EXPLORATIONS IN

INTERPRETATIVE SOCIOLOGY
THE AGE OF
GENERAL EDITORS BUREAUCRACY
PHILIP RIEFF
Benjamin Franklin Professor of Sociology
University of Pennsylvania

BRYAN R. WILSON Perspectives on the Political

Reader in Sociology, University of Oxford
Fellow of All Souls College Sociology of Max Weber
/

Also in this series

MAX WEBER AND SOCIOLOGY TODAY WOLFGANG J. MOMMSEN
Edited by Otto Stammer
Translated by Kathleen Morris

THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORKS OF KNOWLEDGE

Georges Gurvitch
Translated by Margaret A. Thompson and
Kenneth A. Thompson

LUCIEN LEVY-BRUHL
Jean Cazeneuve
Translated by Peter Riviere

FROM SYMBOLISM TO STRUCTURALISM

Levi-Strauss in a Literary Tradition
James A. Boon

OXFORD BASIL BLACKWELL

 Wolfgang J. Mommsen 1974

ISBN o 631 15170 \!

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Contents

page

Abbreviations vii

Preface lX

Introduction xiii

I The Universal Historian and the Social Scientist I

II The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics and

Imperialism 22

III The Alternative to Marx: Dynamic Capitalism

instead of Bureaucratic Socialism 47

IV The Theory of the 'Three Pure Types of Legitimate

Domination' and .the Concept of Plebiscitarian
Democracy 72

v A Liberal in Despair 95

Select Bibliography II6

Printed in Great Britain by

Western Printing Services Ltd, Bristol
and bound at the Kemp Hall Bindery, Oxford
 Abbreviations

Bendix Reinhard Bendix, Max Weber. An Intellectual

Portrait, New York, rg6o.
EaS Economy and Society. An Outline of Inter-
pretive Society, ed. Gunther Roth and Claus
Wittich, New York, 1968.
Gerth From Max Weber. Essays in Sociology, Trans.
and ed. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, 6
ed., London, 1967.
Lebensbild Marianne Weber, Max Weber. Ein Lebens-
bild, Neudruck Heidelberg, 1950.
Mommsen, Wolfgang J. Mommsen, Max Weber und die
Max Weber deutsche Politik, r8go-rg2o, Ti.ibingen, 1959
Mommsen, Wolfgang J. Mommsen, 'Universalgeschichtli-
U niversalge- ches und politisches Denken bei Max Weber',
schichtliches Historische ,Zeitschrift, Vol. 201, 1965.
Denken
Mommsen, Wolfgang J. Mommsen, Zum Begriff der
Plebiszitare "plebiszitiiren Fi.ihrerdemokratie" bei Max
Filhrerdemo- Weber, Kolner ,Zeitschrift fur Soziologie und
kratie Sozialpsychologie, Vol. 20, 1969.
PS Gesammelte politische Schriften, 3 ed., Ti.ib-
ingen, I 968.
Shils Max Weber on the Methodology of the Social
Sciences, ed. Edward A. Shils and Henry A.
Finch, Glencoe, Ill., I949
SSP Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Soziologie und
Sozialpolitik, Ti.ibingen, I 924.
viii Abbreviations
WL Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Wissenschaftslehre,
3 ed., Tiibingen, 1968.
WuG Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Grundri/3 der
verstehenden Soziologie, 4 ed., Tiibingen,
1956.
Preface

This book was written in the hope that it might give an additional
stimulus to the revival of interest in Max Weber which can be
observed in the English-speaking world at this moment. It
may help a little to make people realize that Max Weber was
much more than a great empirical social scientist. The importance
of his thinking at the present juncture of Western thought lies
mainly in the fact that throughout his sociological and political
work he always reflected the significance of his particular findings
for the future course of mankind. It was his still unsurpassed
knowledge of the past history of human societies which gave
him an acute perception of the key issues of his own age. He
was a sociologist who never allowed himself to become a prey
to social analysis, devoted only to short term problems, and the
obvious conservative bias usually associated with such an
approach. He was concerned with some of the most pressing
problems of his age, in particular the rise of bureaucratic social
structures which would eventually leave no more room for the
spontaneous, creative activity of individuals who are motivated
by the highest values of a very personal nature. He worked hard
to enlighten people's minds, and to suggest solutions which might
enable the individual to hold his own against the rise of seemingly
omnipotent bureaucracies, and to help western societies to hold
in check those social forces which were about to suffocate silently,
but remorselessly the liberal individualistic social structures of
his day. It may well be said that half a century after Max
Weber's premature death most of these problems are still with
us even though we sometimes see them in a different light.

This interpretation of Max Weber's political sociology is at least

X Preface Preface Xl

in part a response to the challenge of presenting his political and made available to me some key publications about Max Weber
sociological ideas to English-speaking audiences during several which were not easily to be found elsewhere.
visits to English and American universities. The very different
intellectual tradition of the Anglo-Saxon world, as compared It is always a considerable risk for an author to write a book
with the German, and its pragmatic conception of the role of the in a language which is not his mother tongue. Even if the reader
state in society, contrasted with the Hegelian tradition in Ger- finds it not always elegant in style, the fact that he may find
many, have to no small degree influenced even the language it comprehensible, is mainly due to Miss Jane Hilbert of St.
itself. To write about Max Weber in English hence has a stimu- Antony's College, Oxford, who took pains to revise the original
lating effect; many key issues appear in a new light. Also one is drafts with great patience and remarkable empathy, and above
forced to pay attention to problems which, in the German all to Mr. J. Feather of Blackwell who undertook the arduous
language (and the general intellectual framework associated with task of editing. I hope, however, that the remaining linguistic
it) would pass almost unnoticed. Visits to the Institute of shortcomings are somewhat offset by a comparatively precise
Advanced Study in Princeton in I 968 and to St. Antony'~ rendering of Max Weber's thoughts in English. One should
College in Oxford in I97I-72 enabled me to discuss the problems always bear in mind that Max Weber's texts make unusually
involved with many colleges and students. For valuable sug- difficult reading even in the original, and that it often requires
gestions I am indebted, above all, to Steven Lukes, Melvin a penetrating analysis to put the correct meaning of a particular
Richter, and Philip Rieff. Earlier drafts of the last chapter were passage into readable English. As the author has for long been
presented in I 969 at the Institute of Advanced Study in Prince- intimately familiar with the published as well as most of the
ton, N.J., as well as at the University of California at Berkeley, unpublished writings of Weber, he thinks it sensible to try to
and in a public lecture delivered in Oxford on 4 February I972 take advantage of this, and to present Max Weber to English
The main theses were made the subject of a seminar on 'Max readers with a maximum of precision, although the results are
Weber as a Universal Historian and Political Thinker' which was often anything but elegant, and at times make difficult reading.
held at St. Antony's College, Oxford, during the Michaelmas Even so I flatter myself that I have done my best to com-
term of I 972. I should like to express my thanks to all those who municate to an English audience Max Weber's passionate striving
made the seminar possible, in particular the Warden and Fellows for terminological precision as well as his scrupulous, and often
of St. Antony's College who invited me to come to Oxford as a almost pedantic struggle to present the issues roll). all conceivable
guest professor for two terms, and to the Volkswagen Foundation points of view and at the same time with the greatest possible
which made the Volkswagen Professorship in Modern German exactitude.
History at St. Antony's possible through its generous financial
support. Otherwise this book would probably not have been For this reason I felt free to deviate from the available English
written at all. Furthermore my thanks must go to Anthony editions of Weber's works, whenever the translation seemed to
Nicholls, Fellow of St. Antony's College, and Timothy Mason, be either too loose, or not to render a particular point with
Fellow of St. Peter's College, Oxford, who were always ready to sufficient clarity. This does not mean that Weber's translators
help me whenever there were any difficulties; without their have not done a good job; obviously translating a great author,
assistance and advice this book could not have been realized. particularly if he writes with so sophisticated a diction, means
Apart from that I should like to thank Miss Abley for her effi- at the same time interpreting him. However, in order to enable
ciency and her unlimited patience in finding me all the books the reader to check the exact meaning of the quotations for him-
which I needed. The librarians of Nuffield College very kindly self, the corresponding English translation is always cited along-
xii Preface
side the original German version. Other references, however,
were kept within limits; only in special cases is my point of view
defended in detail against the views of other scholars on the
subject. A bibliography at the end of this volume lists the main
works of Max Weber as well as the more relevant and more
recent literature. We hope that it may serve as a useful guide for
the English reader in finding his way through the vast literature. Introduction
Wolfgang J. Mommsen, October 1972

In this book the fundamental aspects of Max Weber's political

sociology are discussed in the light of his personal views about the
course of world history. The central issues of his sociological
works as well as of his political thought are without exception
related to his growing anxiety about the future of the liberal
societies of the west, in an age of rapidly expanding bureaucracies.
He was convinced that the universal advance of bureaucratic
forms of social and political organization was bound to place
the principles of individual liberty and personal creativity in
jeopardy. He perceived that the slow but steady ossification of
the social systems in the west could only prevented by social
and political institutions which would guarantee maximum
dynamism and leadership.

In the first chapter it is shown that Weber's sociological work is

based on a specific concept of world history which is characterized
by his liberal individualism as well as by an almost Nietzschean
pessimism about the future of mankind. In fact, his sociological
work and his political activities have a common origin; namely
the passionate endeavour to fight for the preservation of a
humane world endangered on the one hand by anachronistic
political institutions, and on the other by the rise of all-powerful
social forces which would allow less and less room for the autono-
mous individual and would render his personal set of values
socially meaningless. Weber's encyclopaedic knowledge of world
history enabled him to see the great social trends of his own age
in a truly universal perspective, and to assess correctly their signi-
ficance for western civilization. Although he gradually abandoned
XlV Introduction Introduction XV

the historical approach, which is dominant in his earlier writings, demonstratively called himself 'a member of the bourgeois
in favour of a strictly formalized ideal-typical analysis of social classes'. Yet, as is shown in the third chapter, Max Weber was
phenomena, his scholarly work is substantially a historical anything but a blind partisan of modern capitalism. He analysed
sociology, as he in fact intended it to be. However detailed and elaborately the social consequences of modern industrial capita-
sophisticated his various sociological studies are, they always lism, and he did not try to pass over its dehumanizing aspects.
reflect the socio-cultural significance of the respective social He pointed out that 'formal rationality' of capitalist institutions
phenomena in a truly universal-historical perspective. is necessarily associated with "substantive irrationalities"; in this
respect he largely anticipated Herbert Marcuse's criticism of the
Max Weber's passionate championship of a German national capitalist order. Yet he was firmly convinced that an easy alterna-
imperialism seems at first sight to have little in common with tive was not at hand. The solution suggested by Karl Marx was,
his views about the future of western societies. In fact it even in his opinion, incapable of solving the essential problem of
stands in strong contrast to his own conclusions about the nature how to preserve a maximum of individual freedom in industrial
of imperialism. Yet a close inspection reveals that Weber's im- societies. Contrary to Marx he argued that the key issue was not
perialistic convictions are also embedded in this broad perspective the distribution of property, but the actual control of the
of the future course of world history. In the final analysis Weber's managerial positions, for the latter rather than the former are
liberal convictions strengthened his imperialistic zeal, at least in the actual source of economic power. Therefore the nationaliza-
the I 8gos. Weber thought that in the forseeable future the nation tion of the means of production was unsuitable for the emanci-
state was likely to remain the basic unit of world politics, and pation of the workers from 'alienation'; on the contrary it would
hence he never hesitated as a citizen to identify himself with the make things worse, in as much as the workers would become the
political fortunes of his own nation. This was, in fact, totally helpless prey of impersonal bureaucracies. Whatever the short-
compatible with his views about the role of nation states in comings of his position may have been otherwise, the truth of
history. The permanent struggle of the nation states against one part of Weber's criticism of traditional Marxism has been shown
another, whether through diplomatic or through economic means, by historical developments since his sudden death in 1920. It
was not only inevitable, but also a major source of political follows from this that Max Weber was a staunch defender of a
dynamism. However, he considered a high degree of dynamics competitive capitalist system. Although he did not deny that
and mobility to be essential ingredients of free, or, as they would capitalism was very far from being the best of all possible systems,
be termed today, 'open' societies. Hence it was not unreasonable he thought that for the time being at least it deserved preference
to identify himself with German 'world politics' on the one over all other possible economic systems, for it alone guaranteed
hand, and simultaneously to analyse the nature of imperialism maximum social mobility. Under given conditions capitalism
in a thoroughly scholarly manner. presented the best chances for the preservation of individual
freedom and creative leadership in a bureaucratic world.
Absolutely central in Weber's thinking is the question of the
social and cultural consequences of modern capitalism which he In his political sociology as well as in his political writings
himself described as one of the great revolutionary forces in world Weber was, for much the same reasons, primarily concerned with
history. Weber carefully researched into the origins of capitalism, the problems of leadership. His famous ideal-typical theory of
and discovered that its rise was inseparably connected with those 'three pure types of legitimate domination' classifies the various
bourgeois values which were to be found in their purest form forms in which political authority is considered legitimate in the
in Puritanism. He, indeed, was proud of this, and at times he opinion of the ruled; yet it also shows that no government can
 XVI Introduction
altogether dispose of an element of personal rule. In the fourth
chapter the problem is raised of how Weber's concept of parlia-
mentary democracy fits into the theory of the 'three types of legi-
timate domination'. Surprisingly it turns out that democratic rule I
is defined by Weber in his context as an anti-authoritarian ver-
sion of charismatic domination rather than as a value-rational The Universal Historian and the Social Scientist
version of legal domination. This has important consequences for
the evaluation of Weber's concept of democracy.

In the last chapter these observations are integrated in a compre- To the English speaking world Max Weber has always been
hensive interpretation of Max Weber's political philosophy. He presented in bits and pieces, rather than in full. There are many
considered the main question of his day to be how to check the anthologies, yet they are highly selective; as a rule they do not
rise of impersonal bureaucracies, and thus how to provide for pay much attention to the respective position which the various
effective leadership. Therefore he eventually turned to the texts contained in them had in the context of Weber's scholarly
extreme device of advocating what he called a 'plebiscitarian work. 1 There is, however, not just 'one' Max Weber; his works
leader-democracy'. Great politicians with charismatic quality reveal many facets, and one can discern a distinctive development
should help to preserve a maximum of mobility in bureaucratic in his methodological approach as well as in his substantive work
structures. They ought to keep democracy alive in spite of on the study of societies. It may be said that this point is not
bureaucratic institutions, and to infuse new aims into the social made sufficiently clear either in Talcott Parsons's otherwise
process on the basis of the confidence of the masses in their brilliant interpretation of Max Weber, or in Bendix's biography
charismatic qualities. In other words, they ought continuously which looks at Max Weber very much through the eyes of an
to challenge the thoughtless routine of the 'politicians without empirical social scientist. 2
~ calling', and thereby help to keep the 'open society' open, It would seem to be almost impossible to do full justice to the
m the face of various social trends which pointed to the eventual scholarly achievements of Max Weber by presenting him in one
emergence of omnipotent bureaucratic structures. Weber's re- perspective only. Yet it would be easier to discover the common
course to the 'otherworldly' power of charisma was by no means thread which runs through all his work, if a close look is taken
incidental; it was deeply rooted in his philosophy of history. He at the various stages of his intellectual development, giving par-
sincerely believed that there was no other means of fighting for ticular attention to the underlying philosophical conceptions.
a maximum of individual liberty and humanity in a bureaucratic Max Weber's main aims, during a lifetime full of extreme tensions
age. It may well be that not all of his suggestions on how to and of constant attempts to live up to the principles of rational
solve the basic problems of western civilization will be accepted 1 It is only since rg68 that a complete English version of Weber's major

today. But he certainly raised key problems which have lost none work Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft (henceforth referred to as WuG) edited by
Guenther Roth und Claus Wittich has been available. This is a great
of their importance during the five decades which separate us achievement, although it is a matter of dispute whether the translation
from his own lifetime. always renders the meaning of the Weberian text in the best possible way.
Economy and Society. An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, 3 Vols., New
York, rg68 (henceforth referred to as EaS).
2 Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action, Vol. 2, 2 ed., repr.
New York, rg68; Reinhard Bendix, Max Weber, An Intellectual Portrait,
2 ed., London, rg62.
B
2 Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist 3
conduct of a puritan cast, may perhaps best be summed up by follows, moreover, that Max Weber was decidedly opposed to all
saying that he wanted to achieve two things, and both of them sorts of speculative constructions of world history, or, to use
more or less at the same time: Popper's famous phrase, 'holistic ideologies', whether they were
First, to present a genuinely universal interpretation of western descendants of Hegel and Marx or based on the romantic con-
civilization and of the 'uniqueness' (Eigenart) of its value systems ception of a 'folk spirit' manifesting itself in the most diverse
as well as its patterns of human behaviour. This was to be done historical and cultural formations.
by means of a comparative analysis of all sufficiently explored Yet, at the same time, Weber's own convictions rested on a
societies throughout the whole history of mankind. specific conception of the nature of the world historical process,
Secondly, to design adequate conceptual tools which would or to use a more general phrase, of universal history, although
enable social scientists to tackle the problems of present day he himself never attempted to put it forward in an explicit
societies, and to help people to make rational choices in theory. 4 It goes without saying that Max Weber was not a
accordance with their personal sets of values, whatever the latter historian in the ordinary sense of the word, and he never claimed
might be, by taking the possible, or, indeed, probable con- to be considered as one. On the other hand, his works display an
sequences of these very choices into consideration. abundance of historical knowledge which has so far not been
Weber's belief in sociology as a rational discipline was em- surpassed by anyone else, with the possible exception of Arnold
bedded, as may be gathered from his famous public lecture Toynbee. More than that, he was deeply influenced by German
'Science as a Vocation', in a very personal philosophy which had historicism, although he objected strongly to the idea that the
the dimension of a substantive ethic although he himself always historical process as such has an inner meaning which can be
shrank from trying to formulate the latter positively and ex- revealed by a close inspection of the historical sources. To the
plicitly. This philosophy owed much to Friedrich Nietzsche if distress of Troeltsch he called the Entwicklungsgedanken a sheer
only with regard to the almost self-destroying radicalism with 'romanticist swindle'. 5
which Weber always tried to push whatever insights he had to It has been argued recently by Emerich Francis and John Rex, 0
the most extreme conclusion thinkable, or with regard to the 4
For a more detailed elaboration on this point, see Wolfgang J.
almost complete disillusion concerning the existence of any Mommsen, 'Universalgeschichtliches and politisches Denken bei Max
objective values whatever: 'The fate of an epoch which has Weber', Historische Zeitschrift, Vol. 201, 1965, p. 557ff., now also in
eaten of the tree of knowledge is that we must know that we can- Dirk Kasler (ed.), Max Weber, Sein Werk und seine Wirkung, Miinchen,
not learn from the analysis of the world historical process, how- 1962 (henceforth referred to as Mommsen, Universalgeschichtliches Den-
ken). An earlier version of this essay 'Max Weber's Political Sociology
ever much this analysis may be perfected, anything about its and his Philosophy of World History', was published in: International
intrinsic meaning-and that we have rather to create this mean- Social Science Journal, Vol. 17, 1965. Extracts from this essay are pub-
ing ourselves. We will have to realize that "W eltanschauungen" lished in Dennis Wrong (ed.), Makers of Modern Social Science: Max
can never be the product of increasing empirical knowledge, and Weber, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1970.
6
Cf. Ernst Troeltsch, Die Probleme des Historismus, Gesammelte
that, for this very reason, the highest ideals which move us most Schriften, Vol. 3, 1928, p. 1Bg.
forcefully must always be realized in a struggle with other ideals 0
Emerich Francis, 'Kultur und Gesellschaft in der Soziologie Max
which are just as sacred to others as ours are to us.' 8 From this it Webers', in Max Weber. Gediichtnisschrift der Ludwig-Maximilians-
Universitiit Milnchen zur 100. Wiederkehr seines Geburtstages 1964, eds.
3
Gesammelte Aufsiitze zur Wissenschaftslehre, 3 ed., Tiibingen, 1968 Karl Engisch, Bernhard Pfister and Johannes Winckelmann Berlin 1966
(henceforth referred to as WL), p. 154, author's trans. Cf. The Methodology p. goff. John Rex, 'Typology and Objectivity: a Comme~t on Weber'~
of the Social Sciences. Max Weber, trans. and ed, by Edward A. Shils and four Sociological Methods', in: Arun Sahay (ed.), Max Weber and Modern
Henry A. Finch, New York, 1949, p. 57 (henceforth referred to as Shils). Sociology, London, 1971, p. 1Bff.
 Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist 5
4
following Carlo Antoni, 7 that Max Weber began his career It was Weber's most ambitious scholarly aim to do this in such
as a historian of culture and that only relatively late in life- a way as not to descend to putting forward just another set of
sometime around 1 goB-did he turn towards sociology as a value judgements in however veiled a form. On the contrary,
discipline concerned with general laws and theories of social he worked hard to develop systems of concepts of such a universal
change whilst previously he had tried to give interpretations of scope as to be consistent with even the most diverse value
various social phenomena according to their 'cultural signifi- attitudes. This did not mean, however, that all values were simply
cance' (Kulturbedeutung), a term which is used often in Weber's omitted; on the contrary, the systems of conceptualizations he
earlier writings. Francis points out that, up to rgo8, Weber used set out to develop should enable the individual to make the right
the concept of 'culture' rather than that of 'society', a word choices in view of his own ultimate values. Without doubt Weber's
which, indeed, turns up only fairly late in Weber's writings. There point of perspective was very much one of an individualistic
is undoubtedly some truth in this observation. It would be wrong, liberal who observed with some despair that the process of
however, to go so far as to say that there is a clearcut division rationalization and bureaucratization seemed irreversible, and
between an earlier period of Weber's scholarly career in which that it was likely to put in jeopardy the very sort of individualistic
the historical approach prevails, and the later period which is life which he believed to be the core of the Western tradition.
devoted to sociological research and which culminates in Weber's With respect to this attitude of cultural despair-to put it
gigantic, although incomplete major work Economy and Society. perhaps a little too bluntly-Weber's early studies of Roman
There is, in fact, one strand in Weber's work common to both antiquity are of far more than tangential relevance. His views
periods, namely the attempt to develop sets of ideal-typical con- about the development of modern industrial societies were formed
cepts which are: to no small extent against the background of the social system of
(a) applicable to social reality whether of the present or of the the late Roman Empire, which, due, amongst other things, to
past and an economic organization depending on slave labour and political
(b) useful in explaining any particular given social actions not booty capitalism; was eventually suffocated by a network of
only in the light of what these actions meant to the respective monopolies, workshops run by the state, and bureaucratic in-
individuals directly concerned, but also from the point of view stitutions of various sorts. Weber's studies of Roman agrarian
of anybody who cares for a rational orientation related to a and social history were already concentrated on topics which
given set of fundamental convictions and values. This could be remain central to all his work. He asked why, under the social
achieved, in Weber's opinion, by a comparative analysis of social and cultural conditions of the late Roman Empire, there did not
and cultural phenomena throughout past human history with and could not develop a dynamic capitalism. Weber tried to
particular attention given to their respective cultural significance find an answer to this question by means of a comparative analysis
for modern western society. 8 undertaken on a truly universal scale, and he made good use of
his rare ability to introduce new concepts of universal applica-
7 Carlo Antoni, From History to Sociology: The Transition in German bility in a way which seemed quite hair-raising to the professional
Historical Thinking, Detroit, 1959
s W. G. Runciman argues in his most recent book A Critique of Max work with ideal-typical constructions; his approach differs from that of
Weber's Philosophy of Social Science, Cambridge U. P., 1972, p. 12, that the sociologist only in so far as he attempts to demonstrate the cultural
Weber 'did distinguish sociology-a term which in general he disliked- significance of such ideal-typical concepts by relating them to a sequence
from history on the grounds that the historian does not try to construct of 'adequate causations' of past history. See on this point W. J. Mommsen
"type concepts" or formulate "general rules" whereas the sociologist 'Max Weber', in: Deutsche Historiker, ed. Hans-Ulrich Wehler Gottingen'
does'. This is misleading: the difference being not one of substance, but 1972, Vol. III, p. 71ff. where the role of historiographical 'methods i~
of emphasis. Weber, in fact, points out that the historian is bound to Weber's writings is discussed from the historian's point of view.
6 Universal Historian and Social Scientjst Universal Historian and Social Scientist 7
historians of the time. Even so, Weber's studies on Die romische turns historical objects into what Weber called, in the terms of
Agrargeschichte in ihrer Bedeutung fiir das Staats-und Privat- Rickert's Neo-Kantian philosophy, 'historical individuals'.
recht, and in particular Die Agrarverhaltnisse im Altertum, may This is a line of argumentation which, in Weber's own judge-
be described, quoting Andrewski, as 'truly structural history ment, was only an application of Rickert's theory of the cultural
which shows how economic changes influenced religion, how the sciences. Yet there is one important difference: Weber did not
innovations in tactics brought about the transformations in social share the belief of the Neo-Kantians in the existence of any
stratification, how the distribution of political power impeded objective 'cultural values'. As a follower of Nietzsche he was
the growth of capitalism, and so on'. 9 firmly convinced that there was no other foundation for values
What was Weber actually looking for when he embarked upon than the spontaneous decision of the personality. In this respect
this kind of research? He explicitly stated that the main purpose his philosophical position may well be described as individualist
of these studies was to describe the distinctive character decisionism, however much this term may be disliked because of
(Eigenart), or rather the 'uniqueness' (Einzigartigkeit), of the its association with the work of Carl Schmitt. 10 As already men-
culture of late antiquity as compared with our own. Thus our tioned, Weber denied that the historical process as such embodies
understanding of our own culture would be greatly intensified, any meaningful principles, be they of a teleological or any other
though perhaps only indirectly. This approach would seem to be sort. It is only by relating 'limited segments' of 'the meaningless
very much in line with the methodological creed of German universe of world historical events' to 'ultimate and highest
historicism. Yet Weber was actually aiming at something far values, in which the meaning of our existence is rooted' that
beyond the horizons of the historical profession in his time. His these segments become significant for us. 11
comparative approach implied the development, for instance, of This radical position was bound to confront Weber with the
more and more generalized concepts which were so designed difficult problem of how any sort of cultural science was possible
eventually to be applicable to a present day context as well- which did not end up in mere subjectivism. The radical way in
something which was utterly foreign to the minds and conventions which from I go6 onwards Weber took up the issue of abstention
of orthodox historicists. Much more important, however, was from value judgements is due perhaps to the fact that his own
that Weber's understanding of the 'uniqueness' of historical 10 The interpretation of Max Weber as a decisionist thinker is also held
phenomena had little in common with the attitude shared by by Jiirgen Habermas; see his contribution to the debate in Heidelberg
German historicists from Hegel to Dilthey. It was intimately 1964, in Max Weber und die Soziologie heute, Verhandlungen des 15.
connected with what Weber used to call 'cultural significance' Deutschen Soziologentages vom 28. bis 30. April 1964 in Heidelberg,
(Kulturbedeutung), a phrase which he had borrowed from ed. Stammer (henceforth referred to as Stammer), Tiibingen, 1965, p. 79:
'Weber's philosophische Antwort heisst: dezisionistische Selbstbehauptung
Rickert, but which he used in a rather different way. The inmitten einer rationalisierten Welt' (c.f. the English ed. Max Weber
'uniqueness' of historical objects is, according to Weber, nothing and the Sociology Today, Oxford, 1971, p. 64). See further Jiirgen
given per se, but is established only if the historical objects in Habermas, 'Verwissenschaftliche Politik und iiffentliche Meinung', in:
question are interpreted in the light of particular 'cultural values' Technik und Wissenschaft als 'Ideologie ', Frankfurt, 1968, p. 121.
Recently this interpretation has been challenged, although, in the present
(Kulturwerte). In other words, the 'uniqueness' of historical author's opinion, with limited success, by Wolfgang Schluchter, Wert-
events is identical with the relevance they have with regard to freiheit und Verantwortungsethik. Zum Verhiiltnis von Wissenschaft und
certain values or sets of values held by the observer who in fact Politik bei Max Weber, Tiibingen, 197r. Schluchter admits, however,
that Weber was a 'fundamentalist', in so far as he assumed the existence
conveys a meaning to them. It is this sort of 'value rapport' which
of certain fundamental value-attitudes which are a priori to all scientific
9 S. Andrewski, 'Method and Substantive Theory in Max Weber', analysis.
British Journal of Sociology, Vol. rs, rg64, p. 6. 11 WL, pp. rBo, 213 (author's trans.; cf., however, Shils, pp. 8r, nr).
8 Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist 9
methodological theory was apparently extremely vulnerable in type", as something which is thought to be perfect on logical
this respect. Weber, however, succeeded in finding a solution, or, grounds only, yet by no means as a normative pattern.' 18
to put it more cautiously, he believed he had found one. Although In his famous essay ' "Objectivity" in Social Science and
social scientists as well as historians were supposed to point out Social Policy' Max Weber explained at length how this new
'the cultural significance' of the social phenomena they were 'ideal typical' method should be implemented in the social and
dealing with, they should not indulge in value judgements them- cultural sciences. He made it abundantly clear that the 'ideal
selves. Weber repeatedly emphasized that there was a vital type' was meant to be exclusively an epistemological tool, and
difference between establishing value relationships and value that it in no way embodied reality as such. For this very reason
judgements. Whereas scholars had to avoid the former, it was the construction of 'ideal types' was in principle a matter of free
their prime duty to establish relationships between social phen- choice; it was determined by practical considerations only. In
omena on the one hand and certain sets of values on the other. order to serve its purposes any 'ideal type' had to be constructed
For only by pointing out 'possible "evaluative" attitudes which on rational lines, in a logically consistent form. Otherwise it
the segment of reality in question discloses and in consequence of would be of little use for a rational scientific discipline. Yet in
which it claims a more or less universal "meaning"' did they addition 'ideal types' had to be constructed in such a way as to
enable their readers to take a stand on this themselves. 12 give particular attention to certain aspects of the issue in ques-
This solution, however, is not easily understood and this very tion, or to use Weber's own phrase, to enhance those aspects
fact explains to some degree why the debate on the issue of which, with regard to the 'cultural significance' of the segment
abstention from value judgements, initiated by Max Weber in of reality to which it applied, could be said to be of particular
the Verein fuer Socialpolitik in 1913, has gone on up to the pre- importance. In Weber's 'ideal type' of bureaucracy, for instance,
sent day, with, on the whole, rather discouraging results. Max those elements which would seem to be particularly dangerous for
Weber himself considered the discovery of the 'ideal type' as any society of free individuals, i.e. strict discipline, strict subor-
being the key to a solution of the tricky problem of how to abstain dinance, pure formal rationality of its operations, etc., have been
from value judgements while at the same time interpreting social given particular emphasis. It is in this operation of enhancing
and historical phenomena in the light of 'ultimate values' which 18 Letter of 14 June 1904, Weber papers, Deutsches Zentralarchiv II,
are introduced by the scholar as a matter of personal conviction. Merseburg, Rep. g2. The relevant section of this very important letter
This is substantiated by a letter which Weber wrote to Rickert in runs as follows: 'Ihre Zustimmung zu dem Gedanken des "Idealtypus"
1904: erfreut mich sehr. In der That halte ich eine ahnliche Kategorie fiir
'I am delighted that you concur with the idea of the "ideal notwendig, urn "werthendes" und "werthbeziehendes" Urteil scheiden zu
konnen. Wie man sie nennt ist ja Nebensache. Ich nannte sie so, wie
type". I consider such a category to be necessary indeed, in order der Sprachgebrauch von "idealem Grenzfall ", "idealer Reinheit" eines
to be able to distinguish between "value judgements" and typischen Vorgangs, "idealer Construktion" etc. spricht, ohne damit ein
judgements by which value rapports are established. The exact Sein-Sollendes zu meinen, ferner wie das, was Jellinek (Allgemeine
wording of this category is a matter of secondary importance. I Staatslehre) "Idealtypus" nennt, als nur im logischen Sinn perfekt gedacht
ist, nicht als V orbild. Im t!brigen muss der Begriff weiter geklart werden,
defined it in accordance with what is called in ordinary language er enthalt manches bei meiner Darstellung noch unausgeschiedenes Prob-
an "ideal marginal case" or the "ideal purity" of a typical event, lem-Ich werde demnachst einmal (im Winter) die Bedeutung der
or an "ideal construction" etcetera, without associating ariy nor- Kategorie der "objektiven Moglichkeit" fiir das historische Urteil und
mative connotation-that it ought to be that way-with them; den Entwicklungsbegriff zu analysieren suchen. Vorerst kommt ja durch
St. Louis ein grosser Hiatus hinein. Auch schwankt mein Befinden konstant,
furthermore I had in mind Jellinek's use of the term "ideal so class ich zu meiner Hauptarbeit Protestantische Ethik und Geist des
12 WL, p. 253 (Shils, p. 15 1). Kapitalismus nur sporadisch komme.'
IO Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist I I

