rather a technē. Using Max Weber's theory of charisma to analyze the major works of the famous community organizer Saul Alinsky, this study seeks to 1) revitalize charisma as a practicable rhetorical strategy, 2) define community organization as one variety of charismatic praxis, and 3) establish Alinsky as an overlooked figure in recent rhetorical history. In recent years, the concept of charisma has been largely ignored by people working in fields related to rhetoric. Although communication scholars showed a flurry of interest in charisma between 1960 and 1980, most contemporary work on this topic is done in the field of organizational psychology. 1 One possible reason for the dearth of new rhetorical scholarship on charisma is that researchers sometimes assume it is an inherent characteristic of some speakers—either you have it or you don't. Indeed, the Greek word for charisma (χάρισµα) roughly translates to " gift of grace, " suggesting that it is something that is inherited rather than learned. 2 Charisma is theorized as a mystical trait, one that is ineffable and irreducible, and therefore inimitable. The enigmatic account of charisma has discouraged communication scholars from undertaking any technical description of this phenomenon. However, a rhetorical theory of charisma that explains not only what it is but how it is done is essential for the effective critique of current speech, politics, and media.

This is Chapter 7 of our book "Weber's Rationalism and Modern Society."  It is a translation from German to English of Weber's classic essay "Politics as a Vocation."  In my view, it is one of the most important essays about the nature of politics ever written.  Included are Weber's defition of the state as a monopoloy over the use of coercive power in a given territory, different types of authority, the ethics of politicians, etc.  It is indeed a classic, which is why we went to so much trouble to translate it.

This is a pre-publication version which is not under copyright protection.  So as a result, the page numbers are different from the published version, which is distributed by Palgrave MacMillan.  If you are going to cite this essay, please go to the library and get a copy.  If your library does not have a copy, please ask them to order one!

The Relationship of Law to Society in Deuteronomy:
“The Draft Constitution” (Deut 16:18–18:22) as an “Ideal Type”

This article demonstrates the overlooked contribution of the ancient Near East to the development of constitutional law.  The legal corpus of Deuteronomy provides a utopian model for the organization of the state, one that enshrines separation of powers and their systematic subordination to a public legal text—the “Torah”—that delineates their jurisdiction while also ensuring their autonomy.  This legislation establishes an independent judiciary while bringing even the monarch under the full authority of the law.  This legislation departs from all previous models, whether those extant in the legislation of the ancient Near East or ancient Israel itself.  Two of its cornerstones are fundamental to the modern idea of a constitution: (1) clear division of state powers into separate spheres of authority; and (2) the subordination of each branch to the authority of the law.  This legislation was so utopian that it seems never to have been implemented; instead, idealism rapidly yielded to political pragmatism.  Nonetheless, Deuteronomy’s draft constitution makes a powerful statement about the broader function of law within society, while also providing a corrective to the secular and Graeco-Roman bias of more standard models of constitutional legal history.

