Max Weber: A Critical IntroductionMax Weber is one of the founding fathers of sociology. He is often referred to as a sophisticated 'value-free' sociologist. This new critical introduction argues that Weber’s sociology cannot be divorced from his political standpoint. Weber saw himself as a ‘class conscious bourgeois’ and his sociology reflects this outlook. Providing clear summaries of Weber's ideas – concentrating on the themes most often encountered on sociology courses – Kieran Allen provides a lively introduction to this key thinker. Kieran Allen explores Weber's political background through his life and his writing. Weber was a neo-liberal who thought that the market guaranteed efficiency and rationality. He was an advocate of empire. He supported the carnage of WW1 and vehemently attacked German socialists such as Rosa Luxemburg. Weber’s most famous book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, ignores the bloody legacy associated with the early accumulation of capital. Instead, he locates the origins of the system in a new rigorous morality. Using a political framework, Kieran Allen's book is is ideal for students who want to develop a critical approach. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Sociologist of Empire | 15 |
The Spirit of Capitalism | 32 |
Copyright | |
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academic According to Weber Allen and Unwin analysis ancient Austrian school believed bourgeois bourgeoisie bureaucracy Cambridge University Press capitalist caste central century China civilisation classic colonial concept conflict Confucianism Critique culture democracy domination economic Economy and Society elite empire Evangelical Social Congress example feudal focus Georg Lukács German Politics German Revolution Harmondsworth Hinduism History human Ibid ideal types ideas imperialism India individual industrial intellectual interests labour liberal Lukács marginalist Marianne Weber Marx Marxist mass Max Weber means Methodology modern capitalism modern society Mommsen officials organisation Oxford party Penguin produced Protestant Ethic Protestantism rational religion religious revolution revolutionary Robert Michels role Routledge and Kegan rule rulers Russian simply slaves socialist Society Vol sociologists Sociology London Spirit of Capitalism status groups Stratification structure struggle theory traditional Weber and German Weber claimed Weber's sociology Weberian Western white-collar employees wider workers