certain elements of an 'ideal typical' construct that the factor ted in unique causes, they may be economic or not, by means of a
of 'value rapport' comes into the play. method of causal regression, it seeks historical knowledge. In so far
For it is exactly those aspects of an ideal type which deserve as it traces a particular element of cultural life, namely the econo-
to be enhanced which could be considered to be of particular mic one, through the most diverse cultural contexts, it is making
significance in view of cultural values. It was this quality of an historical interpretation from a specific point of view, and
the 'ideal type' which made it so useful for research into the offering a partial picture, which paves the way for a comprehen-
cultural significance of social penomena. Weber stated explicitly: sive historical perception of culture.' 17 It would seem worthwhile
'The goal of ideal-typical concept-construction is always to make to emphasize the last sentence of this quotation, for much of
clearly explicit not the class or average character but rather the Weber's own scholarly work belongs in this category, especially
unique individual character of cultural phenomena. '14 his sociological interpretation of the world religions.
In I 904 Weber was still very much in the camp of historical These findings would seem to corroborate the argument that
rather than systematic studies of cultural and social phenomena. Max Weber was, in the earlier stages of his intellectual develop-
Yet he strongly objected to the distinction between individualiz- ment, an historian of culture rather than a sociologist. This point,
ing and systematic cultural sciences, as was suggested by Rickert, however, has to be qualified considerably. First, Weber himself
amongst others, at the time. All social sciences, whether they are remained faithful throughout his life to the methodological posi-
historically oriented or attempting to develop general theories, tion which he had taken up between I903 and I907. Although,
have to operate both on a systematic level and from the viewpoint in fact, he considerably altered his research strategies in 1913, he
of certain 'ultimate values' which convey 'cultural significance' felt no need to retract any of the epistomological principles which
to their findings in one way or another. Weber stated explicitly he had put forward in his theoretical writings, and indeed he con-
that it could not possibly be the ultimate goal of any sort of social tinued to refer to them. He always paid the utmost attention to
science to establish 'systems of analytical laws', however per- the historical dimension of all social phenomena, for it was only in
fected these might be. 15 On the contrary, he defended the histori- this way, in his opinion, that their cultural significance could be
cal approach as an essential part of modern social science, on the ascertained at all. It was not so much the goals of his scholarly
grounds that the ultimate goal of all social research was to work, but rather the approaches which were subjected to substan-
enhance our knowledge of 'cultural reality', and this implied, as tial change after I 9 I 3. Henceforth Weber analysed social pheno-
we have already shown, the interpretation of any given set of mena, which he considered to be of the utmost significance in
social facts in view of particular cultural values. One should view of the future prospects of liberal bourgeois societies, in the
bear in mind that for Max Weber 'culture' was a concept, which light of a truly universal historical perspective, on a more elevated
was anything but an a priori phenomenon: ' "culture'' is a finite level and in a much more systematic manner, yet his fundamental
segment of the meaningless infinity of the world process, a seg- concerns were still much the same. It may well be said that Max
ment on which human beings confer meaning and significance'. 16 Weber's later work was essentially an elaborate attempt to knit a
It is at this point that the mutual intersection of the universal variety of 'partial pictures' of culture into a general framework of
historical and sociological approach in Weber's own methodology 'ideal types', in order to get as close as possible to a 'comprehen-
can be seen most clearly. Weber went as far as to say: 'To the sive perception of culture', on the basis of an evaluation of all
extent that our discipline attempts to explain particular cultural available information about the various societies in the history of
phenomena of an economic nature by showing that they origina- mankind. Secondly one should bear in mind that Max Weber
14 WL, p. 202 (Shils, p. 101). 15 WL, p. 175 (Shils, p. 76). never, not even in his early theoretical essays, suggested that the
17
16 WL, p. r8o (Shils, p. 8r). WL, pp. r6gf. Trans. by Shils, p. 66, modified by the author.
12 Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist
social sciences should be limited to what would nowadays be tive answer to the universal historians' question why 'modern
called cultural-historical studies. On the contrary, from the very capitalism', 'modern science', the 'bourgeoisie' as a social class
beginning he made it quite clear that alongside such studies with its own peculiar ideological outlook, the rational organiza-
which linked social phenomena to individual historical causes- tion of the political order by means of the modern administrative
that is, by using historical methods-the social sciences had, by state, a 'rational law', and, last but not least, a 'rational type of
means of a comparative analysis of various societies or various music', had been developed only in the West. The V or berner-
social phenomena, to formulate sets of concepts and ideal types kung to Weber's essays on the Sociology of World Religions can
which could then be considered to have genuinely attained a well be called a (however brief) substantive outline of universal
more or less general applicability. In his dispute with Eduard history. 19
Meyer, Weber pointed out that historical research ought also to Until 1913 the universal-historical and the sociological
serve the purpose of designing 'general concepts, analogies and approaches in Weber's scholarly work cannot easily be separated;
rules of cultural growth which are applicable to history not only they are closely interrelated throughout. This is true particularly
18
of our own, but of "any" civilization' . with regard to Weber's sociological study The City which, inci-
It must be admitted, however, that in about 1905 Max Weber dentally, would seem to be the earliest section of Economy and
was still somewhat ambiguous on this point. He left the door Society; it was written presumably around 19II. It may be said
open both for a historical sociology which set out to analyse par- to be the most advanced example of the application of the 'ideal
ticular social phenomena in the light of their cultural significance, type' method to an historical object to be found in Weber's writ-
and for a systematic sociology which-although based on the ings. Here Weber presents a systematic outline of the almost
comparative analysis of civilizations throughout history-could inexhaustible varieties of urban cultures throughout history,
eventually dispose of the factor of historical time in favour of which is impressive both for its universality as well as for its pre-
developing theoretical conceptualizations which might be used to cision of detail. Yet it would be misleading to call The City an
interpret any given segment of past or present social reality alike. empirical study, whatever that term is supposed to mean. For the
In his earlier scholarly career Max Weber clearly pursued the yardstick of 'cultural significance' can be clearly perceived,
first rather than the second alternative. His essays on The Protes- although this requires a somewhat closer inspection of the pat-
tant Ethic and the Rise of Capitalism as well as his analyses of the terns of conceptualization used by Weber in that context. It is the
great world religions belong primarily to the first category, rise of the politically active bourgeoisie in the commercial cities
namely historical sociology. In the Protestant Ethic Weber of medieval Europe which he pays most attention to and around
attempted to trace the origins of modern industrial capitalism. which his whole line of argument is arranged. According to
He saw the cultural significance of capitalism primarily to be that Weber, it was of the utmost significance that the artisans and
mature capitalism could do without the values and patterns of traders of the cities of Medieval Europe beyond the Alps aban-
social conduct which had been the necessary prerequisites for its doned all sorts of booty-capitalism which seeks economic gain
own emergence. Capitalism and rationalization were, in Weber's by means of extra profits due to political exploitation or monopo-
opinion, to no small extent the product of a unique historical phe- listic practices and, instead, embarked upon the rational pursuit
nomenon, namely the 'inner-worldly asceticism' of the Puritan of economic activities which promised comparatively small, but
sects. He embarked upon the study of the other great world reli- steady economic returns. Thus they created the essential pre-
gions primarily in order to corroborate his findings ex negativo. conditions for the eventual rise of modern industrialism, just as
In the end Max Weber was convinced he had found an exhaus- 1 9 Gesammelte Aufsiitze zur Religionssoziologie (henceforth referred to

18 WL, p. 265.
asRS), Vol.r, Tiibingen, rg2o,pp.rff.
 Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist I5
their rebellion against the traditional political authorities laid in history, namely the steady advance of the type of Gesellschafts-
the foundations for the eventual development of the modern handeln, at the expense of the various types of Einverstandnishan-
democratic state. deln, or, in more straightforward terms, the irresistible advance of
By I 9 I g, however, an important change in Weber's methodo- bureaucratic fmms of social interaction on all levels of social life:
logical approach can be observed. Suddenly the 'ideal type' 'Admittedly the course of (historical) events leads in many indivi-
ceased to be exclusively a methodological instrument of socio- dual cases also from concrete rational instrumentally-oriented
logical research; it became a goal of research in itself. Weber now systems to the establishment of systems in which social action
became increasingly interested in developing sophisticated based on mutual agreements is the dominating factor. Yet on the
systems of ideal types as such, irrespective of the contexts in whole, on the basis of our knowledge about the whole of past his-
which they were to be applied to empirical reality. The point of tory, we observe if not always a complete replacement of social
departure is marked by Weber's essay 'Dber einige Kategorien der action base.d on mutual agreement by socially regulated forms of
"verstehenden" Soziologie' which was published in I9I3. 20 In action (Vergesellschaftung) but at any rate a steady advance of
this essay, to which a sequel which was never written, was instrumentally-rational regulation of actions based on mutual
intended, the construction of 'ideal types' and the development agreement, and in particular a progressive turnover of (voluntary)
of meaningful theories of social conduct is considered a primary associations into institutions organized on an instrumentally-
goal, and socio-historical analysis retreats into the background, or rational (zwekrational) basis.' 21 This is in fact substantially a his-
rather, deteriorates into a mere commentary. Weber here points torical statement, however formalized it may be. Weber's perspec-
out the basic dichotomy of Gemeinschaftshandeln and Gesell- tive of universal history, although it is not made explicit in this
schaftshandeln. The former implies that the individuals con- context at all, is always in evidence. His views about the future of
cerned act in accordance with certain value-oriented principles Western societies which might develop into a new 'iron cage of
often of a subjective or emotional nature which, however, have serfdom' in which all forms of individually-oriented social con-
been agreed upon by more or less all of them. Gesellschaftshan- duct are likely to be eliminated and which will be dominated by a
deln, on the other hand, is defined as a form of social interaction new type of human being-namely the fully adjusted Fach-
which is based on a system of purely goal-oriented rules, (zweck- mensch-served as a frame of reference with regard to the sig-
rationale Regeln), and in which no attention whatever is given to nificance of these sociological conceptualizations, although, as
the individual motives of the acting persons involved. such, they were kept in the background.
Here, it would seem, Max Weber eventually establishes himself This is also true to a large extent for Weber's major work
as a sociologist in the full sense. Yet this turns out to be an over- Economy and Society, or, to be precise, for the later sections of
hasty conclusion. For a close scrutiny shows that this conceptuali- it. It is obvious, however, that Weber tried to do his best to push
zation of a seemingly value-neutral quality, rests on certain the historical aspect more and more into the background, and to
fundamental assumptions about the future course of world his- design a universal systematization of 'ideal types' of various
tory, which, although formulated only in a hypothetical form, forms of social action in which historical time no longer plays a
have yet to be taken into account. The dichotomy between significant role. This trend becomes obvious, once the different
Gemeinschaftshandeln and Gesellschaftshandeln derives its 'signi- sections of Economy and Society are distinguished with regard
ficance' (the qualifying epithet 'cultural' may well be omitted to the respective dates of their composition. Economy and Society
from now on) from the assumption that there is one over-all trend is, as it were, not only a torso, but rather a mixture of several
20 WL, pp. 427ff. This important essay has not yet been translated into torsos, and, if Max Weber had had his way only the latest version
English. 21
Ibid., pp. 4-70f.
 Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist
r6
would have gone to the printers, a fact to which the available fairly late, possibly around rgr8. 25 The most mature, arid in
editions unfortunately do not pay sufficient attention. There are Weber's view definitive version is, of course, 'The Types of
at least three different layers in Economy and Society which Domination'. 20 If these three versions are compared, it becomes
22 obvious that they are different both in style as well and in the
overlap with one another to a considerable degree. This can be
demonstrated most strikingly in the case of the theory of the degree of stringency with which the types are defined. The
'three pure types of legitimate domination' of which no less than earliest version contains an enormous amount of historical
three different versions can be found. The oldest one would seem material, and moreover it still displays some traits of the assump-
to be 'Herrschaft durch Organisation-Geltungsgrlinde der tion that there is a specific trend in historical reality, namely the
Herrschaft' / 3 together with the lengthy explication of the prin- development from charismatic to traditional and, finally, to
ciples put forward in the following sections on 'Bureaucratic bureaucratic types of domination. In the later versions, however,
Domination' 'Patriarchal Domination' and its various historical Weber took pains to eliminate everything which might suggest to
versions, and eventually the section on 'Charismatic Domina- his readers that this tripartite typology was a reflection of the
tion'.24 The essay 'Die drei reinen Typen der legitimen Herr- actual historical process. It is even more important in this respect
schaft' which was published as a separate item in I 922 for the that in the later versions all allusions to historical examples were
first time, is more difficult to date, yet in deviation from Winckel- being separated more and more rigidly from the main line of the
mann, I think it must be placed, if only for stylistic reasons, argument. In the final version the historical material is used exclu-
sively for the purpose of illustration. To put it another way, there
22 These three layers in Economy and Society are substanti.ally. diffe~ent
both with regard to the style of presentation, and the substantlv~ mtentwns
is a definite swing away from an interpretation of social reality
which Weber had in mind when he wrote them. The approximate dates referring to specific historical forms of social conduct, towards a
of their composition are as follows: . much more generalized interpretation which attempts to outline
composed about 1. 'Die nichtlegitime Herrschaft. Typologie der possible patterns of social conduct of individuals or groups of
r9n-r3 Stadt', WuG, Vol. 2, pp. 735-822.
Die Wirtschaft und die gesellschaftlichen Ordnun- individuals found in the most diverse historical contexts.
gen und Machte', WuG, Vol. r, pp. r8I-244 In one of the later passages of Economy and Society Max
'Politische Gemeinschaften', WuG, Vol. 2, PP Weber explicitly pointed out that his great undertaking of
5!4-40 developing a universal conceptual framework for the interpreta-
'Soziologie der Herrschaft ', with the exception of
the 'Drei Rein en Typen der legitim en Herrschaft ', tion of social reality was substantially different from any histori-
WuG, Vol. 2, pp. 541-50, 559-734 cal approach-something which could not be said for some of his
Rechtssoziologie (ed. Johannes Winkelmann, sec- earlier works. Sociology no longer had to interpret social pheno-
onded., Neuwied, 1967). . . mena in terms of 'cultural significance' in quite the way he had
1913-I4, 2. 'Typen religioser Vergemeinschaftung (Rehgi-
onssoziologie)', WuG, Vol. r, pp. 245-381. outlined a decade earlier in his theoretical writings. Weber stated
r9r6
about 1918 3 'Die drei reinen Typen der legitimen Herr- explicitly: 'Sociology seems to formulate ... type concepts and
1919-20 schaft', WuG, Vol. 2, pp. 551-8. generalized rules of social processes [Geschehen], 27 whereas history
'Soziologische Kategorienlehre', WuG, Vol. r, 25 WuG, Vol. 2, pp. ssr-8. Roth and Wittich were well advised not
pp. r-r8o.
Roth and Wittich paid considerable attent~o~ to this problem an~ in to include this section in the English ed., as it forms a rather erratic
this respect their edition is better than the origmal German one. It IS .to block in the 4th ed. of Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft.
20 WuG, Vol. r, pp. 122-76.
be hoped that the forthcoming 5th German edition will bring a substantial 27 Roth renders the term Geschehen as 'empirical process' which to
improvement. the present author seems a characteristic distortion due to the particular
23 WuG, Vol. 2, 547.
viewpoint of a predominantly empirical social scientist.
2 4 WuG, Vol. 2, pp. 541-50, 559-95
c
 r8 Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist rg
is oriented to the causal analysis and adequate explanation of values in the emerging social systems dominated by instru-
individual actions, structures and personalities possessing cultural mentally-rational types of social interaction and gigantic bureau~
significance.' 28 Yet it would be misleading to take this as the cracies.
whole story. For Weber went on to say: 'The empirical facts This is borne out by the manner in which Weber phrased some
which are used by sociology in a paradigmatic manner, in order of his key concepts, for instance the 'ideal type' of bureaucracy.
to develop its own concepts, are largely, though by no means The 'ideal type' of bureaucracy was deliberately designed by
exclusively, identical with the concrete processes of action which Weber in such a way as to underline those elements which he
are relevant from the viewpoint of the historian. The formula~ considered particularly relevant in regard to the future destinies
tion of sociological concepts and the search for sociological rules is of the individualistic, liberal societies of the West. It is small
being undertaken in particular, although not exclusively, in view wonder that some sociologists found that Weber's concept of
of whether they may be of any help in establishing causal bureaucracy-in so far as it overemphasizes the role of subordi~
relationships of a historical nature as regards social phenomena nance, discipline and formal rationality-does not altogether fit
that would seem to carry cultural significance.' 29 The second part the empirical reality of present-day bureaucracies. It may well be
of this statement especially deserves attention in our present said, however, that this was intentional, that is to say that the
context, for it indicates that when he embarked on the formula~ 'ideal type' of 'bureaucracy' was deliberately designed by Weber
tion of his universalist systematization of 'ideal types' of social in such a way as to serve as a yardstick which could be used to
action, Weber had more in mind than a mere value-neutral des~ ascertain in exact terms the tremendous cultural significance
cription of empirical reality. Max Weber's impressive casuistry of which the rise of modern bureaucracies possesses for conscientious
'ideal types' deliberately disposed of all material historical con- citizen living in liberal societies of the western type, and in a
tents; yet nonetheless its essential promises bear the imprint of his wider sense also for those living in other types of societies. If all
personal perspective of universal history. Although Weber had this is taken into account it would be somewhat misleading to
certainly reached an altogether new level in his methodological criticize Weber's 'ideal type' of 'bureaucracy' as a one~sided
approach to social phenomena, he nonetheless aimed at design~ concept. For it was deliberately 'one-sided', in order to serve as
ing concepts suitable for the perception of those perspectives of an epistemological tool for cognition on a truly universal-historical
the universal historical process, which could be said to be of level.
cultural significance, at least for human beings brought up in the Much the same could well be said with regard to Max Weber's
Western tradition. For this reason it is somewhat dangerous to theory of authority. It is derived from the assumption that there
pick useful sociological concepts at random from Weber's is a fundamental dichotomy between qualified, that is, charis-
Interpretive Sociology without giving much thought to the con- matic leadership on the one hand, and the unreflected, disci-
text in which they are being put forward. It is most unfortunate plined submissiveness of the governed on the other. One of
that Weber has sometimes become little more than a useful Weber's main concerns was how real leadership can be provided
quarry for concepts, and ideal types. There can, in fact, be little for in modern bureaucratic political systems. For this very reason
doubt that his ideal-typical systematization of universal history he considered the form of selection of the leading personnel to
was influenced considerably by a series. of fundamental assump- be of fundamental importance for a classification of various types
tions about the future of Western societies and the role assigned of domination.
to intellectual human beings who are devoted to certain ultimate Weber's concern about the dehumanizing trends in western
28 WuG, Vol. I, p. g; cf. the version of Roth in EaS, Vol. I, p. Ig. industrial societies is clearly reflected in his Interpretive Soci~
29 Ibid. ology, especially in its later sections. It may well be said that in
 Universal Historian and Social Scientist Universal Historian and Social Scientist 21
20