The massacre of almost 50 Maidan protesters on February 20, 2014 was a turning point in Ukrainian politics and a tipping point in the conflict between the West and Russia over Ukraine. This mass killing of the protesters and the mass shooting of the police that preceded it led to the overthrow of the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych and gave a start to a civil war in Donbas in Eastern Ukraine, Russian military intervention in Crimea and Donbas, and an international conflict between the West and Russia over Ukraine. A conclusion promoted by the post-Yanukovych governments and the media in Ukraine that the massacre was perpetrated by government snipers and special police units on a Yanukovych order has been nearly universally accepted by the Western governments, the media, and many scholars. The Ukrainian government investigation identified members of the special company of Berkut as responsible for killings of the absolute majority of the protesters, but did not release any evidence in support, with the exception of videos of the massacre.
              The question is which side organized the “snipers’ massacre.” This paper is the first academic study of this crucial case of the mass killing. It uses a theory of rational choice and a Weberian theory of instrumental rationality to examine actions of major actors both from the Yanukovych government, specifically various police and security forces, and the Maidan opposition, specifically its far right and oligarchic elements, during the massacre.
          The paper analyzes a large amount of evidence from different publicly available sources concerning this massacre and killings of specifics protesters. Qualitative content analysis includes the following data: about 1,500 videos and recordings of live internet and TV broadcasts from mass media and social media in different countries(some 150 gigabytes), news reports and social media posts by more than 100 journalists covering the massacre from Kyiv, some 5,000 photos, and nearly 30 gigabytes of publicly available radio intercepts of snipers and commanders from the special Alfa unit of the Security Service of Ukraine and Internal Troops, and Maidan massacre trial recordings. This study also employs field research on site of the massacre, eyewitness reports by both Maidan protesters and government special units commanders, statements by both former and current government officials, estimates of approximate ballistic trajectories, bullets and weapons used, and types of wounds among both protesters and the police. This study establishes a precise timeline for various events of the massacre, the locations of both the shooters and the government snipers, and the specific timeline and locations of nearly 50 protesters’ deaths. It also briefly analyzes other major cases of violence during and after the “Euromaidan.” This study includes two video appendixes.
            This academic investigation concludes that the massacre was a false flag operation, which was rationally planned and carried out with a goal of the overthrow of the government and seizure of power. It found various evidence of the involvement of an alliance of the far right organizations, specifically the Right Sector and Svoboda, and oligarchic parties, such as Fatherland. Concealed shooters and spotters were located in at least 20 Maidan-controlled buildings or areas. The various evidence that the protesters were killed from these locations include some 70 testimonies, primarily by Maidan protesters, several videos of “snipers” targeting protesters from these buildings, comparisons of positions of the specific protesters at the time of their killing and their entry wounds, and bullet impact signs. The study uncovered various videos and photos of armed Maidan “snipers” and spotters in many of these buildings. The paper presents implications of these findings for understanding the nature of the change of the government in Ukraine, the civil war in Donbas, Russian military intervention in Crimea and Donbas, and an international conflict between the West and Russia over Ukraine.

Este ensayo analiza y reflexiona desde una perspectiva sociológica el fenómeno de Wikileaks, a partir de las implicancias que la información por éste filtrada podría tener sobre la institución del Estado moderno racional. La relación entre el medio de comunicación y el Estado nacional se problematiza a partir de una selección de material documental haciendo del fenómeno social (interpretación periodística) un fenómeno sociológico (interpretación hermenéutica). Se formulan dos tesis, a saber; a) que Wikileaks representa una amenaza para la estabilidad del Estado racional moderno en el sentido que Weber le presta a éste y b) que Julian Assange, su cara más visible, se aproxima a un tipo de líder carismático más que tradicional o legal.

This paper analizes the phenomena of Wikileaks from a sociological focus taking into account the impact of its publications on the rational modern national state. A varied range of pieces of information is considered to develop the problematization of the relation among Wikileaks' actions and the weberian institution of modern national state. This means to turn the nature of this relation from the social phenomena (journalistic interpretation) into the sociological one (hermeneutic approach). Two theses lead the reflection, namely: a) Wikileaks is a threat to the weberian rational modern state and b) Julian Assange, its spokesperson, is closer to be a kind of charismatic leader than a traditional or legal one.

El tema de la modernidad y su relación con la constitución del capitalismo sigue siendo discutido por diversos analistas. Estos debates, han llevado a que el “termino”, sea tratado en la actualidad acerca de su continuidad como “postmodernidad” o “modernidad tardía”. Para analizarlo deben de tenerse en cuenta, ciertas categorías que conforman las discusiones en torno al tema: capitalismo, consumo, entre otros.

Recurriendo a conceptos de la sociología de la religión de Max Weber y de Peter L. Berger, en este texto propongo que el discurso meritocrático adquiere funciones epistemológicas y sociopolíticas propias de una teodicea; esto es, que funge como un conjunto de conocimiento mágico-religioso socialmente objetivado, con distintos grados de complejidad teórica, que justifica y dota de sentido, en una sociedad, los privilegios de unos y las carencias de otros.

https://brill.com/display/title/32081

To date, the nascent consequential notion of 'multiple modernities' has been predominately grounded in historical research with the purpose of validating the theory. Yet, the notion of multiple modernities represents a radical transformation in the way modernity and, indeed, the contemporary world is viewed. As such, the central aim of this volume is to explore the implications and hidden understanding of the multiple modernitites research project beyond historical analysis in order to investigate its wide ranging omnipresent implications as they exist in communication and in the social order of societal membership in contemporary societies.
This volume collects new research about multiple modernities and globalization. Int shows the new turn of sociological theory in the contemporary scene with respect to multiple modernities, multi-centrism, transglobality, hybridization and multiculturalism, and explores it as a new area of societal communication - one that takes effect in the sectors of a global society as a 'society of societies'.
The studies in this book converge to demonstrate that the route of Western modernization, its cultural program and iths institutional structure, does not follow the pathway of modernization that we have that far observed in the emerged new area. Rather, the continuation of the multiple modernities research program is given a new design, researching the social structure and dynamic of postmodern societies, their exchange and the the debate about the flow of free resources.