the ultimate analysis, Economy and Society is concerned with yardsticks which enable the scholar first to assess correctly the
one central theme-namely the never-ending struggle of conditions under which individual creative action of a sizeable
charisma as a particularly powerful social force, which Weber magnitude can occur, in past as well as present societies and
more or less identified with individual creative activity, on the possibly also in future societies-secondly, to point out their
one hand, and the routinizing forces of bureaucratization and respective cultural significance. This is particularly the case with
rationalization on the other. Routinization and rationalization regard to Weber's 'ideal-typical' classification of 'social con-
embody a trend towards the emergence of rigid and ultimately duct'81 on the one hand, and the 'Three Pure Types of Legiti-
ossified social structures that are dominated by purely instru- mate Domination' on the other. 82 It is significant that Max
mentally-oriented forms of social interaction. In Weber's view Weber was not satisfied with merely extrapolating trends which
routinization and rationalization pave the way for the eventual point to the eventual emergence of social structures which are
rise of a new human species-namely the fully-adjusted men of a dominated by purely instrumentally-oriented forms of social con-
bureaucratic age who no longer strive for goals which lie beyond duct and formally-legal bureaucratic rule. His impressive system-
their intellectual horizon, which is in any case likely to be exclu- atization of 'ideal-typical' concepts was designed in such a way
sively defined by their most immediate material needs. Charis- as to enable his readers to discover for themselves the cultural sig-
matic leadership, on the other hand, is capable of checking these nificance of given social phenomena in view of their own highest
trends, at least up to a point, and he therefore became increas- values and ultimate goals. Weber's own personal convictions as to
80 the future of Western societies, which he judged from the gran-
ingly interested in this type of socially creative action. This is
not to say, however, that Weber advocated charismatic break- diose perspective of more than three thousand years of past
throughs and revolutions as the only way out of the troubles human history, become apparent only indirectly, as the result of
which beset modern bureaucratic societies. He maintained that a painstaking interpretation.
under modern conditions charismatic leadership can only achieve This analysis may be rounded off by pointing out that it
something of lasting importance if the new impulses it generates would give a new stimulus to sociology and history alike if we
are implemented through rational types of social organization were to rediscover the depths of Weber's historical sociology more
rather than through mere ephemeral retinues. To put it another fully, since it was a hitherto unsurpassed attempt to interpret
way, creative charisma and rationalization must join forces, if social reality in the light of meaningful assumptions about the
anything of a lasting nature is to be achieved, despite the fact past, as well as the future, of mankind rather than a mere des-
that, in their pure form, the social forces of 'charisma' and cription empirical reality in an extremely sophisticated termino-
'rationalization' are eternal rivals. The rise of personalities with logy.
charismatic leadership qualities is likely to an impact on the social 81 WuG, Vol. I, p. I Iff. (EaS, Vol. I, p. 22ff.)
structures only if they can convince their 'retinue' to rationalize 82 WuG, Vol. I, p. I22ff. (EaS, Vol. I, p. 2I2ff.)
their own social conduct systematically according to the ultimate
values which are 'revealed' by the respective charismatic
messages.
The fundamental intention of Max Weber's monumental
'ideal-typical' theory of social action can be summed up in the
following way:
The 'ideal-typical' constructions were supposed to serve as
80 Of. below, pp. 79ff.
 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics 23
A~ong the 'Weber circle' around Marianne Weber (its most
promment members were Karl Jaspers, Karl Lowenstein Mel-
choir Palyi, and Eduard Baumgarten who was however ~t that
II . . ' '
t1me still a student) there emerged the idea that Max Weber had
been a potential political leader of the German nation at one of
The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics the most depressing junctures of its history, but that his services
had not been accepted. In other words, that the professional poli-
and Imperialism ticians of the day had refused Max Weber the chance to exert the
influ~nce and to ex~rcise the power which he as a born political
and mtellectual gemus ought to have been given. 1 This legend cir-
culated particularly among German intellectuals, and it seems to
Max Weber can be said to have been with some qualifications
have had a lasting influence, the more so as many people were
one of the few German liberals who were staunch supporters of
agreed upon one point: that the failure of the Weimar Republic
parliamentary democracy in Germany long before the First
had been due primarily to the lack of first-rate political leaders.
World War. His violent criticism of the 'personal rule' of Wilhelm
In the decade after I 945, the political and intellectual climate
II and his bombastic and pretentious speeches which had helped
in Germany was largely moulded by a renaissance of the politi-
so much to create an utterly negative image of Germany in the
cal .~n~ cultura.l traditions of the Weimar period. Many leading
western world, was well known, and hence his points seemed to
pol~tlctans. ~nd 1~tellectuals of the twenties now rose once again to
have been well taken. His forceful attacks on the Bismarckian
maJor posttlons m German public life. The recourse to Weimar
Constitution and its shortcomings which were published in a series
and to democratic strands in the German traditions before I 9 I 8
helped gradually to re-establish some degree of political self~
of widely read newspaper articles in the influential Frankfurter
.?,eitung, were still in the minds of those who could remember the
confidence among the German people, after it had been utterly
years of the First World War, all the more so as Weber's advo-
shaken by the fearful news of what had been done to the world
cacy of an immediate reform of the constitution in June I 9 I 7 had
given a particular boost to the reform movement. Weber's
in t.he name. o! the German nation, during the reign of th;
Natwnal Soctahsm. It was only too natural that in such a situa-
passionate attempts to convince the German bourgeoisie in I g I 8-
tion Max Weber once more came to be considered one of the
I9I9 that their duty was to join forces with the Social Democrats
'forefathers' of German democracy. Neither Jacob Peter Mayer's
in a common endeavour to restore order and to establish a parlia-
Max Weber and Ge~man ~olitics-a book written during the
mentary democracy, had also made a lasting impact on public
Second World War, m whtch Weber was described as a 'new
opinion. His eloquent campaign for a president directly elected
by the people even found realization in the Weimar Cm.;tstitution. 1 Cf. Marianne Weber, Max Weber. Ein Lebensbild, Heidelberg, 19so.
Although this was in fact due to a variety of coinciding factors- 2 ~d. (henceforth referred to as Lebensbild), p. 694: 'Die Nation hatte
above all the fear of the bourgeoisie parties that an all-powerful k~.me Ver:ve~dung fiir ihn in einem Augenblick, wo jedermann nach
parliament would be a dangerous weapon in the hands of the Fu~rern nef. Karl Jaspers, Max Weber. Politiker, Forscher, Philosoph,
M~n<;hen,. 1958, 2.. ed., pp. 32ff., deals at length with 'die verlorene
Socialists-a great many people gave Weber the credit for the Moghchke1t der Fuhrerschaft Max Webers'. See also the obituaries by
introduction of a popular presidency, thereby overrating the role E:_nst Tr?eltsch, Gertru~ Baumer, Gerhart von Schulze-Gavernitz, Karl
he actually played. All these instances became part of the image L~wenste1~, and. oth.~rs, m.Ma-': Weber zur;t Gedachtnis, Sonderheft 7 der
of Max Weber, as it emerged after his sudden death on I4th Kolner Zeztschr~ft fur Sozwlogze und Sozzalpsychologie, ed. Rene Konig
and Johannes Wmckelmann, Koln, 1963.
June I920.
 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics 25
machiavellist' who had to bear part of the responsibility for the words of Raymond Aron: 'This re-interpretation of Weberian
disastrous course of recent German history-nor Gerth's and politics caused an outrage because it robbed the new German
Mills's mildly critical, liberal assessment of Max Weber's political democracy of a "founding father", a glorious ancestor, a spokes-
thought were accorded much attention. 2 Against this background man of genius.' 3
any critical analysis of Weber's political views and his part in Initially this appeared to be more-or-less part and parcel of
Wilhelmian politics was bound to cause considerable repercus- les querelles allemandes, but it soon became obvious that more
sions. The older generation was satisfied to see Max Weber in the was at stake. It goes without saying that it is difficult to mark a
perspective which had already been built up in the twenties. clear boundary between Weber's scholarly achievements in socio-
His well-argued criticism of Wilhelmian Germany and Wilhelm- logy and in political theory, and his political convictions. Max
ian society seemed to them a good point of departure for a re- Weber, of course, did his utmost to keep politics and scholar-
assessment of Germany's more recent history. For the younger ship apart, and he took pains not to plunge into superficial 'value
generation of Germans who were up to a point successfully judgements' more or less thinly veiled in a scientific language.
're-educated' after the war by the educational policy of the Yet it would be misleading, and ultimately abortive if one were
American and British occupation administrations along the lines to take this as a starting point for a strategy of immunization of
of a modernized philosophy of natural rights, it was somewhat Weber's sociological achievements, as has sometimes been sug-
more difficult to follow this path. The disaster of National gested. There is in fact a fairly intimate connexion between
Socialism was still vividly in their minds, and this made them Weber's scholarly work and his political creed; in a way they are
inspect more carefully even those ideological positions which had even two sides of the same coin. Weber's scholarly work has cer-
hitherto passed as being more or less democratic. The author's tainly been substantially stimulated by political considerations of
book Max Weber und die Deutsche Politik which was written in a very fundamental nature.
1958, was clearly influenced by this intellectual climate. Even In view of this, it seems worth attempting an assessment of
the most superficial inspection of Weber's various political writ- Weber's attitudes and thoughts about nationalism and imperia-
ings was after all bound to reveal not only his criticism of Wil- lism. In doing so, Weber's actual role in the politics of his time,
helmian Germany and his advocacy of a parliamentary system, and his theoretical views on the issues of nationalism and im-
but also his passionate, even violent nationalism, as well as his perialism, have to be given equal consideration.
strong emphasis on the necessity of power politics, attitudes which Max Weber was brought up in an intellectual climate which
would seem to belong to the cherished traditions of German poli- largely bore the imprint of German National Liberalism. Even
tics which the Germans now boasted of having overcome once though Weber began to question some of the basic premises of
and for all. Under the given conditions, however, any exposure this political creed quite early in his life, he undoubtedly took up
of these features in Weber's political thought was bound to pro- a nationalistic attitude which was very similar to that of the
duce strong reactions, since it violated the taboo under which the bulk of the National Liberals in the 1S8os and 18gos. When
recent past had been put by the older generation, after the trau- Weber declared it to be a first principle that the enhancement of
matic experience of the Weimar Republic and the reign of Hitler. the power and prestige of the German nation state must be the
The discussion which developed may best be summed up in the fundamental guide line of all politics, he did not differ markedly
from the position of a great majority of the German middle
2 Jacob Peter Mayer, Max Weber and German Politics. A Study in
classes. It must be realised that Weber was, as much as most of
Political Sociology, London, 1956, 2 ed., pp. u7f. H. H. Gerth and C.
Wright Mills, From Max Weber. Essays in Sociology, London, 1970, 7 ed. 8 Raymond Aron, Main Currents in Sociological Thought, Vol. 2, New
(henceforth referred to as Gerth). York, 1967, p. 248.
26 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics
The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics 27
his contemporaries, subjected to the over-riding influences of an
Elbian provinces of Prussia-as more and more German farm
age dominated by the ideology of nationalism and the prestigious
labourers were migrating to the west, and in turn more and more
idea of the nation state. Polish workers, mostly from Galicia, were moving in and,
What appears to make Weber outstanding among his con-
although this was made more difficult for them by Government
temporaries is not that he was less nationalistic than others, but
regulations, they were settling down in these areas in substantial
that he publicly propagated fairly early in his career the principle
numbers. The research project which Weber joined, had been
of the 'primacy of the interests of the nation state' with regard to
launched by the Verein fur Socialpolitik in order to find suitable
all spheres of social and political life, refusing to make comfortable
legislative measures for keeping the German farm labourers on
compromises even with the best of reasons or excuses. For this
the land and hence for preventing the immigration of more Poles.
very reason he can in a specific sense be called a rational
. ~ax We~er explored the problems involved thoroughly. He
nationalist-in as much as he declared the national idea to be a
VIVIdly descnbed the fairly desperate social conditions of the farm
kind of ultimate value which had to come first in politics and
labourers in the East Elbian areas drawing from extensive em-
economics alike. Max Weber attempted to subject his whole
pirical material, collected by techniques of empirical research
political as well as his intellectual and scholarly activities to this
which were considered to be almost revolutionary at the time.
principle, and he did so with the utmost rigour. This very fact
Yet he was not content simply to draw up some legislative pro-
perhaps explains why he at times appears to be a sort of hard-
posals which might help improve the living conditions of the
headed nationalist. In principle, at least, Max Weber adhered to
German-born farm labourers in the respective areas. Rather, he
'the primacy of the interests of the nation state' to the end of his
concluded, there was no point at all in trying to improve their
life, with a stubborness that, at first sight, is somewhat difficult
lot by means of social policies, since the causes of the migration of
to reconcile with his scholarly findings about the nature of
the German farm labourers to the west were much more funda-
modern nationalism and imperialism.
mental. Weber described them as follows:
It is in the context of Weber's studies of the social conditions
. Firstly, the s.teady advance of capitalist methods of production
of the farm labourers in the eastern provinces of Prussia-which
m the East which resulted in the disruption of the time-honoured
he embarked upon in I8gi on behalf of the Verein fur Social-
patriarchal ties between the landlord and his farm-hands.
politik-that the issue of nationalism enters his scholarly work for
Secondly, together with the former, the irrational desire of the
the first time. 4 The issues involved had in fact an important
farm labourers to be 'free'.
nationalistic dimension. Since I 884 the Germans, or at any rate
Thirdly, the inescapable fact that the Prussian Junkers were
the National Liberals, had shown considerable concern about
for over-riding economic reasons, not in a position to raise th;
what seemed to them the gradual 'Polonization' of the East
living conditions of the farm labourers to such a level as to put
4 For the following sections see W. J. Mommsen, Max Weber und die
an e?~ to the '~ight from the countryside'. Under the given
deutsche Politik, rBgo-1920, Tiibingen, 1959 (henceforth referred to as
Mommsen, Max Weber), pp. 23ff. Reinhard Bendix, Max Weber An
conditions-that IS to say, under the economic pressure of the
Intellectual Portrait, New York, 1960 (henceforth referred to as Beddix), competition of the overseas grain producers on the German
pp .. g8ff. ~nd-although ~er presentation is rather erratic, containing a market (I 894 was the peak of the European agrarian crisis) the
cunous mixture of quotatwns from the most diverse sources-Ilse Dron- lan~lords were, in Weber's opinion, bound to employ cheap
berger, The Political Thought of Max Weber. In Quest of Statesmanship,
New York, 1971, pp. n6f. A short survey of Weber's political views is
Pohsh seasonal workers rather than German labourers in order
given by Anthony Giddens, Politics and Sociology in the Thought of Max to survive economically, as the subsistence wages of Polish workers
Weber, London, 1972, which irons out somewhat the tensions and con- were well below of that of their more fortunate German col-
tradictions in Weber's political thought. leagues.
 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics 29
In analysing these results Weber was guided by the principle in practical politics, but also in those scholarly disciplines which
of the preservation, and as far as possible, the strengthening, of took an active part in the actual processes of legislation and
the German nationality in the eastern provinces of Prussia. It political decision-making. He considered it to be merely logical
goes without saying that this principle carried, in his opinion, that a scholarly discipline, which called itself V olkswirtschafts-
over-riding weight. He thus arrived at conclusions which seemed politik was bound to accept the interest of the nation-state as the
all too logical, however radical they appeared to a great many only legitimate yardstick for matters of social and economic policy
people at the time. Weber suggested as practical measures: first, or for social and welfare legislation. Weber's famous argument
the closure of the Eastern frontiers of Germany to all seasonal that science is not supposed to deduce ultimate values from its
labour as well as the prohibition of any further immigration findings which might be useful for orientation in research as well
of Polish people, and secondly, the repartitioning of the huge as in ordinary life-and is indeed incapable of doing so-is
estates in the east, and their gradual replacement by small farms driven home in forceful language. Yet in this context it was meant
which, with regard to the labour force employed would be largely explicitly to clear the way for the unrestricted application of the
self-sufficient, and which would not produce for the market to principle of the 'reason of state' as an ultimate guide line for all
a substantial degree. Weber pointed out that this would neces- scholarly work, at least in all those disciplines, which were
sarily mean a considerable reduction of output of agrarian expected to give expert advice to politicans as well as to the
products. Yet, in his opinion, the German national interest did public at large.
not at all require a further increase of agrarian production, but Weber's plea for this radical standpoint was couched in a
rather the preservation of the 'ethnic' landscape, as one would language which already shocked his contemporaries. He himself
put it nowadays. was almost pleased to learn about the irritation which his
The political implications of these proposals were far-reaching 'Inaugural Lecture' had evoked in his audience. It was indeed
indeed. They were based on the following line of reasoning: if full of phrases which display a militant nationalism, blended with
one wished to preserve the German nation-state as an ethnically Social Darwinist and to some extent even racialist notions.
homogeneous unit-that is to say, in this specific case, to keep Weber's contention that the Poles were an inferior race, at least
the Poles out-the agriculture in the east had to be organized in so far as they stood on a considerably lower cultural level, com-
contrary to the economic principle of maximization of produc- pared with the Germans, makes somewhat strange reading
tivity and output. The vested interests of the Junker nobility, nowadays, even if we make allowance for the fact that Weber
whose social traditions were tied up with a style of living which attributed this more to economic and social backwardness, than
was possible only on huge estates in the countryside, likewise had to any intrinsic racial qualities of the Polish people.
to give way to the national interest. The core of Weber's reasoning was that social life was
This argument, namely, that all other considerations and essentially 'a struggle of man against man', which became even
vested interests had to give way to the over-riding interest of the more tense under the socio-economic conditions created by the
preservation and indeed the enhancement of the nation state, emerging capitalist system. Weber vigorously argued that no one
was chosen by Max Weber as the central topic of his famous should deceive himself as to the fundamental fact that social life,
'Inaugural Lecture' at Freiburg in 1895 5 Here he did his best and in particular the destinies of national cultures, depend largely
to make crystal clear that the interests of the nation-state ought on the use of power, in one way or another. It was, in his opinion,
to have absolute priority over all other considerations; not only futile to assume, that a social and political order could be devised
5 Max Weber, Gesammelte Politische Schriften, ed. Johannes Winckel- in which recourse to force would become less and less necessary,
mann, 1971,3 ed. (henceforth referred to asPS), pp. Iff. in particular with regard to economic life: 'There is no peace in
 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics
the economic struggle for survival either: only those who take himself definitively from all sorts of racialist notions of this kind,
this delusion of peace for reality can possibly assume that the and that he later on passionately dissociated himself from all
future will bring peace and enjoyment of life to our descendants.' 6 racialist versions of nationalist thinking. Yet throughout his life
Weber was firmly convinced that the future harboured even more he adhered to the conclusion which he had already arrived at
intense strife between the nations of the world, on the political in the late I 8gos, namely that great nations are obliged to pre-
level as well as in the sphere of economic competition on the serve their sphere of influence and their national culture, if
world markets: 'The gloomy threat of the population problem as necessary by means of force.
such, to leave everything else aside, is reason enough to prevent Max Weber was convinced that, in an age of imperialism and
us from holding eudemonic views, and from assuming that there unrestricted international economic competition, the German
might be peace and happiness on the knees of the gods, or from nation state simply had to embark upon expansionist policies
thinking that there might be any other way than the fierce overseas. This he believed to be not only necessary but also
struggle of man against man, if the necessary elbow room is to the logical fulfilment of the political course of the German
be attained. ' 7 people which had been initiated by the foundation of the Reich.
These words remind us of the gloomy messages of Jewish Weber insisted that Germany must carry on along the path
prophets, who painted a black future of their own people in entered upon in I 87 I, by raising herself from a European to a
order to instigate them to follow the thorny path assigned to World Power: 'We ought to realize that the unification of
them by God. Weber warned the German people to be on their Germany was little else than a piece of folly which was committed
guard, even if only purely economic issues were at stake: by the nation in her old days, and which, in view of its costly
'Economic competition is just another sort of struggle of nations nature, rather ought not to have been embarked upon at all, if
with one another, and fighting for the preservation of our own this was supposed to be the end and not the initial stage of
national culture is under these conditions actually not made Germany's striving for the status of a World Power.m Weber's
easier, but more difficult because material interests are being in- staunch championship of a vigorous German W eltpolitik was
voked inside the nation herself that tend to work against her hailed with enthusiasm by his contemporaries and his message
future.' 8 Weber rounded this argument off with rather cryptic re- was taken up literally by a number of very influential journal-
marks about the future of mankind. 'It is not peace and happiness ists, Hans Delbriick and Friedrich Naumann prominent among
that we shall have to hand over to our descendants, but rather the them. Weber's bold move may be considered as a decisive step
principle of eternal struggle for the survival and the higher breed- towards making imperialism in Germany a fashionable attitude
ing [Emporzilchtung] of our national species.' 9 amongst the middle classes, in particular amongst the intelli-
These rather harsh statements were, without doubt, somewhat gentsia.
influenced by the New Nationalism which had developed in the In the late 1 8gos Max Weber acted on various occasions as
last decades of the nineteenth century, and which drew heavily a spokesman of a strong imperialist policy. He declared a success-
from both Social Darwinism, and a somewhat refined racialist ful expansion, among other things, to be a necessary pre-condition
interpretation of German national culture. 10 It should be pointed for the upkeep of the high living standards of the masses of the
out, however, that very soon afterwards Max Weber emancipated population. He argued that for this very reason the working
7 Ibid. (author's trans.).
classes ought to rally behind a strong expansionist policy overseas.
6 PS, p. I 2 (author's trans.).
8PS, p. 14 (author's trans.). 9 Ibid. (author's trans.). Weber even joined the Pan-German League, and lectured at
1o For the latter see Fritz Stem, The Politics of Cultural Despair, New some local meetings, largely on the Polish question. He left it
York, 1961. 11 PS, p. 23 (author's trans.).
32 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics 33
again when he discovered that even the 'Pan-Germans' were end. Yet after the first years of the twentieth century Weber
not willing to take a clear-cut stand against the Junker interests gradually modified his initial attitude. He became more aware of
as regards Polish seasonal labour. In I897 Weber also spoke up in realities and took a more elastic line, not simply advocating
favour of the construction of a German battle fleet: 'only people recourse to force as he had done in most of his youthful state-
who are altogether coddled in respect to political affairs and who ments on the issue of Imperialism. Indeed, he soon became a
are naive optimists will fail to recognize that the inevitable drive sharp critic of the kind of shallow nationalism which excelled in
to expand economically which is common to all civilized nations bombastic words, and thought only in terms of power and brute
organized on bourgeois lines after a transitional period of formally force, while it was devoid of any cultural substance. Weber for
peaceful competition, is again approaching a point where it will one would have none of the 'zoological nationalism', as he put it,
be power only which decides the size of the share of the in- that was cultivated at some German universities, as well as in the
dividual nations concerned in the economic control of the globe, Pan-German League and other societies of that kind devoted to
this being identical with the margin of facilities for the livelihood political agitation. 18
of their population, in particular their working classes' .12 Weber This can be shown by Weber's attitude towards the Poles. He,
propagated the necessity of German expansion vigorously and who had once claimed that it was only the German people who
with stringent arguments. At the same time he stated over and 'transformed the Poles into human beings', now gradually came
over again that such a policy could only be pursued with any to their assistance. He strongly criticized the 'Bill concerning
chance of success, if it could count on the support of the nation political associations' (which passed through the Reichstag in
at large. In order to achieve this he considered the first essen- I908 only after considerable wire-pulling behind the scenes) in
tials to be a thoroughgoing liberalization, and at least a partial so far as it discriminated against the use of the Polish language
democratization of the German political system. The predomi- in political meetings. During the First World War he eventually
nance of the Junkers in state and society alike could not, in took a clear-cut pro-Polish line, pointing out that the German
Weber's opinion, be reconciled with an ambitious policy over- nation had a cultural mission to fulfil in helping the Poles to re-
seas. Nor was the bureaucratic system by which Germany was establish their own nation-state. In I 9 I 7, he suggested that the
administered at the time capable of producing adequate political Polish people should be given a liberal constitution which would
leaders who might succeed in rallying the nation behind such a allow them a very high degree of autonomy although under the
policy. In this respect Weber referred time and again to the protection of the Central Powers.
British example; he pointed out that in the British case a free Weber's attitude to German war aims was also far from extre-
people had succeeded in acquiring a huge Empire, and not a mist, especially if compared with the gigantic expansionist plans
few indigenous peoples had succumbed voluntarily, rather than harboured at the time in Germany in almost all political quarters.
by force, to the British sway. Weber was a prominent representa- Weber objected outright to the annexation of any territories in
tive of what has been called 'Liberal Imperialism', although in the west-a position which at the time only a few people dared
some respects he was rather more radical than the majority of the to take up in public; at best he was willing to consider the ques-
Liberal Imperialists in Germany at the time, both in foreign tion of whether Germany should annex some small strips of terri-
politics and in domestic affairs. tory because of their strategic importance. All he did hope for was
In principle Max Weber remained faithful to this position that it might be possible to create an east-central European cor-
throughout his life, even in I 9 I 8, when he admitted with grief don sanitaire consisting of a series of largely autonomous small
that Germany's role as a world power had definitely come to an 13
For a more detailed elaboration of this point see Mommsen, Max
12
PS, p. go (author's trans.). Weber, p. 75.
D
34 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The ChamjJion of Nationalist Power Politics 35
slav nation-states under German hegemony, as a bulwark against I9I7, for he assumed that this would only weaken Germany's
Russia. war efforts, while being useless in bringing about an early peace.
Yet it was not sheer abrogation of all expansionist ideas as From the end of I 9 I 7, Weber showed growing concern about
such, which induced Weber to take up such a position. He main- the course of events, and the likely outcome of the war. He was
tained that a policy of wise moderation and restriction on the particularly worried about the decision to conduct unrestricted
European continent was a necessary prerequisite for any future submarine warfare which he had done so much to thwart, since
German 'world politics'. Greedy annexations of the kind sup- the entrance of the United States into the war seemed to him to
ported by the bulk of German public opinion were bound to put an end to all hopes for a negotiated peace. He also took
estrange Germany permanently from almost all the other Euro- exception to the peace of Brest Litovsk by which the chances of
pean powers, and would make a successful foreign policy for the winning the smaller Slav nations in the east over to the German
foreseeable future absolutely impossible. On the other hand he side had been gambled away, and with it the chance of preparing
held the opinion that Germany had to be a power state, and that, the way for a general peace by concluding a reasonable peace in
to retain her position among the World Powers she had been the East. He later remarked repeatedly that the German nation
obliged to run the risk of a European war: 'We had to be a paid bitterly for these two gigantic acts of folly, which had
power state, and had to take the risk of this war, in order to amounted to 'challenging destiny'.
have a voice in the decisions about the future of the globe.' 14 It It is highly typical of Weber's political character that in the
was also Germany's duty to do all in her power to fight the war hour of defeat-in spite of his severe objections to the policies of
with all the means at her disposal, since her role as a world Imperial Germany during the war-he nonetheless declined to
power was at stake and with it the position of the German culture join the huge wave of pacifism which swept the country, partly
in the world, and to some degree that of smaller European as a response to Wilson's 'Fourteen Points'. On the contrary, he
nations--the Swiss, the Dutch, the Swedes, for example-as well. considered it to be the duty of every honest German to behave
Though Weber was much more realistic in his appraisal of with 'national dignity'. In fact, his own nationalist feelings
Germany's prospects of winning the war than most of his attained a second peak, and he even dared defend Ludendorff
German contemporaries, he clearly did not want her to give in. who, rightly or wrongly, was universally believed to be chiefly
However, he was sincerely in favour of a negotiated peace, and- responsible for the military as well as the political disaster which
although he had made it a rule for himself to keep clear of direct had beset Germany.
political entanglement, he supported the Deutscher N ationalaus- Max Weber was furious about the revolutionary movement
schuss, a formally independent propaganda organization which mainly for nationalist reasons. In his view the disastrous outcome
had been secretly organized by the government in the summer of of the preliminary peace negotiations was a direct result of the
I9I6, in order to prepare public opinion for the impending Ger- revolution, for it had made a national levee en masse impossible,
man peace move which was eventually made on I 2 December of and hence it had hopelessly weakened the German negotiating
the same year. 15 On the other hand, he strongly objected to the position from the very start. He went so far as to charge the revo-
so-called 'July Resolution' of the German Reichstag of July lutionaries with the grave responsibility of having made Germany
defenceless against the Poles in open defiance of the Government
14PS, p. 174 . order to defend the East German territories if necessary by'
m
15For Weber's act1v1ty on behalf of the Deutsche Nationalausschuss
means of nationalist guerrilla warfare against foreign jntruders.
see Wolfgang Mommsen, in Stammer (ed.), Max Weber and Sociology
Today, Oxford, 1971, p. r 12, and, in a somewhat wider context, Dirk Weber would have nothing to do with the pacifist trends of the
Stegmann, Die Erben Bismarcks, KOln, 1971, pp. 503ff. day. As late as spring I920, in his famous public lecture 'Politics
 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics 37
as a Vocation', he defended the principles of power politics politician to live with this conflict, even at the expense of the
against the pacifist mood of the day. 16 peace of his own soul.
It is not easy to reconcile the record of Max Weber's actual Weber never envisaged any other world than his own, which
attitude to nationalism and power politics with his theoretical was largely characterized by the rivalry of nation states. He came
findings on the same issues. Remarkably, despite his passionate to believe that states organized on any other lines than that of
involvement, Weber was capable of analysing these phenomena nationality were not likely to survive for long, as the case of
with an unusual degree of insight, particularly if the level of Austria-Hungary seemed to indicate. He pointed out that the
scholarly information attained about these topics at the time is state was nowadays inevitably associated with the idea of the
taken into account. nation, and if not, it lacked adequate stability. Weber therefore
It should be noted that Weber's notion that it would be little assumed that, for a long time to come at least, nation-states were
more than sentimental folly to assume. that power could ever be likely to remain the quasi-natural units of political association
eliminated as an essential ingredient of politics, is to be found and political struggle.
throughout his political and sociological writings. Not only did he He was, however, fully aware of the fact that the term 'nation'
contend that power is the very essence of politics, but he went so was anything but unambiguous, and that it could mean many
far as to define political systems primarily in terms of power things to many men. After the turn of the century, he emanci-
relationships. To Weber, almost any social relationship is, or can pated himself more and more from the somewhat racialist con-
be interpreted as a display of power, however indirectly this may ception of the 'nation' which rather naively he had adhered to
be done. 'Power', it would seem, is one of the ultimate categories in his early years. He realized that ethnic homogeneity was by no
of his political sociology; 'power' can be legitimized, and possibly means a suitable category to cope with the manifold problems
held in check by a system of balances; it may also be made almost connected with the national ideal; a common cultural heritage
invisible by a system of normative rules and regulations which as well as conscious political decisions were much more important
would normally guarantee an order of things such that a recourse than ethnic factors. He occasionally pointed out that obviously
to physical force is exceptional. Yet it cannot be disposed of racialist interpretations of nationality problems were not likely
altogether. The liberal, and, later on, the Marxist dream, that it to succeed. There were all too many examples to the contrary, the
might be possible to replace 'the rule of man over man by the most conspicuous example being the Alsatians who belonged to
administration of things 017 was in his opinion an altogether the German nation, both on ethnic and on linguistic grounds, but
Utopian idea, and of doubtful value. Constant struggle or, in considered themselves nonetheless to be French citizens. He also
ordinary life, competition between men as well as between noted that, although no less than four different ethnic groups
nations was a necessary prerequisite to any dynamics in society, lived in Switzerland, there existed a specific Swiss national idea.
and hence also to individual liberty. Pacifism as well as genuine On the other hand, his conviction that a common language
Christian morality-as voiced amongst others by Tolstoy-Weber was a factor of first-rate importance for a stable political system,
considered to be weak and feeble creeds; creeds not worthy of a was corroborated by the case of Austria-Hungary which showed
self-confident personality. In this respect he sided with Machia- many signs of gradual disintegration after I g I 6. Yet he now con-
velli, although he by no means belittled the fundamental conflict sidered language less as an indication of the affiliation to a par-
between everyday and political ethics, as the Florentine thinker ticular ethnic group, but rather as the most conspicuous element
had done. It was the duty as well as the responsibility of the of a common cultural heritage. Within the frame of reference
16 PS, pp. 546ff. of a state-oriented conception of the nation, there gradually
17 Cf. below, p. 87. emerged an alternative concept which defined nation primarily
 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics 39
19
as the embodiment of the cultural values and traditions held in through the cultivation of the peculiarity of a group.' Further-
common by a particular people. On the other hand, the con- more the nation-state defends, and possibly expands, the sphere
nexion between the 'nation' and the 'nation-state' as its power which is dominated by its own cultural community, against rival
organization was never completely severed. Weber was convinced national cultures, and for this very reason the nation-state is con-
that no cultural community could survive for long without creat- sidered by the educated classes in particular as a most worthy
ing its own political organization-at least not in the case of object of their endeavours.
larger nations. Conversely, however, the nation-state derives its About 1913, it did occur to Max Weber that things might
raison d'etre-that is to say its ideological legitimation-largely well work the other way round-that is, the establishment of a
from the cultural values accepted and held in common by the powerful nation-state might well do harm to a viable national
respective national group. culture. He noted that the German victory in 1871 had not
On the basis of these observations Max Weber eventually came fostered the development of art and literature in the political
to believe that three major factors constitute a 'nation': centre of Germany, a statement which reminds us of Nietzsche's
rather harsh saying that the foundation of the German Empire
1. a common national language, amounted to 'the extirpation of the German spirit in favour of
2. a common cultural heritage, and the German Empire'. 20 Yet Weber did not follow this up by
3 a political organization which is endowed with sufficient inquiring whether this insight might put his belief in the nation as
military power and which is the carrier of a specific 'power an ultimate value into jeopardy.
prestige', that is to say which is believed to be capable of It is worth noting that to Weber the display of some degree of
employing force against other states, if the need should political power was an essential element of the nation-state, even
arise, in defence of the honour of the nation. though he repeatedly pointed out that there were many nations
These three factors are usually intimately connected, although which had no substantial 'power organization'. 21 In the case of
with varying degrees of relative weight and importance. The Switzerland, he believed the renunciation of a power status even
factor of 'power' is by no means a mere technical element, for it to be the very core of the idea of Swiss nationality. It might seem
confers a certain prestige or, as Weber puts it elsewhere, a certain that the power element existed in this particular case as, in
'pathos' on the nation as such: 'Time and again we find that the mathematical tenns, a 'negative', yet nonetheless as a substantial
concept "nation" directs us to political power. Hence the concept factor. Weber distinguished between 'power-states' on the one
seems to refer-if it refers at all to a uniform phenomenon-to hand, and 'outwardly small nations' on the other, although he
a specific kind of pathos which is linked to an idea of a powerful conceded that the latter also had to fulfil a specific mission in his-
community of people who share a common language, or religion, tory. The small nation-states, however, could only survive,
or common customs, or political memories; such a state may according to Weber, under either the virtual shield of protection
already exist or it may be desired.' 18 On the other hand the legiti- of a 'Great Power' or by enjoying relative security from aggres-
macy of the nation-state is usually derived from the high esteem sion through the balance of power within the European state
in which a common cultural heritage is held, and hence it is system by which the aggressive energies of the great power
closely linked with the destinies of the 'cultural community', as states were mutually kept in check. It is only in this way that the
well as with its values: 'The significance of a "nation" is usually smaller nation-states were able to enjoy a relative degree of politi-
anchored in the superiority, or at least the irreplaceability, of the 19 EaS, Vol. 2, p. 925.
culture values that are to be preserved and developed only 20 WuG, Vol. 2, p. 530, note (EaS, Vol. 2, p. 926, note.)
18
EaS, Vol. r, pp. 397.
21 Cf. WuG, Vol. r, p. 244.
 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics
cal security, which was sometimes even given the form of the poraries in Germany and to some degree even in the whole of the
formal guarantee of their territorial integrity by the great powers. west. However strongly Weber felt about national issues-after
Weber used a similar line of reasoning whenever he set out to having corrected his initial lapse as regards the Polish people-he
justify the German war effort. Germany being in an altogether never lost sight of the necessity to pay attention to the vital interests
different position than the smaller European nations--such as, of other nations as well. His contention that a power state has obli-
for instance, the Swiss or the Dutch or the Norwegians-had a gations not only to its own population but also to other smaller
duty to fight the First World War in order to have a say in the nation-states of common cultural parentage, shows the same
decisions on 'the quality of the culture of the future'. She could viewpoint, although he did not always keep clear of what nowa-
not, with honour, allow the world to be divided up between the days would be called a veiled or 'informal' imperialism.
'reglements of Russian bureaucrats on the one hand, and the This change of attitude is also reflected in the development of
conventions of Anglo-Saxon society on the other, possibly with an Weber's theoretical conception of imperialism. Until shortly
infusion of Latin raison'. 22 Germany as a 'power state' had to before the war, no theoretical statements about the nature of
live up to her responsibilities, not only in regard to the survival of modern imperialism can be found in Weber's writings. 23 There
her own peculiar culture but also, although somewhat more are only a few scattered passages in his political writings which
indirectly, on behalf of the cultures of the small central European allow a reconstruction of his views about Imperialism as a socio-
nation-states as well. In his opinion their existence depended to a political phenomenon. In his violent imperialist statements of the
considerable degree upon the existence of a strong German late I 8gos Weber stressed, in particular, the economic advantages
nation-state in the centre of Europe. of imperialist expansion, even though he always referred in the
As far as the scanty sources allow, one may well conclude that last resort to the national interest as such. Until 1908, and per-
Weber envisaged a post-war political order in Europe, as well as haps a little later, Weber held a position in some respects similar
in the world at large, in which the Great Powers would once to that of Marxism, although it originated with mid-nineteenth-
more be the backbone of world politics. They were all expected to centry bourgeois national economists like John Stuart Mill and
act as virtual protectors of those smaller nation-states which were David Ricardo. Weber assumed-just as John Stuart Mill had
in no position to hold their own in an age of power politics and argued two generations before and as Rosa Luxemburg was to
imperialism, but which had, on the other hand, to fulfil particu- maintain a few years later-that the dynamics of capitalism
lar cultural duties. Weber's admittedly vague remarks about the depended, at least to some degree, on the continuous opening-up
outlines of a possible post-war European order would seem to of virgin territories all over the globe, by which capitalist indus-
indicate that he expected that the German Empire would con- trialism would constantly be supplied with fresh opportunities of
tinue to dominate central and east-central Europe largely by exploitation. Weber appears to have expected that the process of
indirect means, in the face of a re-emerging Russia on the one economic growth was bound to gradually slow down, at least in
hand and the rising power of the United States on the other, the long run. Hence the tendency of the major industrial states
while abstaining from all direct annexations. to secure for themselves an exclusive sphere of economic activity,
It depends on one's point of view whether this vision is des- to the detriment of all the others, by excluding all foreign compe-
cribed as an outright imperialist scheme, or as a rational assess- tition from those spheres of influence by high tariff walls would
ment of the political potentialities of the time. Yet undoubtedly gain considerable momentum. It is probably primarily for this
Weber's political ideas about the future political order of Europe reason that Weber spoke up so violently in favour of German
were much more moderate than those of most of his contem- 23 For a more detailed exposition of Weber's imperialist views see