https://brill.com/display/title/32081

The concept of modernity has emerged as a major philosophical, theological and sociological category of interpretation in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It was meant to embrace fundamental changes to the fabric of Western culture including the rise of capitalism, liberalism, democracy, and secularity. From its inception, references to Luther and the Reformation have been a frequent element of this kind of theory. The first major theorist of modernity in this sense was arguably Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel who set the tone of subsequent contributions by aligning modernity with subjectivity. For him, the religious dimension of this development was crucial, and he was explicit in his claim that it was the Reformation that brought the turn to subjectivity in the realm of religion. A side-effect of the turn to subjectivity was the alienation of the subject from the world. Modernity is thus deeply ambivalent and so is Protestantism. Later thinkers developed further these insights, but also criticised the identification of Luther with the origin of modernity pointing to continuities between his theology and earlier, medieval thought.
The article discusses the following thinkers: Hegel, Ritschl, Troeltsch, Weber, de Maistre, and Maritain.

This introduction, first, lays out the major themes in the study of Islamic authority and, second, explains how a study focused on female Islamic authority can contribute significantly to scholarship on Islam and Muslim women. 

It presents an alternative to Weberian approaches to the study of authority, one that focuses on the paths and processes that would-be leaders follow to obtain and consolidate their authority, looking in particular at knowledge -- the sort of knowledge of Islam a leader claims, how he or she acquired this knowledge, and how he or she performatively demonstrates mastery of it in front of various audiences.

El artículo discute en primer lugar una definición del concepto de identidad para poder, a partir de esta, señalar el aporte específico que puede extraerse de la obra weberiana. Sin ser un término en el que este autor se haya detenido —su uso en las ciencias sociales es posterior—, su tratamiento de la constitución de comunidades, sobre todo religiosas y políticas, permite apreciar el interés del autor en los vínculos comunitarios. A partir de los procesos de identidad que Weber señala, por ejemplo en torno a etnias o a estamentos, puede apreciarse la importancia que le asigna a su carácter subjetivo, así como su énfasis en el aspecto irracional de estos vínculos. La perspectiva histórica weberiana resalta los lazos comunitarios constituidos en torno a las religiones y la incapacidad de la modernidad para reproducirlos. Sin embargo, puede encontrarse en Weber la aspiración a que en la política moderna pueda recuperarse algo de esa intensidad, por ejemplo en torno al problema nacional. Para finalizar, el artículo marca la potencialidad del populismo, un fenómeno de enorme extensión en la actualidad, para reproducir esos vínculos y dar a lo político una nueva entidad.

Em As aventuras da dialética (1955) Merleau-Ponty cunhou o termo "Marxismo Ocidental" para designar certa perspectiva do materialismo histórico que afastava-se de leituras dogmáticas provenientes, principalmente, do partido soviético. Dessa forma, o artigo pretende, em primeiro lugar, revisitar a defesa que Merleau-Ponty faz da noção de práxis na década de 1940 ao apontá-la como conceito fundamental na articulação entre lógica e contingência na filosofia da história marxista. Em seguida, veremos como a aproximação inicial de Merleau-Ponty ao marxismo, na qual considerava-se o materialismo histórico como esquema teórico fundamental para desvelar a cadeia causal da história, ganha novos contornos durante os anos de 1950, quando uma reavaliação de suas posições (a partir do estruturalismo de Saussure) acaba por indicar o marxismo não como a única lente interpretativa da história, mas sim como uma perspectiva dentre outras, por mais privilegiada que seja. Dito isso, o artigo pretende, em sua conclusão, esboçar uma crítica a tal mudança de pensamento em Merleau-Ponty ao defendermos o materialismo histórico como a melhor teoria disponível para o desvelamento da causalidade histórica. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Marxismo. Marxismo Ocidental. Merleau-Ponty. ABSTRACT In The Adventures of the Dialectic (1955) Merleau-Ponty coined the term "Western Marxism" to designate certain perspective of the historical materialism that distinguish itself of dogmatic positions coming, mostly, from the soviet party. Thus, the article aims to, first of all, revisitate Merleau-Ponty's defense of the notion of praxis during the 1940's as the core concept for articulating logic and contingency within the marxist philosophy of history. Then, we'll demonstrate that this initial approach to marxism by Merleau-Ponty, where the historical materialism was considered as the fundamental theoretical scheme to unveil the causal chain of history, shifts during the 1950's, when a revaluation of his positions (mostly because of Saussure's structuralism) ends up indicating marxism not as the only interpretive lens of history, but as a perspective among many others, however privileged it may be. That being said, the article tries, in its conclusion, to sketch a critique of such change of position by defending historical materialism as the best available theory for the unveil of history's causality.