22 PS, p. I43 W. J, Mommsen, Max Weber, pp. 76ff.

I.
 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics The ChamjJion of Nationalist Power Politics 43
expansionism. He contended that Germany must do everything Weber did not think, however, that it would be possible to get
within her power to secure territories overseas, that is to say ex- rid of imperialism by abolishing capitalism altogether. On the
clusive spheres of economic activity, while this was still possible- contrary he argued that socialist systems were just as much
that is to say before the world was divided up into closed zones of inclined to exploit dependent territories as capitalist ones. Weber,
economic control. Once the present period of international as a matter of fact, went so far as to argue that the opportunities
competition had come to an end, the dynamics of the economic for monopolistic exploitation are the more numerous the more
system, the well-being of the masses of the population and, in the the public sector expands at the expense of the private sector of
last resort, the degree of individual freedom as well, would all an economic system. For only the state can create monopolies,
depend to a large degree on the size of the nation's colonial and the more it controls the economy, the more it does so. In
dependencies. For this very reason it appeared plausible for other words: nationalization would only bring about an increase
liberal individualists such as Weber to become ardent and in the economic incentives for imperialists ventures, and lead to
passionate champions of imperialism. an intensification of imperialism. Hence competitive capitalism,
Around r g I I Max Weber was obviously no longer such a pes- in contrast to booty-capitalism, is implicitly exculpated from the
simist about the future of the capitalist system, although he still charge of fostering imperialism, a line of reasoning that was taken
believed that imperialism, rather than peaceful international up later by Schumpeter and Walt Whitman Rostow.
trade and free economic exchange, would have its way at least In fact, Weber did not believe that economic factors alone are
in the foreseeable future. 24 Consequently there was no longer an sufficient to explain imperialist policies. To some degree he sup-
over-whelming economic necessity for imperialist expansion at all ported the traditional notion that 'power prestige' is an important
costs. This allowed Weber to assess on a scholarly basis the factors factor in inducing great powers to pursue a consistent expansionist
which may stimulate expansionist policies, by means of a com- policy. This would seem to be in line with the interpretation
parative analysis of imperialist phenomena throughout history of imperialism as a sort of intensified struggle between great
which foreshadowed Schumpeter's famous essay on 'The Socio- powers, a conception which is essentially a transplantation of
logy of Imperialisms'. Although Weber did not develop a formal Ranke's conception of history, in which the Great Powers play
theory of imperialism, he assembled vital elements for it. He the role of the prime movers in the European State System,
dealt at length with the various economic factors which might onto imperialistic world politics. Yet Max Weber did not stop
encourage imperialist politics. He pointed out that booty-capita- there. He demonstrated that this sort of 'power prestige' which,
lism, which was interested in the monopolistic exploitation of under modern conditions, was intimately associated with the
economic opportunities opened up in the course of imperialist complexity of emotional feelings which make up the idea of the
annexations, was the most important and, at the same time, nation, was conditioned by a variety of sociological factors. It is
most common type of economic influence on imperialism. He above all the intelligentsia which identifies itself with the idea of
went on to say that the exploitation of monopolistic opportunities the nation, and which propagates it among the population at
is always more profitable than the pursuance of ordinary in- large. In doing so the intelligentsia is obviously motivated not
dustrial enterprises oriented to peaceful exchange with trading only by idealistic convictions, but even more by massive material
partners in other nations. Weber attributed particular importance, interests. For any expansion of the national culture increases their
however, to the interests of the producers of war machinery, and chances of profitable employment, and-what is infinitely more
armament materials; they are, in his opinion, whatever the out- important-if the prestige of the national culture is enhanced by
come, directly interested in expansionist policies. successful imperialist policies, their own social status is likely to
24 WuG, Vol. 2, p. 526 (EaS, Vol. 2, grg). be substantially elevated also.
44 The ChamjJion of Nationalist Power Politics The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics 45
In a wider sense the ruling classes, and in particular, the ruling any extension of the sphere of influence of their own national
elites, always gain substantially from successful imperialist opera- culture. It is to be regretted that Weber never did assemble these
tions. Max Weber comes close to the modern concept of 'social most important elements of a theory of imperialism into a
imperalism' as a manipulative strategy of ruling elites designed coherent theory. Yet, even in this form, the debate on the nature
to defend their own privileged positions in the existing social of modern imperialism, which has gone on since then up to the
system, and to forestall the imminent rise of the working classes present day, owes a great deal to his insight.
to power. He points out that successful imperialist ventures It may well be said that Weber, by rationally analysing the
usually lead to an enhancement of political prestige and hence motives to be found behind imperialism, erected considerable
of the positions of the ruling classes within the social system: barriers against his own imperialist passions. Yet he did not dis-
'Every successful policy of coercing other countries as a rule-or, card them. He was convinced that 'for the predictable future'
at any rate, initially-also strengthens the domestic prestige and everything pointed to a further growth of imperialist tendencies,
thereby the power and influence of those classes, status groups, and he saw no real alternative to it. Germany, in his opinion,
and parties, under whose leadership success has been attained. ' 25 could not afford to step aside, all the more so as a failure
It is for this very reason, according to Weber, that the working in the general scramble for territories and economic opportuni-
classes are usually opposed to imperialism, although their own ties overseas was bound to be detrimental to the German eco-
economic position is usually improved by a policy of imperialist nomy. It may be pointed out, by the way, that Weber was hardly
expansion, at least in comparison with the lot of their fellows in inclined to give preference on moral grounds to peaceful inter-
other, less successful countries. national exchange rather than to straightforward economic
In I g I 3, Max Weber assumed that the 'universal revival of imperialism. He was in fact anything but an enthusiastic free
"imperialist capitalism", which has always been the normal form trader. On the contrary, he stated bluntly that market-oriented
in which capitalist interests have influenced politics', and 'a revi- trade with colonies or other dependent territories overseas was in
val of political drives for expansion' were again well under way. 26 principle not all that much different from exploitation by means
It is noteworthy that in explaining this he listed all those factors of direct imperialist control. He pointed out that industrial socie-
which since then have become the stock-in-trade arguments of ties normally draw most of their advantages from imperialism
the various non-Marxist theories of imperialism. He emphasized in form of payments and interest charges which fully comply
the imperialist interests of certain sectors in capitalist economies with the rules of ordinary market-oriented capitalist business.
without putting the blame on the capitalist system as such. He For Weber personally, economic considerations of this kind
drew attention to the fact that the rivalries between the European carried only limited weight after I9I3 He supported imperialism
Powers considerably intensified the struggle for territories and now more and more on the grounds that without it an indepen-
spheres of exclusive economic influence abroad. Yet even more dent German national culture would, in the long run, stand little
important was his observation that since the prestige and the chance of survival in a world dominated by two or three Super
ambitions of the ruling classes were usually enhanced, or, at any Powers. His own position was very much in line with the cultural
rate, stabilized, by successful imperialist ventures, this was indeed imperialism of the intelligentsia as classified in his own theory. In
a very powerful force behind the drive for imperialism. Last, but his opinion, imperialist struggle was the order of the day. It could
not least, Weber emphasized the particular role of the intelligent- not, and would not, be stopped in the foreseeable future, and
sia in promoting imperialism. For they are directly interested in hence it was futile, and even dishonourable, not to support the
interests of one's own nation-state. Apart from that, Max Weber
25 WuG, Vol. 2, p. 527 (trans. by the author); cf. EaS, Vol. 2, p. g2o.
26 WuG, Vol. I, p. 526 (EaS, Vol. 2, p. gig.) intensely disliked the idea of a well-ordered world in which
46 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics
political struggle and economic competition would give way to a
dubious system of universal peace guaranteed by the tyrannical
rule of a Super Power. In this respect the fate of the Mediterra-
nean culture was a discouraging example. In his essays on the III
decline of the Roman Empire he had found that by imposing a
strict pax romana on the whole west Mediterranean culture, the The Alternative to Marx: Dynamic Capitalism
Roman Empire had paved the way for its eventual ossification.
Weber clearly did not like the idea that this might happen all
instead if Bureaucratic Socialism
over again.

Max Weber was-within the history of political ideas-the great

bourgeois antipode of Karl Marx and, with much justification, he
has been called a bourgeois Marx'. 1 This statement requires some
qualification since there are substantial differences between these
two great personalities. Unlike Karl Marx, Max Weber did not
initiate a political movement with a distinctive ideological
orientation, and he never tried to do so, although the persuasive
powers which were at his disposal were possibly just as great
as those of Marx. Although he always lived on the borderline
between politics and scholarship, he nonetheless devoted his
intellectual activities, despite great emotional strain, almost ex-
clusively to a scholarly life. Yet it may well be said that, had
there existed somewhat more progressive political conditions in
Germany in the middle of the nineteenth century, Karl Marx
also might have become a prominent professor rather than the
great ideologist,-the role that made him a world-historical
figure. It may further be said that Max Weber did not succeed
in establishing a school of his own. 2 Those who may be con-
sidered to have been influenced deeply by his scholarly work-for
instance Joseph Schumpeter, Robert Michels, Georg Lukacs, Karl
Jaspers, Karl Lowenstein, Paul Honigsheim, 3 or, in a somewhat
1 Cf. Albert Salomon, 'Max Weber', in: Die Gesellschaft, Vol. III, r,

rg26, p. 131.
2 Cf. Karl Liiwith, 'Max Weber and Karl Marx', in: Gesammelte

Abhandlungen zur Kritik der geschichtlichen Existenz, Stuttgart, rg6o,

p. 3f; W. A. Runciman, Social Science and Political Theory, Cambridge,
rg6s, pp. 52f.
3 For Honigsheim see his essay: 'Max Weber in Heidelberg. Erinnerun-

gen an Max Weber', in: Max Weber zum Gediichtnis. Kolner Zeitschrift
46 The Champion of Nationalist Power Politics
political struggle and economic competition would give way to a
dubious system of universal peace guaranteed by the tyrannical
rule of a Super Power. In this respect the fate of the Mediterra-
nean culture was a discouraging example. In his essays on the III
decline of the Roman Empire he had found that by imposing a
strict pax romana on the whole west Mediterranean culture, the The Alternative to Marx: Dynamic Capitalism
Roman Empire had paved the way for its eventual ossification.
Weber clearly did not like the idea that this might happen all
instead of Bureaucratic Socialism
over again.

Max Weber was-within the history of political ideas-the great

bourgeois antipode of Karl Marx and, with much justification, he
has been called a bourgeois Marx'. 1 This statement requires some
qualification since there are substantial differences between these
two great personalities. Unlike Karl Marx, Max Weber did not
initiate a political movement with a distinctive ideological
orientation, and he never tried to do so, although the persuasive
powers which were at his disposal were possibly just as great
as those of Marx. Although he always lived on the borderline
between politics and scholarship, he nonetheless devoted his
intellectual activities, despite great emotional strain, almost ex-
clusively to a scholarly life. Yet it may well be said that, had
there existed somewhat more progressive political conditions in
Germany in the middle of the nineteenth century, Karl Marx
also might have become a prominent professor rather than the
great ideologist,-the role that made him a world-historical
figure. It may further be said that Max Weber did not succeed
in establishing a school of his own. 2 Those who may be con-
sidered to have been influenced deeply by his scholarly work-for
instance Joseph Schumpeter, Robert Michels, Georg Lukacs, Karl
Jaspers, Karl Lowenstein, Paul Honigsheim, 3 or, in a somewhat
1 Cf. Albert Salomon, 'Max Weber', in: Die Gesellschaft, Vol. III, r,

1926, p. 13 I.
2 Cf. Karl Lowith, 'Max Weber and Karl Marx', in: Gesammelte

Abhandlungen zur Kritik der geschichtlichen Existenz, Stuttgart, rg6o,

p. 3f; W. A. Runciman, Social Science and Political Theory, Cambridge,
rg6s, pp. s2f.
3 For Honigsheim see his essay: 'Max Weber in Heidelberg. Erinnerun-

gen an Max Weber', in: Max Weber zum Gedachtnis. Kolner Zeitschrift
 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism 49
more indirect way, Talcott Parsons or Hans Freyer or even Carl The various, sometimes rather casual, occasionally even cryptic,
Schmitt-eventually took up intellectual positions that had little remarks on Marxism which are to be found in Weber's writings
in common with Max Weber: they, for the most part, settled do not help very much. Attempts to put them together carefully
down in other camps, especially with regard to the issues of lead to rather unsatisfactory results; 5 one thing, however, can be
capitalism and socialism which are our main concern here. safely concluded, namely that Weber does not appear to have
Nevertheless the intellectual influence of Max Weber on read Marx and Engels widely in his early career; at least up
'
Western nco-capitalism was by no means a small affair. Such to r 906 Max Weber referred to Marxism in the vulgar versions
figures as Friedrich Hajek, Hannah Arendt or Karl Joachim of the day rather than to the original writings of Marx and Engels
Friedrich, who strongly influenced Western political thought i.n themselves.
the I 950s, derived much of their intellectual weaponry in the1r Weber's refutation of Stammlers M aterialistische Geschichts-
disputes with communism from Max Weber's arguments. This auffassung, for instance, had little to do with a dispute about
is even more the case with regard to Dietrich Miiller-Armack, the original Marxism as such. In one of his early lectures at Freiburg
intellectual creator and theoretician of Ludwig Erhard's Soziale University which was delivered before I898, Weber referred to
Marktwirtschaft which brought about the economic recovery of Marx as a man who was conspicuous for his 'contempt of men',
West Germany with unexpected speed. The enormous revival of a phrase which indicates that Weber was familiar at least with
interest in Max Weber after the Second World War, especially some original writings of Marx. On the other hand, all available
because he was considered a champion of empirical social science information seems to support the conclusion that it was only
not only in Germany but in particular in the United States- fairly late in his intellectual development that he dealt with
must be at least partially attributed to the fact that his theories Marx systematically. Marx's Capital is quoted only in Economy
were, in principle, in line with the social and economic conditions and Society, whereas in the earlier writings references to Marx
of the capitalist societies of the west. are generally made in a sweeping style that would suggest that
Any analysis of the relationship of Max Weber and Karl Marx, Weber's knowledge of Marx at that time was largely derived
or perhaps more precisely of Max Weber's attitude towards Karl from secondary sources; in particular, it may be assumed, Karl
Marx, is faced with one initial difficulty: Weber never dealt with Sombart's Der Modeme Kapitalismus, and Heinrich Herlmer's
Marx's theories in a systematic, let alone in a comprehensive, Arbeiterfrage.
way. We have to rely largely on casual remarks and arguments Max Weber speaks up most strongly against Marx in his
which are scattered all over Weber's political and scholarly methodological writings. As has already been pointed out in
writings. The public lecture on 'Socialism', delivered by Max a different context, Max Weber objected in principle to all
Weber in Vienna in June I 9 r 8 to an audience of Austrian officers, 'material' philosophies of history, or in other words, to all con-
is the only text in which the issues of Marxism and Socialism a detailed analysis of the political context of this public speech see W. J.
are discussed at length. Yet it cannot be considered a system- Mommsen, Max Weber, p. 276f.
5 Of., for instance, Gunther Roth, 'Das historische Verhaltnis der
atic treatment of the issues involved; nor is it scholarly, in the
Weberschen Soziologie zum Marxismus', Kolner Zeitschrift fiir Soziologie,
sense that it is free from arguments chosen for specific political yol. XX, 3, 1968, p. 432; ibid., 'The Historical Relationship to Marxism',
as well as tactical considerations. 4 m: Reinhard Bendix and Guenther Roth, Scholarship and Partisanship:
Essays on Max Weber, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1971, pp.
fiir Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Sonderheft 7, 1963, pp. r6rff., as 227ff. Anthony Giddens, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory. An analysis
well as his On Max Weber. Collected Essays, New York, 1968. of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber, Cambridge, 1971,
4 'Der Sozialismus', Gesammelte Aufsiitze zur Soziologie und Sozial- pp. 1~off. gives a short outline of Weber's attitude towards Marx, but does
politik, Ti.ibingen, 1924 (henceforth referred to as SSP), pp. 492ff. For not drscuss the essential problem of capitalism versus bureaucratic socialism.
E
50 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism
structions of the historical process that claim to have extrapolated valuable as a particular form of the ideal-typical construction,
either a set of objective laws or, at any rate, to have discovered they were absolutely unpalatable to him as ontological propo-
an intrinsic meaning in history. 6 From his neo-Kantian point sitions: 'Liberated as we are from the antiquated notion that
of view which was blended to no small degree with Nietzsche, all all cultural phenomena can be deduced as a product or function
objective schemes of the historical process, the so-called 'historical of the constellation of material interests, we believe nevertheless
materialism' included, were completely unacceptable. The that the analysis of social and cultural phenomena with special
Marxist theory of history which saw the essence of the process reference to their economic conditioning and ramifications was
of social change in a sequence of distinctive social formations a scientific principle of creative fruitfulness and, with careful
which were defined by different forms of 'economic reproduction' application and freedom from dogmatic restrictions, will remain
and were propelled by class conflicts was, in his opinion, bare of such for a very long time to come. The so-called "materialistic
all scientific foundation. There did not exist, according to Weber, conception of history" as a Weltanschauung or as a formula for
any 'laws' in social reality; at best it was possible to construct the causal explanation of historical reality is to be rejected most
law-like conceptualizations of social processes by means of ideal emphatically. ' 7
types, which could then be used as yardsticks to measure the As has been pointed out by, among others, Ji.irgen Kocka,
degree to which any given segment of social reality deviated from Weber interpreted Marx in this respect in a somewhat unfair and
these nomological concepts. This was the case, in Weber's opinion, crude manner. 8 Marx's position, in fact, was not that far apart
not only with regard to the laws of theoretical economy but just from his own, in so far as he did not intend to formulate purely
as much with regard to Marx's conception of the dialectical abstract historical laws of a rigid quality. Marx's doctrine of
process of world history, by which pre-capitalist social structures a process both necessary and irreversible leading from feudalism
were turned into bourgeois-capitalist structures and in the end through capitalism to socialism was intended to be a scheme of
into socialist systems. One may point out that this implied a orientation that required the actual action of men to put it into
serious misunderstanding regarding the epistemological position practice-at one time the bourgeoisie, at other times the pro-
of Marx which was, in fact, by no means as rigid as Weber letariat-and it is only the later interpretations of Marx's doc-
assumed. trines, by Engels and, eventually, by Kautsky and others, that
This attitude was a logical consequence of Weber's funda- turned them into a rigid mechanistic theory.
mental assumption that the historical universe as such is meaning- Even if this point is granted, it may well be said that Marx
less, and, at least from the potential point of view of any given was infinitely more optimistic about the possibility of a theory
observers, more or less chaotic. As we have seen, it is only by of social reality which was essentially comprehensive, and not
applying certain concepts and categories, formulated from the just one schema amongst others undertaken from a particular
viewpoint of certain ultimate cultural values, onto a limited point of view. Marx's confidence in the possibility of a 'holistic'
segment of reality, that it becomes intelligible to us. Weber was theory of history was due not only to the strong influence of
hence perfectly willing to accept Marx's interpretation of history, 7 Shils, p. 68.
in terms of the various forms of production, as a most useful 8
Cf. Jiirgen Kocka, 'Karl Marx und Max Weber. Ein methodologischer
hypothesis which might help to gain important insights into the Vergleich', Zeitschrift fiir die gesammte Staatswissenschaft, Vol. 122,
development of modern industrial society. Yet he was not pre- 1966, pp. 341f. Richard Ashcraft, 'Marx and Weber on Liberalism as
pared to accept this as the whole story. To put it another way, Bourgeois Ideology', Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol.
14, No. 2, 1972, shows strikingly the similarities between Weber's and
while Marx's theories were considered by Weber to be most Marx's approach, regardless of the former's reservations as to Marx's
a See above, pp. 2ff. dogmatic method.
52 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism 53
Hegel, but was also closely connected with his conviction that which the social sciences might ever arrive at universal judge-
'consciousness' is always primarily, if not entirely, conditioned by ments about the nature and character of particular social struc-
objective economic conditions. Max Weber always remained tures, as well as about their significance in the light of ultimate
extremely sceptical about the validity of this assumption. Although human values and beliefs of the most diverse kind. Any attempt
he was prepared to acknowledge the value of such an approach to go any further, and to claim 'objective' truths of any kind
on a hypothetical basis he deeply distrusted any, and in particular whatever on scientific grounds, was not only bound to fail but
this, virtually monocausal interpretation of the historical process. also likely to cause infinite harm. For at this point the freedom of
In contrast to Marx, Weber's own notions about the conditioning the individual as well as his creative spontaneity were at stake.
factors of 'class consciousness' or of 'status consciousness', were Any such theory was apt to be detrimental to the responsibility of
essentially pluralistic. He refused ever to make a definite choice the autonomous individual in making his own choice between
as to whether economic or non-economic factors were decisive in different sets of ultimate values in so far as it imputed to him the
the last resort. idea that there was only one future course of events to which the
Weber was, on the whole, extremely reluctant to admit the only sensible attitude would be to adjust willingly. In Weber's
possibility of holistic interpretations of social reality and history. opinion, any scientific theory must come to a halt when the
Nonetheless, it would be misleading to conclude that he abstained sphere of value decision-making was reached.
throughout his life from all attempts to arrive at comprehensive Within the framework of the conception of social science,
interpretations of the social process, as Kocka would have it. It is as presented in Weber's theoretical writings, the individuals can
only in the earlier writings that he restricted his endeavours to the always opt for or against predominant social trends. With the
extrapolation of particular chains of causal relationships from the Marxist concept, however, they appeared to be reduced more
meaningless infinity of reality which seemed significant from or less to mere puppets whose actions were conditioned by their
specific points of view. 9 This is particularly the case, of course, class-situation according to the objective laws of 'historical
with regard to the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. materialism'. At best their revolutionary action, provided that it
Yet, from Weber's point of view, one could say that Marx had was undertaken at the right moment, might accelerate the emer-
done just the same, by constructing a comprehensive scheme of gence of a new social formation.
history around the guiding principle of the modes of production, It follows from this that, in the first instance, it was the liberal
the only difference being that Marx claimed that his findings individualist in Weber which objected to the determinist implica-
were the whole truth. Weber did not believe it possible, on purely tions of Marx's theory. This is not to say, however, that Max
scientific grounds, to go any further than developing ideal-typical Weber took exception to all aspects of 'Historical Materialism',
systematizations which took account of, and described the pre- It ought to be reduced to what, in his opinion, it really was: one
dominant trends as well as the retardatory factors at work in particular approach amongst others that did not claim to be the
history, while at the same time being attentive to their socio- whole truth and nothing but the truth. The Marxist theory was
cultural significance. Yet he meant to do this on a truly universal acceptable to him in two forms: either as a brilliant and most
scale and in such a way that all available information about the important hypothesis, which deserved the utmost attention of
development of all known civilizations throughout history would all the social sciences; or possibly, as a political ideology, which
be taken into consideration. This seemed to him the only way in did not pretend to rest on any scientific foundation whatever and
was designed only to propel men into revolutionary action. It is
9 This point has to be made against the argument of Kocka, op. cit.,
p. 344, which tends to take the earlier methodological writings as the
only in this latter meaning that Max Weber was prepared to
whole story. accept Socialism as a doctrine worthy of serious consideration.
54 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism 55
13
He showed the utmost contempt for the German Social Demo- Critique of the Marxist theory of history' . In fact Weber never
crats precisely because they claimed that the objective historical claimed that his thesis on the origins of capitalism had definitely
process would infallibly bring about their eventual victory. He answered the question why and how the capitalist industrial
not only ridiculed such an attitude; he did not consider it worthy system did emerge. He repeatedly stated that he had laid bare
of a serious political movement. Socialism, as indeed any poli- just one set of factors, while there were many others which must
tical creed, was utterly disgusting to him in as much as it pre- also be considered to form necessary preconditions for the rise of
sented itself in pseudo-scientific guise: For those, however, to capitalism. Furthermore, Max Weber tended to describe capital-
whom Socialism was a matter of personal conviction on moral ism in much the same way as did Marx: as a world-historical
grounds-in other words, a gesinnungsethische position-how- phenomenon of an irresistible quality, as one of the great revolu-
ever bleak the objective chances of its eventual success might be, tionary forces in the modern world. Weber, in fact, came very
Weber had considerable respect. Although he did not share their close to Marx's position when he argued that mature capitalism
beliefs in the least, Weber entertained intimate relations with can survive without the specific mentality which was the off-
Russian revolutionary socialists in Heidelberg during the latter spring of puritan ascetism. In an almost Marxist fashion he des-
years of the First World War. 10 cribed the modern capitalist system as an irresistible social force
Max Weber was most concerned with, and objected most which coerces men to subject themselves quasi-voluntarily to its
strongly to what is commonly called the Marxist theory of Ueber- objective social conditions, regardless of whether they like them
bau. He was not prepared to accept the argument that all social or not. Henceforth they have got to be Berufsmenschen, for the
phenomena could be sufficiently explained by reference to econo- system of modern industrial capitalism does not permit otherwise.
mic causes only: 'The argument of the materialist conception of At this point Max Weber is, in fact, closest to Marx's contention
history, that "economic factors" are in any, however specified, that capitalism is substantially an inhumane form of social order.
meaning an "ultimate cause" in the causal sequence has, to my Yet Weber refused to go all the way with Marx on this point. He
opinion, on scientific grounds had its day.m At the same time, maintained that even under the social conditions created by
however, Weber protested against Stammler's crude attempt to modern capitalism it is not just the 'dynamics of material
refute Marx's materialistic conception of history by simply ascrib- interests' which determines the course of events, but also the
ing to all relevant social data in any given social framework a dynamics of 'ideal interests'. Both, the 'material interests', and
'materialist' quality. 12 the 'ideal interests', must be taken into account in any analysis of
Weber's objection to all monocausal interpretations of an the historical process. 14 Max Weber took great pains to demon-
economic nature does not necessarily mean that he took an strate, first in the Protestant Ethic, and later in his studies on the
idealist position. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capital- world religions that 'ideal interests' may bring about social
ism is commonly held to prove the case for the autonomy of change as well; and even further that they may well become,
idealist, and specifically religious forces in history. However, it under particular conditions, a revolutionary force, even though-
was by no means intended to be a direct refutation of Marxism, or possibly because-they have nothing at all to do with motiva-
although Weber did present his thesis in I g I 8 in a series of lec- tions of an economic nature.
tures at the University of Munich, though not without some It is on this point that Weber stands farthest from Marx. In
reluctance, under the somewhat misleading heading: 'Positive contrast to Marx, he seriously believed that the individual who is
1o Cf. W. J. Mommsen, Max Weber, p. 121. 13 Cf. Lebensbild, p. 652.
14 Cf. RS, Vol. I, p. 252: 'Interessen (materielle und ideelle), nicht:
11 SSP, p. 456. See also WL, p. 315.
12 W L, pp. 2ggff. Ideen, beherrschen unmittelbar das Handeln der Menschen.'
 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism 57
oriented to and directed by ultimate values of whatever kind- less on formal rationality in all spheres of social life. It was, more-
and the more the latter are in contradiction to everyday reality, over driven by irresistible forces to create conditions which would
so much the better-may be an ultimate, irreducible force in allow a maximum of productivity and a maximum degree of effi-
history, in so far as he may find ways and means to reconstruct a ciency. For this very reason, it was pushing all forms of indi-
given social context in accordance with these ultimate values. vidually-oriented social conduct more and more into the
The actual results of such individual actions are, of course, background. To put it in other words, the further advance of
largely conditioned by the specific social situation in which the capitalism was inevitably tied up with the rise of ever more effi-
individual finds himself, but the initiating steps as such cannot cient bureaucracies, and an ever greater degree of formal rational
easily be traced back to economic or other primary motives. organization on all levels of social interaction. Weber envisaged
Even at this point there exists a fundamental analogy between that this process was likely to eventually result in the emergence
Max Weber and Karl Marx, or at any rate the author of the of a 'new iron cage of serfdom', in which all forms of value-
Philosophical Manuscripts of r844. Karl Lowith has demon- oriented social conduct would be suffocated by the almighty
strated in a masterful essay which is still among the best pieces bureaucratic structures and by the tightly knit networks of
ever written on this topic, that both thinkers were concerned with formal-rational laws and regulations, against which the indivi-
the same fundamental issues, namely the possible future of man dual would no longer stand any chance at all.
as a human being under the conditions of the emerging industrial Weber argued, in words, which remind us of Marx's prophe-
system. 15 Marx pointed out that under the capitalist system of tic statements about the same subject, that the rise of Capitalism
production the workers had been forced into a state of complete could no longer be halted. Nor did he even consider such a
'alienation' or, to put it in another and more fundamental way, possibility although he was fully aware of the dangers to a human
they have been deprived of their natural birthrights as human order of things associated with it. There was obviously no easy way
beings. In addition, the capitalist system of surplus value deprives out of this basic dilemma. Clearly, there was little reason to assume
them also of the value of their own work and keeps them perma- that in the course of the further development of the capitalist
nently in a condition of relative social deprivation. According to system things would straighten themselves out, even with such
Marx the capitalist system was bound to create an inhuman violent convulsions as those which Marx had assumed would take
world since economic forces did not allow the bourgeoisie to treat place. Weber could not see why the situation would be improved
the workers decently, and to pay them high wages. On the other by a socialist revolution. It was just as futile, in his opinion, to give
hand, he was optimistic enough to assume that at the same time oneself up to a posture of mere emotional opposition to capitalism
the capitalist system was producing the forces which would and bureaucratic social structures. One had rather to put up with
eventually help to destroy it and bring about a new social order the conditions of a 'disenchanted world' created by capitalism
in which 'alienation' would have come to an end. and modern rational science. Only by accepting the principles of
Max Weber was just as concerned as Marx was with the rationalization and by applying them to his own conduct can the
inhuman consequences of modern industrial capitalism. Yet he individual emancipate himself from the state of 'alienation' and
did not conceive them primarily in terms of the objectively (or assert himself again as a free personality-as Lowith has put
possibly only subjectively) depressed social condition of the work- it, possibly somewhat exaggerating Weber's position in this
ing classes and of their deprivation of the means of production; respect. 16
rather, he had in mind the inhuman tendencies of the social Thus Weber considered Marx's suggestions on how to solve
institutions created by capitalism. Capitalism depended more or the problem of man as a human being in industrial society to be
15 16 Of. Lowith, op. cit., pp. 35ff.
See note 2, p. 47 above.
ss The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism 59
insufficient and inappropriate. For the real danger was the rise of which perhaps some day men like the fellaheen in ancient Egypt
more and more almighty bureaucracies, and not simply the pri- will helplessly be forced to submit .. .' 19
vate ownership of the means of production and the relative or Weber's position may be summed up as follows. The abolition
absolute exploitation of the working classes to the advantage of of private ownership of the means of production under the con-
their masters. He pointed out that nationalization of the means ditions of an industrial economy-regardless of whether it would
of production would not substantially alter the situation of the be brought about by the socialist revolution and the 'dictatorship
individual. Socialization was not likely to bring about the eman- of the proletariat', or by a gradual process of evolutionary nation-
cipation of the working classes from their status of 'alienation' ; alization according to the revisionist model-did not substantially
rather it would make it far worse. 'Any socialist economy organ- alter the situation in regard to the pressing problem of his own
ized on rational lines ... would retain the expropriation of all age, namely the question of how 'to save even any remnants of
the workers and merely bring it to completion by the expropria- "individualist" freedom of action in any sense whatever' against
tion of the private owners.' 17 This would simply mean another 'the overwhelming trend towards bureaucratization'. 20 In
step towards further bureaucratization of the economy and, Weber's judgement, it was 'the dictatorship of the official, rather
indirectly, of the social system as such. Rather than making the than that of the proletariat, that was-at any rate for the time
worker freer, Socialism would, in fact, make him even more being-gaining ground constantly'. 21 Neither did he share the
dependent on the men who actually control the 'means of pro- enthusiastic belief of many Marxists that the 'dictatorship of the
duction', and besides would speed up the process of bureaucrati- proletariat' was a suitable way of paving the way for a society in
zation even more. which oppression of any kind would be abolished; indeed, he
In 1917 many people in Germany discussed whether the state- thought this assumption was incredibly nai:ve. 22
controlled war economy would gradually lead to a Socialist sys- It would be wrong, however, to draw from this the conclusion
tem. Weber argued that this was not such an easy thing to attain that Max Weber discarded Marx's theory altogether. As is borne
as many people assumed and pointed out that nationalization of out by a systematic analysis of Weber's sociological as well as
the means of production in whatever way it might be brought his political writings, this is by no means the case. In fact he took
about would mean a further increase of bureaucratization. He pains to integrate all that he considered valuable in Marx's
put this most forcefully: 'A gradual elimination of private capi- analyses of industrial society into his own sociological system. For
talism is no doubt theoretically possible-even though it is not one, he accepted in principle the concepts of 'class' and 'class
such a trifling matter as many literati, who do not know anything struggle', and he once more came very close to Marx in acknow-
about it, dream-and it will certainly not be brought about by ledging that the economic situation of a given group of persons
this war. But let us for once assume that it will succeed: what determines their 'life chances' to a very high degree: 'It is a most
would that amount to practically? Would this mean a destruction elementary economic fact that the way in which the disposal of
of the iron cage of modern industrial labour? No! Rather the material property is distributed among a plurality of people, who
administration of all nationalized or possibly "communalized" are meeting competitively in the market for the purpose of the
enterprises would then become bureaucratic as well. n 8 This in exchange of goods, in itself creates specific life chances. ' 23 This is
turn was bound to give a further boost to bureaucratization: 'In 19 Ibid.
combination with the dead machine it [i.e. the bureaucracyJ is at 20
PS, p. 333 Cf. the differently worded trans. by Roth in EaS, Vol. 3,
work to set up the iron cage of that bondage of the future to p. 1403.
21 SSP, p. 508.
17 22 See, for instance letter to Midiels, 4th Aug. 1908, quoted in Mommsen,
WuG, Vol. 1, p. 79 (trans. by the author). Cf. EaS, Vol. I, p. 139.
23
18 PS, p. 337f. Max Weber, p. II8. WuG, Vol. 2, p. 531 (EaS, Vol. 2, p. 927.)
6o The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism 6!
not to say that Weber accepted Marx's predominantly economic ownership or the disposal of property but the actual degree of
detennination of 'class'. It should be noted that in a later ver- participation in the entrepreneurial management as such, and
sion of Economy and Society, Weber developed a much more also the respective chances to defend the monopolization of the
differentiated scheme of class structure than he had thought entrepreneurial positions by means of influencing the economic
acceptable a few years before. 24 He distinguished between three policies of the state or of the various organized pressure groups.
types of classes, namely 'property classes' (Besitzklassen), 'profes- Here Weber again differentiates between the 'positively privileged
sional classes' (Erwerbsklassen), and 'social classes', the last cate- classes', which consist, on the one hand, of the entrepreneurs
gory being far less narrowly defined. This, at first sight, rather and the various professional groups with a highly specialized
pedantic classification is typical of Weber's line of reasoning. training-such as solicitors, scientists, doctors or artists, and
Weber made a distinction between 'property classes' on the one even workers with special skills who cannot be replaced easily-
hand, and 'professional classes' on the other hand, because he and, on the other, of 'negatively privileged classes', that is to say
thought it most important to differentiate between those class the bulk of the workers. It is only the latter who have nothing
interests which were merely interested in the upkeep of the social else to sell on the market than their mere working capacity. This
order, and those which were directly involved in the capitalist classification deserves particular attention in so far as it takes into
production process, and therefore in favour of progress and account a specific feature of mature industrial capitalism, namely
change. Both the 'property classes' and the 'professional classes' the division between the nominal owners of capital and the
were differentiated even further. Weber distinguished between managerial class which in fact largely monopolizes actual
'positively privileged classes' and 'negatively privileged classes'. decision-making. Weber seeks to justify this classification by
'Positively privileged classes' of the former category, that is to pointing out that it is not so much the formal ownership of pro-
say rentiers of all kinds, draw their income mainly from rents and perty, but rather the 'monopolization of entrepreneurial leadership
other fixed property; 'negatively privileged' groups of the cate- to the advantage of the economic interests of one's own class' or,
gory of 'property classes', are, as a rule, 'unfree', and 'underpri- as far as the workers were concerned, their deprivation from any
vileged', or even 'outlawed' as, for instance, the slaves in various participation in the managerial decision-making process, which
economies of the ancient world; they have no chance whatever actually matters. 26
to alter their lot substantially. Weber points out that this is there- This is a rather pedantic ideal-typical scheme, yet it enabled
fore a typically 'non-dynamic' type of class stratification in which Weber to demonstrate that 'social classes' were anything but
class struggle and class revolutions are likely to have no place. 25 homogeneous entities. Even within the 'positively privileged
Blind revolts may occur but they are not likely substantially to classes', namely the propertied and educated classes, there were
change the existing order of things. conflicting economic interests at work. On the one hand the
The concepts of 'class' and 'class struggle apply more directly interests of the 'rentiers' in economic and social and hence also
to the antagonisms within the 'professional classes'. It should be in political stability, and on the other hand the entrepreneurial
noted, however, that Weber defines the class character of the interest in dynamic economic growth. To some degree at least
'professional classes'-which include the entrepreneurs as well as this was the case with regard to the working classes as well. The
the 'professions' and the workers-in a way which is very dif- relatively small upper stratum of workers with 'monopolistic
ferent from the Marxist one. The decisive criterion is not the skills' was not particularly interested in substantial change in the
economic and social structure. Weber was, however, somewhat
24 WuG, Vol. I, p. I77f.
25
One is tempted to apply this ideal-typical concept to the present-day
ambiguous over the question whether this differentiation among
26
communist systems of orthodox Marxist-Leninist allegiance. WuG, Vol. I, p. I78 (EaS, Vol. I, p. 304.)
 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism
the working classes was likely to become less important in the situation, as a rule, react to constellations of such vital importance
future as a consequence of the advance of automation, or as those of an economic nature in forms of mass actions that take
whether the trend towards a further disintegration of the working such a direction as will suit their own average interests most ...
classes, which was prevailing in Weber's own lifetime, was to does not at all justify those pseudo-scientific operations with the
continue. In this context Weber had been worried by much the concepts of "class" and "class interest" which are so common
same observation as Marx and, indeed directly referred to the nowadays, and which have been classically formulated in the
last, unfinished section of Capital, which indicates that Marx had assertion of a gifted author that: the individual may be in error
planned to devote particular attention to this pressing problem. 27 as to his interests but that the "class" is "infallible" in this
In view of the apparent diversity of interests, even among parti- respect.' 29
cular classes or sections of classes, Weber thought that Marx's The obvious reason why Weber took exception to Lukacs's
class stratification according to mere ownership of property, famous phrase was because he was firmly convinced that social
that is to say capitalists on the one hand, and workers on the actions are by no means determined by economic interests alone,
other, was insufficient, although hitherto he more or less accepted not even in situations in which economic considerations are most
it himself. Weber therefore proceeded to put forward a much evidently to the fore. Weber maintained that human beings by no
more specific model of class stratification which consisted of four means always act along class lines, but that they are also
social classes: namely first the working class; secondly the petit influenced by a great variety of non-economic factors, for
bourgeoisie; thirdly the intelligentsia so far as it did not own any instance, tradition, religious beliefs, or value attitudes of the most
substantial property, and the civil servants as well as the specially diverse sorts, that is to say, factors which cut right across class
trained white collar workers; and last, but not least, the owners stratification. It is at this point that 'ideal interests' again come
of property and those groups privileged by a higher education into play. In Weber's opinion they are just as important in deter-
(Bildung). 28 mining the action of human beings as the intrumentally-oriented
Even with these substantial modifications of Marx's class con- forms of social conduct which are imposed on the individual by
cept, Weber did not agree with the exclusive importance Marx the anonymous forces of what Weber occasionally called 'the
attached to it. He doubted whether affiliation to a particular class lifeless machinery' of capitalist industrialism.
had really such a decisive strategic importance in market-oriented To sum up we may say that Weber accepted a good deal of
societies, as had been attributed to it by Marx. Weber argued Marx's arguments as well as some of his conclusions. He entered
that the actual social conduct of a particular social group is by them in that column of the balance sheet where all those social
no means always determined by its 'class situation', or its particu- forces were registered which were supplementing the steady
lar 'class interest'. ' ... every class may be the carrier of any of the advance of the process of bureaucratization and rationalization.
innumerable forms of class action which are possible but it will It is noteworthy, by the way, that Weber's technique of extra-
not necessarily do so'. He went on to say that there was no point polating trends from social reality, is in a way similar to that of
in hushing up this basic truth by resorting to the concept of the Marx. Both formulated their key concepts in such a way that the
'false class-consciousness': 'The fact that men in the same class imminent trends of the social process could be, after all, deduced
from them, without having any further recourse to empirical
27
WuG, Vol. r, p. 179 (EaS, Vol. r, p. 305.) This passage should be data. Marx's concept of capitalism was so designed as to be neces-
interpreted in connexion with SSP, p. 509f., where Weber takes a slightly sarily self-destructive in the long run. Weber's concept of bureau-
different position regarding the process of disintegration of the working
class. 29 WuG, Vol. 2, p. 533 The trans. given by Roth in EaS, Vol. 2, p. 930
28 WuG, Vol. r, p. 179. (EaS, Vol. r, p. 305f.). is somewhat misleading.
 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism 6s
cracy, on the other hand, displays an inborne, insatiable appetite however, something new. Weber was in fact himself somewhat
for more and more formal rationalization; bureaucracy of reluctant to do so and remarked correctly that Marxist socialism
necessity reorganizes everything it comes into contact with was much more concerned with the forms of production than
according to strictly 'instrumentally-rational' principles. Even with the forms of distribution of wealth. 32 Yet under the impact
Weber's ideal-typical description of modern capitalism, as the of the Russian experience and the influence of the debates about
formally most rational, and hence the most efficient, for of social possible forms of a realization of socialist ideas by further extend-
organization ever attained in the history of Mankind, is much ing the wartime system of governmental control of the economy
closer to Marx than is usually realized. which had been practised in Germany since I g I 7 which Weber
Max Weber's 'basic sociological categories of economic action', had followed with a mixture of disgust and interest, he considered
are, in a way, his final word on the issue of Capitalism v. Socia- a 'planned economy' to be the only realistic form in which the
lism. In this context the dichotomy between 'market economy' idea of socialism could be put into practice at all.
(Verkehrswirtschaft), on the one hand and 'planned economy' Although Weber was careful to point out that, on scientific
(Planwirtschaft), on the other, is formulated as an ideal-typical grounds, a case could not possibly be established for either type
tool in order to distinguish clearly between capitalism and of economic system, he, in fact, pointed out time and again
and socialism. 30 The 'market economy' is more or less identical that only the 'market economy' is capable of attaining a maxi-
with what is commonly called a capitalist system, whilst the ~um degree of 'formal', or as we would say nowadays,
'planned economy' means a state-directed, centralized economic mstrumental (technische) rationality, particularly regarding the
system which, in Weber's opinion, was the most feasible type of a exact rational calculation of all economic operations. Any
socialist economy. Weber defined both types as follows: 'The socialist economy, especially if it goes so far as to abandon a
satisfaction of needs through a "market economy" will be said to market-oriented system of prices, would have to cope with a
take place in so far as it results from forms of the fulfilment of substantial diminution of 'formal calculating rationality'. 33 It
economic demands which are made possible only on the basis of is almost impossible to escape the conclusion that the concept of
self-interest, which are oriented to exchange probabilities, and 'formal rationality' is identical with the principle of maximization
which are socially realized by the exchange of goods. The satis- of efficiency. It may be argued that Weber himself never put
faction of needs through a "planned economy" will be said to take it like this explicitly. However, on numerous occasions he strongly
place in all cases where the fulfilment of economic demands is emphasized that capitalism is infinitely superior to all other known
regulated by substantive principles which may have been either forms of economic organization precisely because it alone is
enacted by legal procedure, or agreed upon, or imposed.' 31 Weber capable of organizing all its activities on a purely formally-
always held the opinion, that the market is the key function of rational basis. If the criterion of maximum efficiency is taken as
any capitalist system. In this ideal typical definition he empha- a yardstick in order to evaluate the 'market economy' on the
sized the role of the market even more strongly than ever before, one hand, and the 'planned economy' on the other, the prize
as being the source of both the specific form of rationality of the goes clearly to the former rather than to the latter. Weber, how-
capitalist system and of its dynamism. It is this idea that was to ever, did not necessarily mean to defend capitalism on such
influence the nco-Liberalists of the Igsos so greatly. grounds. Contrary to some current nco-Marxist interpretations
The identification of socialism with planned economies was, of his thought Weber had no intention whatever of singing the
so WuG, p. sgf. (EaS, Vol. I, pp. IOgff.) 32
WuG, Vol. I, p. 6I (EaS, Vol. I, p. I I2). Weber here refers directly
81
WuG, Vol. I, p. 59 (author's trans.). Of. trans. by Roth, EaS, Vol. I, to Marx's Misere de la Philosophie.
p. I og, which does not fully bring out the meaning of the passage. 33
Ibid., p. 6o (EaS, Vol. I, p. I I I).
F
66 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism
praises of capitalism, let alone capitalism in its most 'formally (6) There should exist, last but not least, 'individual owner-
rationalized' versions. The ideal-typical picture which Weber ship'.
draws in Economy and Society of the pure type of a 'market
These are clearly conditions, which were not completely fulfilled
economy' with maximum efficiency is not very attractive, and
in any of the capitalist societies of his time, if, indeed, they ever
by no means identical with the form of capitalism which Weber
were. One may well wonder whether this had been the case even
was personally in favour of. In order to attain maximum formal
during the period of the so-called 'early capitalism', which in
rationality in an economic system the following essential condi-
many ways obviously served as the pattern for the drawing up of
tions must be met:
such an ideal-type of the capitalist economy. To Weber this
( r) There ought to exist essentially unrestricted struggle be- ideal-typical scheme was merely a marginal construct, whereas
tween autonomous economic groups in the market. This in empirical reality there will be found a great variety of market
amounts, in Weber's own words, to an economic version economies, most of them much less rationalized systems. He was
of the Darwinist principle of 'the struggle of man against fully aware, for instance, that the real face of capitalism in his
man'. This is to say that only competition ought to decide own lifetime was to no small degree determined by all sorts of
on economic success or economic failure. monopolies-something which, in principle, prevents capitalism
(2) It is necessary to have a money economy in which prices from attaining a maximum of formal rationality. It would
as well as capital costs, and consequently wages as well, furthermore be completely wrong to suppose that Weber was
are also accounted for rationally under the conditions of particularly enthusiastic about the pure type of market economy
unrestricted competition in the market. which he had taken pains to outline without even the slightest
(3) There ought to be 'unrestricted market freedom', that is atempt to hide any of its more unpleasant and inhuman features.
'the absence of monopolies, which may be dictated by Max Weber has recently been attacked by Herbert Marcuse,
non-economic powers and hence of an irrational kind, or for having identified the 'formal rationality' of capitalism with
of a voluntary, and hence in economic terms rational (that what may be called its 'substantive rationality' or, in Hegelian
is, market-oriented) quality'. 34 terms, its reason. 36 This is only partly justified, for Weber himself
(4) There ought to exist 'formally free labour', that is the 36 Herbert Marcuse launched in 1964 on the Soziologentag at Heidelberg