100 anos após o falecimento de Max Weber e da publicação da segunda edição de "A ética protestante e o espírito do capitalismo", este livro procura discutir a atualidade da abordagem weberiana diante da alteração demográfica da filiação religiosa no Brasil. Analisando tanto as encíclicas do magistério da Igreja Católica - com especial destaque para as reflexão do Papa Francisco sobre a financeirização da economia -, de um lado, como os fundamentos teóricos - a teologia da prosperidade e a teologia da dominação - do neopentecostalismo, do outro, procura-se discutir como a adaptação do campo protestante ao capitalismo financeirizado pode oferecer elementos para uma agenda de pesquisa que reconecte os estudos sobre ação econômica à sociologia religião.

Working beyond the inclination to inaugurate alternative theoretical traditions alongside canonical sociology, this article demonstrates the value of recovering latent gender theory from within classic concepts-in this case, Weber's "charisma." Close readings of Weber reveal, (a) tools for theorizing extraordinary, non-masculinist agency, and, (b) clues that account for the conventional wisdom (popular and scholastic) that charisma is "not for women." While contemporary movements may be tempted to eschew charismatic leadership per se because of legacies of dominance by men, there is value in Weber's formulation, which anticipated the performative turn in social theory that would destabilize biologistic gender ontologies. Value in this exchange also flows back to Weber: by confronting his intermittent tendency to describe charisma in terms that we now recognize as "customs of manly power," we reveal heretofore unseen imperfections (i.e., traditionalist modes of legitimation) in his ideal-type. This engagement thus demonstrates an empowering mutuality between contemporary gender theory and "the classics." The article ends by theorising the nexus of gender and charisma in the case of Trump, pointing to possibilities for vitiating Donald Trump's charisma, as well as for anti-Trumpian charisma.

Like its symmetrical opposite «legitimization», the term/concept «delegitimization» does not indicate a state or quality of a power relationship (for which we would talk of illegitimacy or legitimacy), but a process aiming to deny or withdraw recognition of the political opponent’s legitimacy by representing him/her as extraneous to the shared constitutional perimeter. The article proposes to shift the issue of legitimiza- tion/delegitimization from a vertical power set-up (meaning command/obedience be- tween the wielder of power and the subjects) to a horizontal frame of relationship and recognition among political leaders competing to govern a State. In this «horizontal» perspective delegitimization does not refer to groups that feel prejudicially opposite, or posit any absolute negation of values; it indicates an attempt to transform a legiti- mate adversary into an enemy.
Keywords: Political History, Legitimization, Delegitimization, Max Weber

O conceito de desencantamento do mundo, de Max Weber, possui dois significados. O primeiro, o núcleo do conceito, é a desmagificação da religião no ocidente; o segundo é a perda de sentido do mundo referente ao esvaziamento de significado deste e da vida. A eliminação da magia, empreendimento realizado pela tradição judaico-cristã, implica a desdivinação do mundo imanente; a eliminação do sentido do mundo, realizada pela ciência moderna, implica a perda da noção de mundo orientado divinamente. Portanto, o desencantamento elimina gradualmente determinados elementos do que pode ser considerado sagrado neste mundo. Dessa forma, considerando a relevância do debate contemporâneo acerca das desconstruções de ideias e comportamentos incompatíveis com vidas e sociedades ambientalmente sustentáveis, este artigo visa contribuir com esta discussão ao analisar a relação ser humano-natureza neste fenômeno sócio-histórico que marca o desenvolvimento cultural do ocidente, o desencantamento do mundo, porém, focando no núcleo duro do conceito, o desencantamento religioso. O método de investigação é bibliográfico. O marco teórico conceitual utilizado para fundamentar a pesquisa é a sociologia da religião e a ecofilosofia.