workers are entitled to sell their working capacity freely a most impressive attack on Weber. He argued that Max Weber identifies
(in a formally legal sense) in the market, and the entre- the 'formal rationality' of the capitalist system with its 'rationality' as
such, and that Weber for this very reason ended up with a solution which,
preneurs, on their part, are entitled to dispose of the although it was presented as a rational one, or more precisely, as the
labour of the workers whenever they think necessary. only rational one, was indeed irrational to the highest degree. See Herbert
(5) A further necessary prerequisite is the 'expropriation of the Marcuse, 'Industrialisation and Capitalism', New Left Review, Vol. go,
workers from the means of production. They must be 1965, pp. zff; also in Stammer, op. cit., pp. rggff. See also the controversy
about Marcuse's paper, ibid., pp. rszff. Marcuse's arguments are taken up,
dependent on the chance to seek earnings through labour however, in a somewhat dogmatic manner, by Wolfgang Lefevre, Zum
only. This is to say, of course, that the appropriation of the historischen Charakter und zur historischen Funktion der Methode bilrger-
means of production by the owners is to be protected by licher Soziologie, Frankfurt, 1971, especially pp. ggf, and s6f. Lefevre
force.' 35 argues that Weber's identification of capitalism with 'formal rationality'
was nothing other than a bourgeois strategy designed to serve as an
34
WuG, Vol. r, p. 58. Cf. EaS, Vol. r, p. roB (Roth's trans. modified apology for the capitalist system. He claims that Weber did not base his
by the author). formalist judgements about society on any sort of rationality 'in den
35 WuG, Vol. r, p. 87. The trans. by Roth in EaS, Vol. r, p. Irs, gives
Inhalten der Wirklichkeit' (ibid., p. 56). He, in turn, takes refuge in a
the meaning of this passage only vaguely. kind of Marxist naivete which assumes that once all forms of domination
68 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism 6g
pointed out on various occasions, that 'formal rationality' and radically they disposed of the regulative mechanism of the market,
'substantive rationality' are by no means identical, and, as a rule, the more was this the case-had to face serious problems which
not compatible with one another. 'Substantive rationality' meant, resulted from the fundamental contradictions between 'formal'
in Weber's terms, rationality not in a formal or instrumental and 'substantive' rationality. Although he did not state this
sense. It refers to social systems or social institutions or even to explicitly, this was in his eyes a key argument against the feasibility
forms of social conduct that are rationally oriented towards the of socialist systems.
realization of certain fundamental ideals as, for example, the Weber contended that socialist economies would find it ex-
principle of social justice. On one occasion Weber declared tremely difficult, if not impossible, to supplant the traditional
explicitly: 'The fact that the maximum of formal rationality in economic incentives to do efficient work associated with the
capital accounting is possible only provided that the workers are chances of personal gain by some sort of value-oriented incentives.
subjected to domination by the entrepreneurs is a further specific As is now known, the present socialist systems certainly have
case of the substantive (materiale) irrationality of the (capitalist) problems of this nature, although they are still money economies.
economic system.'37 That. is to say that an economic system, Weber warned, furthermore, that there was not the slightest
which, in economic terms, is rationally organized throughout, reason to believe that, in nationalized economies, the workers
can well be, and is indeed, extremely irrational, when analysed would stop thinking in terms of their own individual economic
from the angle of particular value-positions. It must be admitted, advantage, all the more so as the actual economic position of the
however, that Weber never made this point sufficiently clear, and working classes in socialist systems would not be that much dif-
indeed allowed the impression to gain ground that not only ferent from those under capitalism. 38
'formal rationality', but rationality as such can exist only in It remains to be seen whether Weber's contention is correct
'market economies' of the capitalist type. Hence it would follow, that only economic systems which are market-oriented can attain
that rationality, and, indeed 'reason' were on the side of a maximum of 'formal rationality' even in his sense; or whether
capitalism rather than of other economic systems. Weber was, in the price which must be paid for this in the form of material
fact, firmly convinced that all socialist economies-and the more irrationalities-like the subjection of the workers to the yoke of
private employers, or the almost unavoidable growth of the
have been abolished a substantially rational social system will of necessity
emerge. Hence he absolves himself from the duty of demonstrating why his economy in directions that are not desirable, for instance, for
line of reasoning is, as he claims, the only one possible, and why it alone ecological reasons-is not too high. Yet it would be completely
concurs with social reality. Much more to the point is Jiirgen Habermas' false to imply that Weber's option in favour of capitalism rather
reply to Marcuse, Technik und Wissenschaft als Ideologie, Frankfurt, I970, than socialism was due primarily to the fact that he was en-
pp. 48ff. Elaborating upon the arguments of Marcuse, Habermas analyses
the concept of technische Rationalitiit, which is derived from Weber's thusiastic about the principle of the maximization of 'formal
'formal rationality' of social institutions, and points out that it may rationality' which only this economic system was capable of, as
indeed serve as a means of justifying domination in 'late-capitalist Herbert Marcuse among others would have it. Although at times
societies'. Yet, on the other hand, he shows that Marcuse's protest against Max Weber displayed a kind of aesthetic admiration for the
the principle of 'formal rationality' is utopian, in so far as it is impossible
to dispose of 'technical rationality' under the conditions of modern in- rationalizing power of capitalism, he was increasingly worried
dustrial production, As is shown above, Marcuse's criticism of the 'formal about the dehumanizing consequences of purely formal rationa-
rationality' of capitalism is much closer to Weber's own argumentation lization. Indeed, he was scared of the craving of capitalism for
than he himself was aware of. It is worth noting that none of the scholars 'formal rationality', which formed the basis of its 'unholy
who spoke up passionately in defence of Max Weber in the Heidelberg
38 WuG, Vol. I, p. 88f. (EaS, Vol. I, p. II6f.); WuG, Vol. r, p. IIgf.
conference realized this.
37 WuG, Vol. I, p. 78 (author's trans.; cf. EaS, Vol. r, p. 138). :EaS, p. 202f.)
 The Alternative to Marx Dynamic Capitalism and Bureaucratic Socialism

alliance' with bureaucratization-an alliance concluded regard- entrepreneurial positions which matters; secondly, when he
less of the fact that in the long run capitalism, rather than pointed out that the real cause of the 'alienation', not only of
bureaucracy, was bound to be the loser. Weber was not a cham- the working classes, but of the great majority of the population in
pion of capitalism simply because he was an enthusiastic admirer modern societies, lay in the emerging bureaucratic structures and
of the capitalist system. In fact rather the opposite is true. With not so much in the particular modes of the distribution of wealth.
open eyes Weber analysed the working of the capitalist system At least in this latter respect history has largely been on his side.
as well as its social consequences, both in the short and the long The abolition of the private appropriation of the means of pro-
term, and he was not inclined to make it appear better than it duction may possibly pave the way for a proper solution to the
actually was. He perceived clearly that capitalism creates social pressing problems of modern society, but it is just as likely to
trends which are detrimental to a humane social order. But he make things worse. Weber did not suggest ways and means and
could not discover any easy way out of this. On the contrary, ways to achieve a proper system for the control of complex in-
under given conditions capitalism still appeared to be relatively dustrial societies in the interests of preserving human values, but
the best of all possible economic systems. The capitalist system at least he pointed to some of the decisive issues. It therefore
was preferable to other economic systems especially, because it seems fully justified to call him a bourgeois thinker par excellence
guaranteed a maximum degree of social dynamism and mobility. who matched the greatness of his Marxist antipode. 40
This was true in particular for those types of capitalist economies 40 I cannot quite agree with Ashcraft, op. cit., p. I68, that Weber failed

where the free entrepreneur, and possibly the highly qualified to develop a theory of bourgeois society, although he is correct in saying
that Weber was too much tied to the liberal tradition to reflect the liberal
manager, can freely display their creative abilities, in contrast system in all its respects. All the essential elements of a theory of liberal
to those economies in which a dominant influence is given to the bourgeois capitalism are, in my opinion, there:
rentiers who dislike all social change for obvious reasons. For I. that an economy organized on the lines of private ownership of the

much the same reason he preferred a system in which the incomes means of production, as well as 'formally free labour' is capable of
attaining a maximum of success with regard to the production of goods.
of the employees, and other groups of dependent labour, were 2. that the struggle of men against men in the market' results not only
determined on the basis of free contracts rather than according i~ .a maximum of 'formal rationality' of the system, but also of produc-
to a rigid system of fixed wages and salaries. 39 On the other hand, tiVIty, whereas other forms of economic organization tend to be more
he strongly demanded that the workers should enjoy a fair or less static.
3 that amongst all possible economic systems the sort of capitalist
bargaining position, if necessary guaranteed by means of adequate ~conomy which gives priority to entrepreneurial profits as well as to
social legislation. mcome from formally free contracts, and which provides for a maxi-
Both his liberal convictions and far-reaching considerations mum of competition on the market, develops a maximum of economic,
about the future of Western societies made Max Weber infinitely and hence also social and political, dynamism; that is to say, it provides
the most favourable conditions for an 'open society'.
prefer dynamic capitalism, despite its shortcomings, to all kinds
of socialist economies. In two respects his case against socialism
was a good one: first, in so far as he argued that it was not the
ownership of property as such, but rather the control of the
39 WuG, Vol. I, p. I2I (author's trans.; cf. EaS, Vol. I, p. 205): 'Of
all types of income it is particularly those from entrepreneurial profits or
from labour incomes derived either from contracts agreed upon either
according to piece rates or from contracts made by free agreement, which
have an eminently dynamic-that is to say revolutionary-effect on the
economic system.'
 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination 73
2
sociology. Indeed, it forms the central core of his reasoning about
the various types of domination throughout world history. It
should be understood that the 'three pure types of legitimate
IV domination' do not apply only to the modern state; in principle
they deal with all forms of power relationships of whatever kind.
The Theory of the (Three Pure Types of It was an attempt to construct an 'ideal-typical' systematization
Legitimate Domination) and the Concept of which would allow to determinate, as well as analyse any given
concrete case of domination, from the point of view of certain
Plebiscitarian Democracy fundamental issues related to those problems which Weber con-
sidered to be of universal significance. These included particularly
the question of leadership in a bureaucratic world, or the
relevance of systems of bureaucratic rule for an individualistic
Max Weber's theory of the 'three pure types of legitimate liberalism.
domination' 1 is probably the most famous part of his political The theory of the 'three pure types of legitimate domination',
1 It is almost impossible to translate the German term Herrschaft to or more precisely, the ideal-typical systematization of types of
English. Differing from Roth and Wittich, the editors of the English legitimate rule, is perhaps the most mature and elaborate part
edition of Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft we decided, after much consid.era- of Max Weber's universal interpretative sociology. It was de-
tion, to use the term 'domination' throughout as the most appropnate,
in accordance with Raymond Aron and W. G. Runciman. The term
veloped on the basis of a comparative analysis of various forms
'authority' used by Roth and Wittich alternating with the term 'domina- of domination throughout all known past history. It is, in fact,
tion' is much too narrow, in so far as it refers primarily to the position as much theoretical history as historical sociology, if only in so
of the actual person, or persons, in power. The compromise of Roth ~~d far as it claims to serve as a yardstick for the evaluation of any
Wittich moreover has the disadvantage that it obscures the almost ng1d
nature, 'as well a; the meticulous symmetry, of Weber's systematization. sort of domination, whether in the remote past or in present day
It must be admitted that Weber tended to couch the problems of societies.
domination and rulership in a personalistic form, as is shown below; in At first sight the 'three pure types of legitimate domination'
this respect, the term 'authority' is, indeed, appropriate. On the other have little to do with the course of world history. They appear
hand the theory of the 'Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination'
is meant to encompass political systems in their entirety and their res- to be altogether static. 'Legal domination' by means of bureau-
pective ideological foundations, rather than the problem of the govern- cratic administrative techniques; 'traditional domination' by
mental authority only. For a long time we thought 'rule' to be the best means of an administrative staff consisting of men who are per-
term, as it does not quite carry the somewhat austere connotations of. ~e sonally dependent on the ruler; and 'charismatic domination',
word 'domination'. Yet it is also too narrow, covering only the actrv1ty
of governing, although it is admirably suited to rendering correctly the that is the rule of a charismatic leader by means of a retinue
relationship between the ruler (Herrscher) and the ruled (die Beherrschten). unreservedly devoted to him as a person endowed with unusual
There is, unfortunately, no proper English cognate of 'domination' which qualities; these three different types do not appear to be linked
is equivalent to the word Herrscher (ruler). On the o~he~ hand the te:m with one another in any way whatsoever. Weber took pains to
'domination' comes closest to the somewhat authontanan connotatiOn
which the word Herrschaft has in German, and it is a derivation from make clear that these types of rule do not necessarily follow one
the Latin term dominus which is a perfect equivalent to the German term another. The theory of the 'three pure types of legitimate domi-
Herrscher. The linguistic difficulties raised here unfortunately do not allow nation' was not intended to be a scheme which stood for a sort of
us a completely satisfactory rendering in English of Weber's meticulous,
2 For a discussion of the different versions of the theory of 'The Three
almost pedantic, systematization of the 'three pure types'. For this reason
at times the respective German term has been added m brackets. Pure Types of Legitimate Domination' see above, p. r6f.
74 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy 75
linear perspective of world history leading from charismatic forms again by German neo-romanticism. It was against this back-
of government at the beginning, to bureaucratic forms of govern- ground that Weber took pains to eliminate everything from his
ment at the very end. Neither had it anything to do with the own systematization which would appear to be of a teleological
various versions of a circular theory of world history. Weber nature. The 'three types of legitimate domination' were intended
deliberately put the type of 'bureaucratic domination' first, if to be the opposite of a construction of world history in the
only to forestall any such misunderstandings-although in the traditional sense; rather, they were meant to be purely structural
earlier versions there are some allusions to the idea that charis- models of possible types of dominations.
matic forms of domination are predominant in earlier periods Yet even if this is accepted, it can be hardly overlooked that
of history, whereas bureaucratic forms are comparatively recent the theory of the 'three pure types of legitimate domination' has
products of universal history. In the latest version, however, at least two things in common with the traditional theories just
Weber systematically cut out all allusions to particular historical mentioned:
events, or pushed them into the role of a mere commentary; the First, in so far as it claims to be a comprehensive theory, that
factor of historical time was deliberately eliminated. 3 Weber also is, that it is applicable to all known types of domination through-
went to some lengths to make it clear that none of these 'pure out history.
types' was ever actually to be found in historical or social reality. Secondly, in so far as it tends to asssociate each type of domina-
At most one could discover close approximations to them. This tion not only with a corresponding type of political culture (which
follows, of course, from the logical nature of the 'ideal type' would imply that its validity is by no means limited to politics
which, in Weber's understanding, is a purely mental construct and statesmanship alone) but also with a particular economic
designed to bring to light precisely those aspects of reality which system, and finally with a particular kind of civilization. This
are most significant. All forms of domination encountered in becomes obvious if we draw up a systematic scheme of the three
empirical reality are mixtures of these three pure types, although 'pure types' and the respective types of legal order as well as the
in greatly varying combinations. Weber maintained that only prevailing forms of social conduct associated with them. This
by approaching empirical reality with such clear-cut ideal-typical may be gathered from the graph on pages 76-7. 4
constructs can the social scientist find a path through the con- It has to be admitted, however, that Weber tended, in the
fusing maze of often conflicting empirical data. later versions of his work, to formulate the theory of 'the three
All this being so it is worth noting that the theory of 'the three pure types of legitimate domination' more and more in purely
pure types of legitimate domination' nonetheless bears the imprint instrumental terms in order to make it applicable to political
of its intellectual origins, which may be traced back as far as phenomena of smaller dimensions. A systematic analysis of the
Aristotle's theory of three forms of government circulating from three 'pure types' reveals that, contrary to our initial impression,
monarchy to oligarchy and democracy and again to monarchy. a distinctive 'ideal-typical' interdependence exists between them
Weber was probably stimulated to attempt the construction of which in some ways make up for a major deficiency of this system-
such a general scheme of types of domination by August Wilhelm ization, namely, the apparently static nature of the 'pure types of
Roscher's Politik. Geschichtliche Naturlehre der Monarchie, legitimate domination'. First, the type of 'charismatic domina-
Aristokratie und Demokratie which had been published in r8g2 tion' enjoys an importance out of all proportion to its actual part
and which stood within the tradition of the circular theories in history. Yet it is by no means a mere coincidence that a
handed down through the ages from Aristotle via Polybius and
4 The graph is intended to give a full picture of Weber's theory of the
Machiavelli to Vico and Hegel, and which had been taken up
'three pure types of legitimate domination'. To some degree it is a synthesis
3 WuG, Vol. I, pp. I22ff. (EaS, Vol. I, pp. 2I2ff.). of all versions found in Weber's work. Cf. above p. I6f.
 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy 77

THE THREE TYPES OF LEGITIMATE DOMINATION

Legal Domination Traditional Domination Charismatic Domination

According to instrument- According to value-rational Patriarchal rule Estate-type rule
ally-rationally enacted rules (for instance 'Natural
rules Law')

Head of the .rystem Official (civil servant) Elected official(s) or Monarch or religious Monarch or religious Prophet, warlord,
(type of 'master') collegiate body dignitary dignitary demagogue, leader
Source of the authority Delegation (sometimes Delegation, or, more often, Tradition, or heredity, Tradition, or heredity, Emotional devotion of
of the head of the according to the principle mandate given (either often supported by often supported by the 'retinue' to the
system (or 'master') of seniority) directly or indirectly) by religious rituals religious rituals charismatic leader
the governed (which is considered a
duty that can be en-
forced by the leader)
Form of legitimacy Belief in the formal Value-rational belief Belief in the prescriptive Belief in the pres- Affectual or emotional
of the system correctness of the enacted in the validity of the basic order of things scriptive order of belief in the extra-
system of rules principles of the system of things ordinary qualities of
(a) because it has been rules. The laws are con- the charismatic leader,
agreed upon by the sidered merely explications and in the values
interested parties of the fundamental prin- revealed by him
(b) because it was en- ciples
acted or imposed by
an authority con-
sidered to be legiti-
mated to do so
(it is allimportant that
the rules are enacted in a
formally correct manner)

Type of administrative Bureaucracy Bureaucracy, or elected Personnel personally Offices are appropriated Retinue of the leader all
staff civil servants dependent of the either by tradition or by officials are personally
head of the system the representatives of an devoted to the charis-
('Servants of the estate matic leader
master')

Type of legal .rystem Instrumentally-rational Value-rational law, Strictly traditional, yet Strictly traditional The ruler imposes or
formal law, enacted founded and derived from material in its judication law, judicated in a modifies the law at
according to positivistic fundamental principles, formalist procedure his discretion
principles yet otherwise strictly
formal