"Hay períodos en los que el hombre racional y el hombre intuitivo caminan juntos; el uno angustiado ante la intuición, el otro mofándose de la abstracción; es tan irracional el último como poco artístico el primero. Ambos ansían dominar la vida: éste sabiendo afrontar las necesidades más imperiosas mediante previsión, prudencia y regularidad; aquél sin ver, como héroe desbordante de alegría, esas necesidades y tomando como real solamente la vida disfrazada de apariencia y belleza " (Nietzsche F.).

At the end of 1917, during a conference at Munich University, the German sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920) made a bold announcement: ‘The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the “disenchantment of the world”.’ In this article, I provide an interpretation of the notion of ‘disenchantment of the world.’ Subsequently, I present visual material that might further illuminate Weber’s idea. In the third part, I strictly concentrate my attention on one argument suggested by Weber: in ‘disenchanted’ societies ‘mysterious incalculable forces do not come into play anymore.’ Through two exemplary sculptures by the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1884), I continue my visual excursus on the ‘disenchantment’ thesis by connecting Weber’s account on the intellectualisation of religious world-views with the autonomisation of the aesthetic sphere. The overall ambition of this article lies in providing an introductory account to an important intellectual problem and historical process through visual and textual analysis.

This book provides a comprehensive investigation of the political dimensions of civil religion in the United States. By employing an original social-psychological theory rooted in semiotics, it offers a qualitative and quantitative empirical examination of more than fifty years of political rhetoric. Further, it presents two in-depth case studies that examine how the cultural, totemic sign of ‘the Founding Fathers’ and the signs of America’s sacred texts (the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence) are used in attempts to link partisan policy positions with  notions that the country collectively holds sacred. The book’s overarching thesis is that America’ s civil religion serves as a discursive framework for the country’s politics of the sacred, mediating the
demands of particularistic interests and social solidarity through the interaction of social belief and institutional politics like elections and the Supreme Court. The book penetrates America’s unique political religiosity to reveal and unravel the intricate ways in which politics, political institutions, religion and culture intertwine in the United States.

Using critical race discourse analysis, this study examines descriptions
of a heated controversy over the proposed closure of the only primarily
black high school in a large urban city. Participants included community
members and the district and school leaders who were key in the controversy.
Based on Foucault’s analysis of power we looked for conflicts in
the narratives of the participants in their description of the controversy.
Four strands of discursive conflict emerged: the purpose of school; the
relationship of school and community; communication; and the issue of
racism. Taking these four strands together, the themes found in the discourse
of the community members enacted an emancipatory knowledge
paradigm, while the themes found in the discourse of the administrators
enacted a technical-rational, instrumental paradigm of knowledge.

Beginning classical social theory introduces students and educated general readers to thirteen key social theorists by way of examining a single, exemplary text by each author, ranging from Comte to Adorno. It answers the need for a book that helps students develop the skill to critically read theory. Rather than learning how to admire the canonical theorists, readers are alerted to the flow of their arguments and the texts' contradictions and limitations. Having gotten 'under the skin' of one key text by each author will provide readers with a solid starting point for further study.
Contents:
1 Introduction: If it is not mysterious, it is not social theory
2 The well-planned reorganisation of society: Auguste Comte
3 If you can't beat democracy, join it: Alexis de Tocqueville
4 Pariahs of the world, unite!: Flora Tristan
5 Capitalist modernity is the real savagery: Karl Marx
6 The conflict of community and society: Ferdinand Tönnies
7 There is some Thing out there: Emile Durkheim
8 The double consciousness: W. E. B. Du Bois
9 From good to bad capitalism and back: Max Weber
10 Strangers who are from here: Georg Simmel
11 Love, marriage and patriarchy: Marianne Weber
12 Critical versus traditional theory: Max Horkheimer
13 What is a woman, and who is asking anyway: Simone de Beauvoir
14 Society as mediation: Theodor W. Adorno