Predominant type of Instrumentally-rational Value-rational social Traditional social conduct Traditional social Affectual, in particular
social conduct social conduct conduct conduct cases: value-rational
social conduct
 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy 79
dominant role is assigned to the type of charismatic domination; Although Weber treated charismatic leadership in the context
this is due to the very nature of charisma. Charisma is, to Weber, of his political sociology as just one particular type among others,
the source of all creative individual leadership, and for that very he nonetheless showed a strong tendency to identify it with
reason no other type of political domination, be it predominantly genuine leadership of any kind. This is in line with Weber's own
traditional or of purely bureaucratic cast-can ever work without personal convictions regarding the role of the individual in
at least an element of charisma. As Reinhard Bendix has aptly history. Weber's charismatic personalities have much in common
put it, the concept of 'charisma' is the archetype of Weber's with Nietzsche's great individuals who set new values for them-
political sociology. 5 What did Weber actually mean by intro- selves and for their followers, in an heroic attempt to elevate
ducing this nowadays rather controversial concept into his mankind to a higher level. 0
political sociology? 'Charisma' is, in the first place, the quality The notion that all genuine leadership is, in some way or
which identifies a particular person as a leader in the eyes of those another, of a charismatic nature, does indeed lead to the con-
around him. Weber had derived this concept from the usage of clusion that some element of 'charisma', whether in a routinized
the early Christian communities, where charisma was considered or in a disguised form, is required in every system of domination,
a divine gift, by which God himself had designated certain regardless of its particular nature. Weber pointed out time and
persons as leaders. However, Weber substituted for the religious again that the strength and, incidentally, the stability of bureau-
meaning of the concept a phenomenological one, which referred cratic governments of the legal type depends on whether the
only to the capability of a charismatic leader to rally to himself system allows dynamic personalities with charismatic, that is to
a retinue of devoted followers. Weber defined charisma in a say: 'leadership' qualities to obtain the top positions. For they
formalist, supposedly value-free way: charisma is the quality alone, and not the officials, are capable of setting goals and
of a person which creates a willingness in his followers to subject objectives which are then to be 'sold' to the people at large by
themselves unconditionally to his leadership. They accept his 'party machines', and afterwards implemented with the help
leadership because they believe in his personal qualifications as of administrative bureaucracies. Weber emphasised repeatedly
a leader per se, whatever his particular goals may be. Weber the fundamental difference between the official and the political
observed that the attachment of the followers to the leader was leader: the former is supposed only to administer in accordance
of a personal and hence highly emotional kind. Indeed, the with the enacted system of legal norms, whereas the latter ought
emotional and personal character of the relationship between the to give a lead to the administration, as well as to mobilize adequate
leader and his retinue was, in his opinion, the main reason for support from the people at large. Most of the evils of Wilhelmian
the peculiar instability of 'charismatic rule'. A charismatic leader Germany, for instance, were, according to Weber, due to the
has to prove his qualification for leadership anew every day, and fact that this essential truth had been disregarded constantly.
a good deal of success is therefore essential for maintaining his Much the same was also the case with regard to the economic
position. It is somewhat irritating to note that, in the last resort, system, although Weber did not explicitly say so in this context.
success is the main, although possibly not the only, criterion by A dynamic economy could not get along without the economic
which a leader may be judged charismatic. A leader who fails, leadership qualities of private entrepreneurs.
who does not live up to the expectations which he himself has There is, however, one fundamental difficulty which must be
created in the minds of his retinue, is likely to loose his charis- faced. Weber never distinguished clearly between charismatic
matic appeal all of a sudden. His retinue disbands, his followers 0
Of. below p. ro6f. The author is indebted to Walter Kaufmann
desert him. Nietzsche, Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist, 1956, for an enlightenin~
5 Bendix, p. 326. interpretation of Nietzsche on these lines.
8o Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy 8r
leadership and charismatic 'domination', largely because he had leads to rationalization is shown, according to Weber, by the
a tendency to define domination (H errschaft) in more or less Jewish prophets. By demanding the most extraordinary things
personalistic terms, as will be shown later. Strictly speaking a from the Jewish people they prompted their followers to subject
type of charismatic domination is an impossibility, for pure their own lives to an iron law of rational social conduct. Weber
charisma loathes any form of institutionalization; it is a purely makes the further allowance that the process of 'rationalization'
ephemeral phenomenon. Yet it is important to see that the con- may, in particular cases, retain its original association with par-
cept of 'charisma' nevertheless plays a decisive role in W ebe~'s ticular value-attitudes. As a rule, however, it almost always takes
theory of legitimate types of domination. It is, in fact, t~e n:am a different direction, inasmuch as it paves the way for the
element providing a link between the three types of dommatwn. universal advance of purely instrumentally-oriented social institu-
In Weber's Interpretive Sociology the following ideal-typical tions, to the detriment of all value-oriented forms of social
patterns of dynamic change are encountered by which o~e par- conduct.
ticular pure type of legitimate rule may be transformed mto, or It is the most significant feature of all 'instrumentally-rational'
at least blended, with another: social systems that they operate exclusively according to the
First, revolutionary break-throughs brought about by the principle of pure formal legality, rather than according to such
determined action of charismatic personalities and their retinues legal principles as are derived from, and dependent on, a par-
in the face of a traditionalist environment. Such a dynamic ticular set of ultimate values. Unfortunately Weber was never
break-through, as a rule, results in the establishment of a kind very outspoken on this point, largely because he acted upon the
of charismatic rule. assumption that all value-oriented versions of legality-the most
Secondly, the 'routinization' of revolutionary 'charisma' conspicuous case being 'Natural Law'-were in any case dwind-
W hich in due course transmutes a charismatic system into a ling away. At least in modem industrial society they appeared to
'
tradition-bound society,' either of a patriarchal or of the m~re have lost all of their concrete meaning. The 'disenchantment of
common type of patrimonial domination. This is the most Sig- the world' closely associated with the progress of modern science
nificant, and perhaps the most common form of historical change. as well as the irresistible advance of bureaucratization left less
Thirdly, another secular force of social change is found, namely and less room for value-oriented forms of domination.
rationalization, or to be more precise formal rationalization, by It is worth noting, furthermore, that Weber strongly empha-
which tradition-bound or value-oriented forms of political and sized the purely formal quality of legality, as the dominant feature
social organization are gradually replaced by purely instrumen- of the type of legal domination. It is belief in the formally correct
tally-rational institutions. In doing so rationalization displays enactment of any laws which establishes their legitimacy whereas
two imminent tendencies of great force: The tendency to the substantive values which they may represent play merely a
maximize formal efficiency, and the tendency to stabilize the marginal role. W ebei constructed the 'pure type of legal domina-
system, so as to make further far-reaching political and social tion' as the dialectical counterpart of 'charismatic domination'
change extremely difficult. and therefore in the later sections of his work deliberately cut
Weber points out that the process of rationalization has often out all references to the possible case that the legitimacy of the
been initiated by revolutionary action, either of the value-rational system is derived from certain fundamental value-oriented
or of the charismatic type-the former can be illustrated by the attitudes of the 'governed', as is the case with the traditional
Puritan sects who invented the ideology of the 'Rights of Man' doctrine of democracy.
and also created modern capitalism. The most conspicuous Weber gloomily depicted the kind of society which would
example of revolutionary action of the charismatic type which come closest to a full implementation of all the elements listed
G
82 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy 83
under the type of pure legal rule. It would be administered by an became a passionate champion of what he himself called the
almighty bureaucracy in accordance with a closely knit network 'plebiscitarian leader-democracy'.
of laws and regulations of a purely formalistic nature, which Max Weber considered the 'plebiscitarian democracy' the
would leave little or no space for individually oriented creative only viable form in which democracy was possible under the
action. In such a system all moral values would be of little avail, conditions prevailing in industrial mass societies. What place did
for the organizational structure would only take into account he assign to this type of rule in his theory of the 'three pure
technical considerations, without any regard to the value attitudes types of legitimate domination'? It turns out to be rather difficult
of the particular groups or individuals concerned. The trend to find a proper place for modern 'plebiscitarian democracy' in
toward bureaucratization was, in Weber's opinion, almost irresis- this elaborate schematization-a fact which has 'troubled quite
tible. For bureaucratic machines tend to submit everything to a few scholars who have attempted to interpret Weber's political
strict rational rules if only in order continuously to extend their sociology in the light of our faith in a system of 'constitutional
own sphere of control. It does not need much imagination to democracy', which guarantees freedom to all individuals. Before
realize, that eventually all individual initiative would be suffoca- we embark upon this difficult problem the question must be
ted by the iron force of a network of purely instrumentally-legal raised why Weber throughout his work always spoke of 'legitimate
stipulations. The political system would become oppressive, and domination' without ever giving consideration to possible types
the economy would gradually lose all its dynamism and would of 'illegitimate domination'. What is the position with regard to
eventually become a stationary system. classical tyranny,. or the various authoritarian systems of his own
Yet however much he was haunted by these prospects, and day, or even the modern totalitarian systems of the Fascist or
although he was aware of the fact that bureaucracies belong Communist varieties? The concept of 'illegitimate rule' turns up
among those things in the world which are almost indestructible, in Weber's sociology only once and there it refers to the medieval
Max Weber did not rule out the possibility of partial charismatic city state that has emancipated itself from the political control
break-throughs even in highly bureaucratized societies. This does of a former overlord, who-speaking in terms of the medieval
not mean that he looked for the emergence of new charismatic tradition-was the only source which could confer legitimacy on
forms of domination as such. Yet there was always the chance another political authority. 7
that, in particular sectors of bureaucratic societies, qualified per- This has clearly nothing to do with the theory of the 'three
sonalities would emerge with the charismatic gift to set new goals pure types of legitimate domination'. In fact, one cannot escape
for the social institutions and to secure a sufficient degree of the conclusion that in the context of Weber's sociological theory
support from the masses in order to be enabled to implement these of 'legitimate rule' there was no room for illegitimate forms of
goals by political means. By making use of the technological domination. This kind of conceptualization apparently does not
facilities available (for instance, the party machines) they would allow a distinction between what would nowadays be called
be able to give new impulses to social systems which were other- government by consent on the one hand and tyrannical dictator-
wise bound to become stationary. Consequently Weber strongly ships which force people into submission by means of manipula-
favoured such social and political structures as would allow the 7 Cf. WuG, Vol, 2, p. 735, and p. 757. where Weber points out that
rise of charismatic leaders to influence and power, within a frame- the autonomous city states of northern Europe emerged from the political
work of legal rule and bureaucratic organization. Weber believed association of citizens, disregarding and in opposition to the 'legitimate'
authorities-the latter being, as a rule, the Emperor, a prince or an
that the plebiscitarian rule of great democratic leaders would ecclesiastical potentate. This gives support to the conclusion given above
best meet these requirements. As will be shown below in some- which corresponds with the findings of recent research in medieval con-
what more detail, it is primarily for this reason that he eventually stitutional history.
 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy
tion or oppression on the other. The reason why Weber talks eventually collapse. Conversely, a stable system of domination
constantly of 'legitimate' domination can only be explained, to must ipso facto be supported by those who are governed by it. 10
some degree, on the grounds that he approached the phenomenon Unfortunately Weber did not analyse this problem any further,
of 'domination' in a purely functionalist manner. 'Power' and it may be said, that his deliberately functionalist approach
(Macht) and 'domination' (Herrschaft) are defined in an ex- did not allow him to do so. From this it follows that the very
tremely formalistic way and at the same time in probabilistic attempt to present a comprehensive ideal-typical scheme of
terms: types of legitimate domination was of necessity associated with
'"Power" (Macht) is the probability (Chance) that one actor some substantive deficiences.
within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his Weber was, of course, fully justified in not embarking upon a
own will despite resistance, whatever the basis of this probability value-oriented discussion of the problems of legitimacy. Yet the
may be.' ' "Domination" (H errschaft) is the probability that a problem remains with us that stability-and this is just another
command with a given specific content will be obeyed by a given word for success-is, in the last resort, the decisive criterion of
group of persons. '8 Or, as Weber puts it in another context, whether a political system may be considered legitimate or not.
' "domination" as a sociological concept ... can only mean that There is simply no room for even ephemeral forms of illegitimate
there is a chance that the governed will submit to any com- domination. A political system which is not legitimate in either of
9
mand' (fur einen Befehl Filgsamheit zu finden). From these the three forms, is, on the basis of Weber's conceptualization,
definitions we may gather the specific meaning of 'legitimacy' bound to collapse at once, and, conversely, any stable govern-
with regard to the various types of 'domination'. It refers to the ment, whatever it may be like, must be legitimate in some way or
motivations which induce the subjects (or 'governed') to obey the another.
commands given to them by the ruler, regardless of whether these It could be argued that the 'three pure types of legitimate
commands are addressed to them personally or, as is more often domination' are incompatible with one another and that there-
the case are couched in the abstract language of regulations, laws fore a political system which, say, belongs to the type of patriar-
or orde;s in council. The probability that any command will be chal domination is illegitimate in the light of charismatic or
obeyed by a given group of persons depends, according to Weber, bureaucratic principles. Yet Weber did not think so. 11 He pointed
largely on one thing, namely whether they believe in the legiti- out again and again that the legitimacy of all empirically known
macy of the system or not. Yet if we try to push the issue further systems of domination rests on mixed foundations, that is, on a
in order to find substantive reasons why and under which condi- 10 Of. WuG, Vol. I, p. I53: 'Grundlage jeder Herrschaft, also jeder
tions a system may be legitimate, we hit a vacuum. We are told Fiigsamkeit, ist ein Glauben: "Prestige"-Glauben zugunsten des oder der
that there are three different types of such beliefs, but that is Herrschenden.' This is trans. by Roth, EaS, Vol. I, p. 263, as follows:
about all. Legitimacy, in Weber's terms, amounts to little more 'In general it should be kept clearly in mind that the basis of every
than an equivalent of the stability of the respective political authority, and correspondingly of every kind of willingness to obey, is a
belief, a belief by virtue of which persons exercising authority are lent
system. In other words there cannot be other than 'legitimate' prestige'. 'Prestige', however, is always largely dependent on the success
systems of 'domination'. If the 'governed' do not believe in t~e of the rulers; hence it will not survive any substantial failure.
11 This solution was suggested by Adolf Arndt at the Soziologentag in
legitimacy of a political system it is bound to be unstable, and wdl
Heidelberg rg64, (Of. Stammer, p. rgo), yet it does not hold water, be-
s WuG, Vol. I, p. 28 (EaS, Vol. I, p. 53). Roth's trans. slightly modified cause Weber did not mean that 'instrumentally-rational legal rule' cannot
by the author. Of. also WuG, Vol. I, p. I22 (EaS, Vol. I, p. 2I2). go together with elements of 'charismatic rule', or 'traditional rule'.
9 Ibid., p. 29 (EaS, Vol. I, p. ss; trans. by the author, differs from
Arndt's argument would be valid only on the premise that the 'three pure
types of legitimate domination' are incompatible with one another.
Roth's).
 86 Three Pure T yjJes of Legitimate Domination The ConcejJt of Plebiscitarian Democracy 87
combination of all three sources of legitimacy, although, as a domination. It may be further argued that Weber was not so
rule, one of them plays the dominant role. Neither can systems much concerned with this problem because his own conception of
of 'charismatic rule' attain even a minimum of stability without 'democratic rule' was almost as functionalist as his sociological
elements of 'traditional' and even 'bureaucratic legitimacy', nor theory of domination. Weber was an advocate of democracy on
can bureaucratic systems survive for long without the additional the grounds that, under the social and political conditions of a
support of substantial elements of both 'traditional' and 'charis- modern bureaucratic society, it offered a maximum of dynamism
matic legitimacy'. and leadership. The classical democratic doctrine, however,
Hence it follows that there is no easy escape from the problems meant little to him. He did not at all believe in the theory of the
which arise from this deliberately functionalist conceptualization. sovereignty of the people. In 1 go8 he wrote to Robert Michels
Attempts to modify it somewhat-for instance, by adding a who at the time was working hard to find an answer to the ques-
fourth type of 'legitimate rule' which applied specifically to all tion of how to reconcile the ethical postulate of the sovereignty of
democratic systems of domination-are bound to come to the people with a reality that gave birth to ever new oligarchies:
nothing. 12 The vital question of how we are to distinguish 'How much resignation will you still have to put up with? Such
between political systems which we consider legitimate in so far concepts as "will of the people", genuine will of the people, have
as they rest on the consent of the people, and others which are long since ceased to exist for me; they are fictitious. All ideas
more or less oppressive will not find any answer on these grounds. aiming at abolishing the dominance of men over men are
First because Weber deliberately abstained from any value- "Utopmn. "'. 13 For Weber, parI'Iamentary d emocracy was any-
oriented discussion of legitimacy, and secondly because he seems thing but the realization of the principle of self-determination of
to have assumed, as a matter of course, that every stable system the people. This was, in his opinion, mere ideological trash. Its
appears to enjoy the consent of the 'governed', although it might main purpose consisted in bringing politicians with genuinely
have a very different quality in each case. charismatic qualifications-that is to say qualified political
From the sociological point of view this is a thoroughly justified leaders rather than narrow-minded bureaucrats-into power.
approach, although it fails to produce any criteria which would In this context the parliamentary bodies had to play a two-
enable us to distinguish between free and oppressive systems of fold role. First, they were, as Weber put it, an ideal training
12 This was undertaken recently by Martin E. Spencer, 'Weber on ground for genuine political leaders. Secondly, the parliamentary
Legitimate Norms and Authority', British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 21, bodies had to keep the administrative bureaucracies in check, if
1970, pp. 123ff., in a not very illuminating manner. For Spencer fails to need be by setting up special committees of inquiry. Otherwise,
pay sufficient attention to the universal scope of Weber's theory of the Weber assigned to the parliamentary bodies a rather passive role.
'three pure types of legitimate domination', and also does not discuss
Weber's claim that this systematization was meant to be comprehensive, The parliament as such was not supposed to determine the actual
both in time, and in substance. It is even more irritating to see that course in politics, not even in a very general sense. It is, according
Spencer does not take into account that Weber has given some thought to to Weber, the great political leaders who create for themselves a
the sub-type of 'value-oriented legality', yet he did not think it a viable majority in parliament as well as amongst the people at large, and
form of legitimacy in modern industrial societies. Spencer's suggestion
that a fourth type called 'value-rational authority' ought to be added, do so not so much on the basis of a positive programme, but by
is hence rather naive, and surely is not on the same level as that on which displaying their charismatic power of persuasion and positive
Weber discussed these difficult questions. For a far more substantial, demagogy.
although not always consistent, discussion of the issue in question see
Karl Lowenstein, Max W ebers staatspolitische Auffassungen in der Sicht
Weber did not hesitate to describe all leadership in a modern
unserer Zeit, Frankfurt, Bonn, rg65 (English trans.: Max Weber's Political 'plebiscitarian democracy' in charismatic terms. The mass of the
Ideas in the Perspective of our Time, rg66), pp. 7rff. 13
Quoted in Mommsen, Max Weber, p. 392.
88 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy 8g
delegates, as well as the people at large, are expected to follow the fully establish real leadership. Only by appealing directly to the
political leader; not so much because he stands for a particular masses, instead of taking advice from the administrative bureau-
issue, but because they believe in his personal leadership qualities. cracies, will the great politician be allowed to pursue a farsighted
Weber stated quite bluntly that the people at large are, in fact, and daring policy.
incapable of judging the political issues at stake on their real Weber further strengthened his case by pointing out that such
merits. They follow those political leaders who put the issue in a 'charismatic leadership' was not simply a postulate; it had
the most convincing manner. Hence the democratic process is long since emerged as a consequence of fundamental changes in
essentially a competitive struggle of various political leaders for the nature of modern democracy. The extension of the franchise
the support of the people in which their respective 'positive and the development of highly organized party machines had
demagogic' capacities are of crucial importance. This is clearly long since swept aside the old liberal conception of parliament as
the liberal model of competition which is transplanted by Weber a virtual elite of the nation which decides on matters of national
from economics to the field of parliamentary mass democracy. policy by rational deliberation, regardless of party affiliations. It
With it goes the assumption that the eventual victor in this com- is only in a formal sense that parliament still retains its place as
petition is not only likely to be the most qualified leader, in the the only legitimate body where all political decisions were made.
formal sense, but also that his political programme is the best as In fact, the party organizations had long ago taken over the
well. It is a necessary consequence of this theory of democratic actual control of parliamentary as well as all other political busi-
rule that the representative bodies are assigned a strictly second- ness. It is they rather than parliament which henceforth articu-
ary role in the process of decision-making. By and large they late the political issues-with an eye on the prospects of winning
have only the function merely of a counterweight to the uninhi- for and through them public support. Hence decisions arrived at
bited initiative of the political leaders. The necessity of keeping by debate and rational deliberation were gradually superseded by
a parliamentary majority together amounts to a continuous test- plebiscitarian decisions. At the same time new types of political
ing of their charismatic leadership qualities. Moreover, they are leaders emerged who were capable of appealing directly to the
constantly reminded of their particular responsibilities through masses. Henceforth the people no longer chose between political
the parliamentary struggle. Apart from that, the parliamentary issues and programmes but merely between the political leaders
machinery offers an ideal solution of the problem of the succes- who have the task of convincing the masses of the righteousness of
sion of leaders. As soon as a political leader shows signs of a lack their cause, and in doing so they are expected to make use of
of leadership, that is, if his charismatic qualities are waning, it is their charismatic and demagogic capabilities.
up to the parliamentary bodies to see that he is replaced by a The emergence of great plebiscitarian leaders or, as Weber
new, better qualified leader. puts it in Politics as a Vocation, of 'dictators of the battlefield of
Weber admitted that modern 'plebiscitarian democracy', in elections' was in his opinion the definitive step leading towards
which a dominant role is allotted to charismatic leaders who 'plebiscitarian democracy'. 15 Only the 'plebiscitarian dictator'
compete with one another for power by means of a positive who rallies the masses behind him by means of his charismatic
demagogy, was largely emotional. He pointed out that in a pleb- appeal, can establish leadership in a society where bureaucratic
iscitarian democracy 'the devotion to and the trust in the leader institutions are extending their operations to every section of
are, as a rule, 'inevitably of an emotional nature'. 14 He accepted human activity. This implies, however, that the members of par-
this as an indisputable fact. He was convinced that in modern liament are reduced to mere 'political spoilsmen enrolled in his
bureaucratic societies only the great demagogue could success- following'. 10 Referring to the political situation in Germany in
15
14 WuG, Vol. I, p. I57 (author's trans.). Cf. EaS, Vol. I, p. 26g. PS, p. 535 (Gerth, p. w6). 10
Ibid., p. 535 (Gerth, p. 107).
go Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy
1919, Weber made the following diagnosis: 'There is, however, some lengths to make it clear that this did not necessarily amount
only the choice between leader-democracy with a "machine" to an irrational interpretation of plebiscitarian democracy. He
[i.e. a highly bureaucratized party organization which is com- argued that 'the anti-authoritarian interpretation of charisma
pletely subservient to the political leader], and leaderless demo- normally leads into the path of rationality'. 20 He apparently
cracy, that is to say the rule of professional politicians without a assumed that charismatic leadership is, in principle, fully com-
calling, i.e. without the inner charismatic qualities that make a patible with an otherwise 'instrumentally-legal' political system.
leader.'17 'Leader-democracy' means the charismatic rule of Nonetheless a classification of 'plebiscitarian democracy' under
great political personalities within the framework of a democratic the type of charismatic legitimacy is somewhat surprising, even if
constitution. 'Leaderless democracy' means a form of democratic full weight is given to Weber's argument that in a democratic
rule in which everything is handled merely as a matter of system the power of a charismatic leader depends on the formal
routine. 18 consent of the ruled. For one, it is arguable whether the issue of
At this point we may again take up the question of what place leadership is as decisive as Weber would have it. Secondly, it
the concept of modern plebiscitarian democracy holds in Weber's seems difficult to reconcile with the idea of democracy Weber's
ideal-typical theory of 'legitimate domination'. One would contention that the charismatic leader is, strictly speaking, res-
expect that modern constitutional democracy of whatever type ponsible only to himself and that it is he who must convince the
would have to be subsumed under the heading of 'legal rule', if electorate with his 'positive' demagogy, rather than act according
only because all its operations are performed in the form of to their will.
legislative procedures and various forms of legislation. Max Nevertheless, one is perhaps justified in following Max Weber
Weber, however, did not think so. His solution is highly character- in the interpretation of modern plebiscitarian democracy as an
istic of his own reasoning, and only understandable if one takes anti-authoritarian version of charismatic rule, in so far as some
into account the key importance he attributed to the problems of more recent trends in Western democratic systems would seem to
political leadership in modern bureaucratic societies. In contrast corroborate his analysis. Among other political scientists Lowen-
to earlier tendencies in his writings, Weber considered modern stein has pointed this out. Yet, if this is so, the question of what
plebiscitarian democracy to be essentially different from most 'charisma' is really supposed to be, becomes all the more impor-
traditional types of democracy. In one of the later sections of tant.
'Economy and Society', written about 1919, he defines it as an Many scholars have been puzzled by the fact that Weber's
anti-authoritarian version of 'charismatic domination': 'Plebisci- ideal-typical theory of 'charisma' does not allow any distinction
tarian democracy, the most important type of leader-democracy, between the 'genuine charisma of responsible democratic leaders,
is, in its genuine sense, a sort of charismatic rule concealed behind as for instance, Gladstone or Roosevelt, and the pernicious
a legitimacy which is formally derived from the will of the charisma of personalities like Kurt Eisner or Adolf Hitler'. 21
governed, and dependent upon it for its existence. In fact, the Where then is the borderline between a type of charismatic rule
leader (demagogue) rules by virtue of the devotion [of his follow- which guarantees freedom within a democratic social order, and
ers] and their confidence in him as a person.' 19 Weber went to that which may result in the emergence of a totalitarian or quasi-
17 Ibid., p. 544 (Cf. Gerth, p. u3.) totalitarian regime? Weber's political sociology is so designed that
1s For a detailed analysis of Max Weber's concept of 'leader democracy' this question must be left unanswered. Some authors, for
see W. J. Mommsen, 'Zum Begriff der plebiszitaren Flihrerdemokratie bei
Max Weber', Kolner Zeitschrift filr Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 20 WuG Vol. I, p. I57 (EaS, Vol. I, p. 26g).
Vol. IS, I965, pp. 295ff. 21Cf. Arnold Bergstraesser, 'Max Weber's akademische Antrittsrede',
19 WuG, Vol. I, p. I56 (author's trans.; cf. EaS, Vol. I, P 268). Vierteljahreshefte filr Zeitgeschichte, Vol. 5, I957, p. 209.
92 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination The Concept of Plebiscitarian Democracy 93
instance Arthur Schlesinger Jr., have suggested that the concept unrestricted obedience from his followers. As long as the power of
of "charisma' should therefore be discarded. 22 Others, in particu- charisma is unimpaired by failure or defeat it is, for those who
lar Karl Lowenstein, have attempted to modify Weber's concept believe in it, a duty to obey the bearer of it. Unfortunately
of 'charismatic leadership' in such a way, as to make up for its Weber did not distinguish sufficiently clearly between 'charisma-
deficiences in this respect. 23 Carl Joachim Friedrich attempts to tic leadership' and 'charismatic domination', and from this omis-
find an alternative solution. He resorts to the original religious sion result some of the problems mentioned above. For although
meaning of 'charisma' and on this basis he suggests a differentia- it is quite feasible to accept the concept of 'charisma' in a formal
tion between types of leadership, namely: 'democratic leadership' sense as a criterion of leadership even in democratic systems, this
and 'ideological leadership'. According to Friedrich, Roosevelt surely has nothing to do with their legitimacy. Weber's opinion
and Churchill are outstanding examples of the former type, that in 'leadership democracies' authority rests only with the
whereas 'ideological leadership'-which may operate both in a leaders and is, in fact, legitimized by their personal charisma
democratic as well as in a totalitarian society-applies primarily although it is formally derived from the consent of the 'governed'
to party leaders. 24 It is debatable whether much is gained from (an interpretation of democracy, which he also put forward in
such a distinction which is, incidentally, strongly biased in favour his famous debate with Ludendorff in I 9 I 9? 5 was open to poli-
of pragmatic rather than ideological politics. For what is the tical abuse. When he argued that it is the charismatic qualifica-
difference between what Friedrich calls the personal and inspira- tion of leaders which matters whereas the democratic institutions
tional character of Theodore Roosevelt's leadership and the kind are a mere functional machinery in their hands, he overstated his
of leadership which Max Weber had in mind when he called own case and came dangerously close to the 'Fiihrerprinzip ', the
Gladstone a 'plebiscitarian dictator'? The irrational nature of Fascist leadership principle.
their appeal to the masses is not substantially different from that Yet one should bear in mind that Max Weber developed his
of ideological leaders of a more or less totalitarian brand. Little theory of the 'three pure types of legitimate domination' at a
is gained by giving them different labels. historical juncture, and with a historical perspective in mind,
There is perhaps another approach to the problem which which was very different from our own. He did not envisage the
might help to solve the puzzle of whether charismatic leadership possible rise of Fascist or other totalitarian regimes which, in fact,
is compatible with a democratic system. The essential weakness in can be much better described as a combination of charismatic
Weber's concept of 'charismatic leadership' is not so much the rule with bureaucratic techniques, than 'plebiscitarian demo-
irrational quality of charisma, although this is certainly of no cracy'. He was haunted by the prospect of a steady growth of the
small importance, but rather the notion that charisma not only bureaucratic structures which was likely to put all individual
qualifies a personality as a leader, but that it simultaneously freedom more and more in jeopardy. He considered stagnation
legitimizes his authority, thus, at least indirectly, entitling him to and ossification the real dangers of his age, rather than charis-
matic break-throughs. In his opinion, the fatal decline of dyna-
22
Arthur Schlesinger, 'Democracy and Heroic Leadership in the Twen- mism and mobility in politics could be cured only by one antidote,
tieth Century' (paper read at the Congress of Cultural Freedom, Berlin,
June rg6o) argues that 'Weber's typology neither derives from nor applies namely 'charismatic leadership'. Charismatic leaders had to
to a study of democratic society .. .' Cf. Karl Joachim Friedrich, 'Political check the aspirations of the bureaucracy. They had to break
Leadership and the Problem of Charismatic Power', Journal of Politics, up its deadly rule of routine by their unique capacity to set new
Vol. 23, rg6r, p. r6, note 24. goals and to open up new paths in societies hampered by politi-
23
Cf. Karl Lowenstein, op. cit., pp. 7rff. Lowenstein objects in particu-
lar to the identification of 'plebiscitarian' and 'cesarist' rule by Weber. cal stagnation and bureaucratic routine. It was up to them to
24 Friedrich, op. cit., pp. r7ff. 25
Cf. Lebensbild, pp. 702.
94 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination
keep the 'open society' open against the inhuman forces of
bureaucratization. This could be achieved best within those
democratic systems which allowed genuinely qualified politicians v
to realize their personal political conceptions with the techniques
of both a 'positive' demagogy and efficient party machines. Par- A Liberal in Despair
liamentary institutions on the other hand acted as a safeguard
against the routinization of their charismatic qualities. For other-
wise they might be tempted to turn to the techniques of manipu-
lation and oppression instead of employing the legitimate means Talcott Parsons pointed out some years ago that Max Weber
of persuasion and agitation, within a constitutional framework, stood at a very crucial juncture in the development of Western
which guarantees a maximum of free competition for leadership civilization. 1 Indeed, his scholarly work as well as his political
and power. role seems to mark a new departure in the realm of ideas just as
much as in political thought, although perhaps not exactly in
the way Talcott Parsons was inclined to see it: that is, that
'Weber heralded the end of Ideology'. 2 It may be useful to point
out that Max Weber wrote his major works in a time of sub-
stantial change in the political as well as in the intellectual
sphere. By the turn of the century politics were profoundly
influenced by a popular nationalism which the ruling classes did
not know how to direct to useful ends. The First World War
resulted in the breakdown of the traditional European order
which had rested on a sort of compromise between the traditional
ruling classes and the middle classes, while the working classes for
the most part had still not been integrated into the political system
at all. In the last resort the recourse to war had been little more
than a desperate attempt to placate the new nationalism of the
middle classes, since all traditionalist values seemed to have lost
their hold on the people at large.
It was in this period that Weber wrote most of his works, in a
mood of almost complete frustration over German politics. Weber
had realized long before the outbreak of the First World War
that he was living in a society which rested on rather shaky foun-
dations. He, for one, was well aware of the fact that a revaluation
of many of the values on which the political as well as the social
system were based was already well under way, although few
people realized it at the time. Max Weber had been brought up
in the ideological atmosphere of German bourgeois Liberalism.
1 Stammer, p. 40. 2 Ibid., p. 63.
94 Three Pure Types of Legitimate Domination
keep the 'open society' open against the inhuman forces of
bureaucratization. This could be achieved best within those
democratic systems which allowed genuinely qualified politicians v
to realize their personal political conceptions with the techniques
of both a 'positive' demagogy and efficient party machines. Par- A Liberal in Despair
liamentary institutions on the other hand acted as a safeguard
against the routinization of their charismatic qualities. For other-
wise they might be tempted to tum to the techniques of manipu-
lation and oppression instead of employing the legitimate means Talcott Parsons pointed out some years ago that Max Weber
of persuasion and agitation, within a constitutional framework, stood at a very crucial juncture in the development of Western
which guarantees a maximum of free competition for leadership civilization. 1 Indeed, his scholarly work as well as his political
and power. role seems to mark a new departure in the realm of ideas just as
much as in political thought, although perhaps not exactly in
the way Talcott Parsons was inclined to see it: that is, that
'Weber heralded the end of Ideology'. 2 It may be useful to point
out that Max Weber wrote his major works in a time of sub-
stantial change in the political as well as in the intellectual
sphere. By the turn of the century politics were profoundly
influenced by a popular nationalism which the ruling classes did
not know how to direct to useful ends. The First World War
resulted in the breakdown of the traditional European order
which had rested on a sort of compromise between the traditional
ruling classes and the middle classes, while the working classes for
the most part had still not been integrated into the political system
at all. In the last resort the recourse to war had been little more
than a desperate attempt to placate the new nationalism of the
middle classes, since all traditionalist values seemed to have lost
their hold on the people at large.
It was in this period that Weber wrote most of his works, in a
mood of almost complete frustration over German politics. Weber
had realized long before the outbreak of the First World War
that he was living in a society which rested on rather shaky foun-
dations. He, for one, was well aware of the fact that a revaluation
of many of the values on which the political as well as the social
system were based was already well under way, although few
people realized it at the time. Max Weber had been brought up
in the ideological atmosphere of German bourgeois Liberalism.
1 Stammer, p. 40. 2 Ibid., p. 6g.
g6 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair 97
His father had been a National Liberal politician who had played gether to the disadvantage of the working classes. The state, he
an important role in the inner circle of the leaders of the National argued, should step in and introduce appropriate legislation in
Liberal Party in Berlin. The grandeur of the German Empire order to restore the balance, and thus make it possible for the
rather than ideas about constitutional rule and the like, was the workers to fight with the entrepreneurs over their working condi-
prevailing political value in this circle. A secularized Protestant- tions on an equal footing.
ism and a stern morality of an almost puritan cast were also This is, however, just one indication of the difficulties of
important factors in Weber's intellectual upbringing. On the traditional Liberalism at a time when what we now would call
other hand Weber's intellectual development was strongly monopoly capitalism and huge bureaucracies were to be come
influenced by the German Idealist tradition, with its strong more and more dominant. Weber noted, with considerable
emphasis on the autonomous personality. apprehension, that the German middle classes were not capable
His political views were originally in line for the most part with of taking over the role of the predominant political class from
the ideas of German National Liberalism which was, above all, the declining nobility and were thus unable to fulfill the mission
strongly nationalist, and which staunchly admired the political which seemed to be assigned to them by history.
genius of Bismarck. German Liberalism was never substantially This was partly due to objective factors. As a consequence of
influenced by the Western European doctrine of the natural the advance of industrialization the bourgeois classes everywhere
rights of man; it was dominated rather by the idea that the tended to disintegrate politically as well as socially. The rapidly
autonomy of the individual must be safeguarded in society and growing diversity of the structure of incomes was bound to
politics alike, and that for this reason the educated classes should destroy the relative homogeneity which the middle classes had
have a share in legislative matters, as they were bound to interfere enjoyed in the earlier nineteenth century, and it also undermined
with their social and economic activities. The freedom of the their bourgeois ethos. In the German case, things were par-
individual from undue interference by the state was of more con- ticularly bad in this respect. German Liberalism had split into
cern than his having a proper share in the process of actual deci- a large number of rival groups which no longer agreed even
sion making. For this reason German Liberalism never pushed on the most fundamental political issues. Politically German
its political claims further than requesting constitutional rule and Liberalism by I goo was in a state of permanent frustration;
local self-government. the Liberals had neither the political energies nor any chance to
The individualistic tradition of German Liberalism was a overcome the opposition of their political adversaries. Under
strong influence on Max Weber. For him the principle of the pressure from the labour movement they were content if they
free initiative of the individual was the very core of the Liberal could hold their own.
creed. His individualistic views were corroborated and, indeed, As is borne out by his famous 'Inaugural Lecture' at the
further strengthened by the influence of Nietzsche, whose University of Freiburg in d3gs, Weber felt very strongly about
philosophy emphasizes the role of the creative individual in this. To no small degree he identified himself personally with
intellectual life as well as in the social and political spheres. Weber the destinies of German bourgeois Liberalism, calling himself
always maintained that every social order should be so designed explicitly 'a member of the bourgeois classes'. 8 He also shared
as to give maximum opportunity to individuals to act on their the conviction of many Liberals of the time that they were
own free initiative. He advocated the intervention of the state Epigonen, as compared with the great generation which assisted
only where the situation would no longer allow this. This was Bismarck in founding the Empire.
particularly the case in the field of industrial relations where the 3 PS, p. 20: 'Ich bin ein Mitglied der biirgerlichen Klassen, fiihle mich
balance of power, in Weber's opinion, had been changed alto- als solches und bin erzogen in ihren Anschauungen und Ideal en.'
H
98 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair 99
He was deeply worried that German Liberalism was not in bureaucratic nature which in some ways was likely to be similar
a position to take the political lead in German society, since, in to the conditions in the late Roman Empire. 'The bureaucratiza-
his opinion, it was not equal to the historical tasks which it ought tion of society will, according to all available knowledge, some
to fulfil. Furthermore, he realized that the traditional liberal day triumph over capitalism, in our civilization just as in al).cient
ideology had lost much of its persuasive power in an emerging civilizations. In our civilization also the "anarchy of production"
industrial society characterized by growing bureaucracies and will be supplanted in due course by an economic and social sys-
industrial combinations. Also the time-honoured liberal idea that tem similar to that typical of the Late Roman Empire, and even
the power of the state should be restricted as much as possible, more so of the "New Kingdom" in Egypt or the sway of the
in order to allow society to develop along natural lines, seemed Ptolemies.' 0
to Weber entirely inadequate in an age of power politics and Weber pointed out on various occasions that it would be totally
Imperialism. He took up the opposite position, and spoke passion- wrong to assume that capitalism had anything in common with
ately in favour of a staunch policy of Imperialist expansion. 4 New modern democracy and with liberal ideals. In his opinion the
Imperialist tasks would provide a rallying point for the nation opposite was true. The rise of capitalist industrialism was associa-
at large, under a banner which at the same time stood for ted with the rise of ever more gigantic and powerful bureaucracies
liberalization and modernization at home. It seems that in the on all levels of social life, and he believed that this process would
late I 89os he adhered to the opinion that the bourgeois social eventually bring about a thoroughly 'goal-oriented' type of
and economic system was not likely to survive for long without society in which purely instrumental relationships would dominate
the safety valve of commercial outlets and territorial possessions social conduct everywhere. He couched his fears in forceful
overseas-the more so, as further continuous economic growth language which at times reminds us of the Jewish prophecies.
was apparently dependent on the latter. 5 He maintained that eventually rationalization and intellec-
The problem of how to adapt Liberal principles to the con- tualization-being the two most effective revolutionary forces
ditions of the emerging industrial society was, for Weber, of in world history-would no longer permit individual creativity
first rate importance and just as much a political issue as a per- and personal values to play any significant role in social relations.
sonal one. Gradually he came to realize more and more sharply At best sublime values would be allowed to survive in the retreat
how serious the situation was, in view of his conviction that of complete privacy, while the social system would be completely
the only creative factor in society is the free initiative of the dominated by purely instrumental (zweckrationale) social re-
individual personality. Around the turn of the century he was lationships, and interactions.
inclined to view the future with gloom. He feared that sooner Weber doubted whether under the conditions being created
or later the dynamic process of capitalist expansion would come by capitalism a free society of the liberal type was likely to survive
to a halt, partly because there would be no more virgin lands for long. He maintained, contrary to the current belief, that
offering the opportunity of further economic expansion, and capitalist development would in turn lead to a liberalization of
partly because technology was not likely to advance at the same authoritarian societies and that capitalism had nothing whatever
rate for ever. Already in his own day-according to his pessi- in common with freedom and democracy (this referred to Tsarist
mistic outlook-some of the elements were being created which Russia). Hence the vital question of his age was as follows: 'How
would eventually help to bring about a stagnant society of a are, under its rule' [i.e. capitalism], 'all these things' [that is to
4
say, the rights of man, individual liberties, the freedom of the
Cf. above, pp. 41ff.
For a detailed analysis of this issue see Mommsen, lvi ax Weber, pp. 6
5 Gesammelte Aufsiitze zur Sozial- und Wirtschafsgeschichte, p. 277
54ff., and idem in Stammer, pp. rgoff. (author's trans.).
100 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair 101

press and so forth] 'permanently possible?' 7 Once the current was convinced that the specific 'bourgeois virtues'-thriftiness,
rapid expansion of capitalism had come to a halt, and the dyna- rational conduct of one's own business as well as one's own life,
mism of capitalist competition had given way to bureaucratic honesty in business as well as in personal life, willingness to
techniques of regulating the economy, any society which was work hard-were just as much of puritan origin; and he was
organized in accordance with liberal and democratic principles, therefore thoroughly dissatisfied with Sombart's theory regarding
was bound to collapse: 'In American "benevolent feudalism", in the origins of modern capitalism. In contrast to Sombart he main-
the German so-called "welfare institutions", in the Russian "fac- tained that the rise of modern industrial capitalism was due in
tory system", everywhere the House of Serfdom is already at no small degree to particular bourgeois values. And his attempt
hand; we just have to wait until the diminishing speed of techno- to prove his case was, at the same time, an attempt to state once
logical and economic progress, as well as the triumph of rents over again the significance of bourgeois values in world history as
profits, in connection with the exhaustion of all "free" regions and distinct from those of the aristocracy.
markets all over the world, will eventually push the masses into It is not possible in this context to go into the details of Weber's
accepting the situation and moving into it.' 8 These bleak forecasts famous thesis with regard to the origins of capitalism. To this day
undoubtedly exaggerated the dangers to which the individualistic it is the subject of heated controversy. I should like only to point
societies of the West were exposed by the rapid growth of capita- out what was, in the context of Weber's thought, the core of his
lism and bureaucratic machineries-at any rate in the short run. argument. He maintained that 'other-worldly value orientations'
Yet they demonstrate clearly how strongly Max Weber felt about (ausserweltliche Werthaltungen) of an unusually stringent nature
the necessity to fight this trend, and to do everything in his power had induced the Puritans to organize their lives as well as their
to defend the liberal social order of his day. business activities on a thoroughly rational basis, thereby creating
This conclusion is confirmed by an analysis of that part of that type of social conduct which according to Weber is the
Weber's work which, perhaps more than any other, helped to necessary precondition for the development of modern industrial
establish his world-wide reputation as one of the founding fathers capitalism. The miending struggle of the Puritans to live up to
of modern sociology; namely his studies on the Protestant Ethic specific 'other worldly norms'-not just the lust for profit-
and the Rise of Capitalism. Max Weber became interested in induced them to concentrate all their energies as well as their
this topic somewhat accidentally, yet nonetheless his interest in savings on the production of industrial goods. They did so without
it had much to do with his liberal, if not, his bourgeois con- paying any attention to the traditional habits and patterns of
victions. By I goo the idea that there must be a correlation be- economic behaviour of their environment, and for this very
tween the rise of capitalism and religious beliefs had been very reason a process of world historical magnitude was initiated which
much in the air, and the thesis that the Protestants had played could eventually sustain itself.
a considerable part in the early phases of the industrial revolution At the bottom of all this lies a particular contention as to how
was harboured by many people. Furthermore, such an approach far-reaching social change is likely to be effected in history.
which attempted to trace particular significant historical develop- Weber argued that it is the 'value-oriented' actions of indi-
ments back to religious beliefs, or to specific ideologies, was com- viduals, or, possibly, small groups of individuals, which bring
pletely in line with the then dominant methodology of German social change about, and these actions are likely to be the more
history. Jellinek had just completed a study on the 'Origins of far reaching, the more the values, ideals, or normative principles
the Rights of Man' which maintained that these ideas had been in question stand out in contrast to social reality and the tradi-
first developed by the Levellers. Max Weber, it would seem, tional patterns of social conduct given at the time. Or, to put
8 Ibid., p. 63. this another way: it is the enormous tension between any given
r PS, P 64.
!02 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair
set of ultimate values on the one hand, and empirical reality is capable of sensibly influencing the course of events in an age
on the other hand, which begets extraordinary social achieve- of ever more powerful bureaucracies.
ments. It is only by grasping far beyond the everyday reality that
great inner-worldly achievements come about. The quest for charismatic leaders consequently seems to offer
Weber's research on the sociology of the world religions was a solution, however partial, to the problems which Weber faced.
undertaken primarily in order to corroborate the findings of the Yet this is just one side of the coin. Weber assumed that the
'Protestant Ethic' ex negativo. And, indeed, nothing similar to creative force or charisma was doomed, at least in the long run,
the religious attitude of the Puritans could be found elsewhere. in view of the seemingly irresistible advance of routinization,
Either these other beliefs advocated an 'other-worldly asceticism', rationalization and bureaucratization. Secondly, Weber strongly
that is to say, a thorough retreat from this world-which implied objected to taking refuge in what might have been an easy escape
that they remained socially inactive-or they heralded the from the harsh conclusions of his own analysis, by joining forces
principle of thorough adjustment to the given :>ocial order rather outright with the anti-rationalist movement which was quite
than putting up normative demands which would have required strong in the first decades of the twentieth century. He, for one,
a line of social conduct which might lead to conflicts with, and would have nothing in common with Stefan George and his
hence, alterations of, the given social order. It is only in ancient personality cult, or with Spengler's Germanic myths.
Judaism that Weber discovered something which could be said Weber's halfway, and perhaps somewhat ambiguous, position
to have had similar effects on the believers as the Puritan dogma, comes to the fore particularly in his attitude towards capitalism
namely the charisma of the prophets. itself. Capitalism had been, according to Weber, the offspring of
Weber observed that the extreme demands of the prophets on the type of individualistic social conduct which he identified with
the Jewish people had in many cases affected a sort of rationali- the liberal bourgeois ethos, yet on the other hand capitalism was
zation of conduct similar to the Puritan one. The prophets, it the decisive social force which fostered the growth of bureau-
would seem, also induced their followers to subject their personal cracies and purely instrumental, or, in Weber's own terms, 'goal-
lives to the iron law of rational conduct designed to bring about oriented' types of social interaction, to the lasting detriment of
maximum efficiency. This discovery had a tremendous effect on all forms of individual creative social activities. Weber's indecision
the further development of Weber's scholarly work. Charismatic is reflected in his attitude to two other social philosophies which
leadership follows exactly the same pattern of social conduct as had profoundly influenced his own thinking, namely Karl Marx
Puritanism, in so far as groups of followers are willing to make and Friedrich Nietzsche. The influence of Nietzsche on Max
the values of the charismatic leader their own, and to do every- Weber has so far not been given adequate consideration. Weber
thing in their power to reconstruct social reality in accordance was, however, strongly influenced by Nietzsche's aristocratic
with them. The concept of charisma, then, must be considered philosophy, and his own stand in regard to the question of
as a more general version of Weber's fundamental contention ultimate values cannot be understood properly without reference
that it is the value-oriented action of individuals who, by grasping to Nietzsche. 9 Weber is said to have remarked late in his life to one
for something far beyond their reach for 'other-wordly' and 9 I should like to refer here to Mommsen, Universalgeschichtliches
not day-to-day reasons, bring such enormous energies to bear Denken, pp. 57rff., and to Eugene Fleischmann, 'De Weber a Nietzsche',
on social reality that the course of events is given a new direction, Archives Europeennes de Sociologie, vol. 5, rg64, pp. rgoff. Fleischmann,
however, overestimates the influence of Nietzsche on Weber a great deal.
or in other words, that the social order is revolutionized. Charisma A forthcoming Harvard doctoral dissertation by Robert Eden, 'Political
emerges as the only creative revolutionary force in history, and, Leadership and Philosophic Praxis: A Study of Weber and Nietzsche',
in a way, it is the only form in which the individual personality will throw new light on this problem.
 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair 105

of his students: 'The honesty of a scholar of our day, and even into the origins of capitalism would indicate that at least in the
more of a philosopher of our day can be judged on the grounds of initial stages of its emergence ideal factors, in particular religious
how he defines his relationship to Nietzsche and Marx. He who convictions, had played a decisive, if not all important role; and
denies that he would have been unable to achieve the most hence he rejected Marx's theory of the tJberbau. As is borne out
important parts of his own work without the work of both of by all his sociological work, Weber was firmly convinced that
them, belies himself just as much as the others. The world in value attitudes as well as social expectations resulting from
which we live as intellectual beings, bears largely the imprint of particular cultural traditions are just as important as material
Marx and Nietzsche.' 10 interests. Weber did not share Marx's conviction that the con-
What is important in our context is that both Nietzsche and tradictions of capitalist society could be done away with by a
Marx had spoken up passionately against the sort of society proletarian revolution which abolished the private appropriation
which was being created by capitalist industrialism; a society of the means of production. He did not think that socialism
which seemed to both to be an altogether inhumane one. Ad- offered a solution to the pressing problems which mankind was
mittedly Marx had accepted capitalism as a necessary tran- confronted with. He was firmly convinced-and I think that in
sitional social formation, eventually to be supplanted by a this respect history since then has been on his side-that it is not
communist society which would put things right again. Nietzsche, capitalism and the capitalist pattern of the distribution of property
on the other hand, did not share Marx's optimistic outlook. He which was putting a humane order of things in jeopardy, but
violently denounced the emerging industrial order as the grave- rather the growth of bureaucracies. In view of this a nationaliza-
digger of a sublime culture created and sustained by a few great tion of the means of production did not alter things in the least;
individuals who were far superior to the masses. Nietzsche main- far from emancipating the working classes from the status of
tained that the ultimate cause of all this had been the 'misera- 'alienation', it would make it worse. For all socialist policies
bilistic ethic' of Christianity, and he heralded with some relief were, in his opinion, bound to foster bureaucratization, and hence
the revaluation of all values-a course of events which would to reinforce the tendencies towards an ossification of society. 12
possibly pave the way for the eventual rise of a new social order There was just one type of socialism which Weber was pre-
of a thoroughly aristocratic nature, in which human beings in pared to take seriously, the Utopian, almost anarchist, socialism
the full sense of the word could again emerge. of the Russian emigres with whom he entertained close con-
Max Weber worked out his own position, paying due con- nexions in Heidelberg before and during the First World War.
sideration to these two altogether contradictory social philoso- As a purely moralist conviction which did not take account of
phies, and he eventually arrived at what might be called a dialec- the chances of a realization at all-that is to say, on gesinnungse-
tal standpoint with regard to both. As we have already pointed thische grounds-he could digest, and even give serious con-
out, he bluntly rejected the Marxist theory of historical develop- sideration to the idea of socialism, yet he loathed it in the
ment, which he considered sheer nonsense, in as much as it claimed pseudo-scientific version of orthodox Marxism.
to be based on scientific principles. 11 Yet at the same time he With regard to Nietzsche the balance sheet seems to be more
accepted it, although seemingly without much enthusiasm, as an positive. There is no doubt that the impact of Nietzsche's in-
impmtant working hypothesis for social science. His own research dividualistic nihilism on Weber's thought had been strong indeed.
With Nietzsche originates what is perhaps one of the key concepts
1o Of. Eduard Baumgarten, Max Weber. Werk und Person, Tiibingen,
of Weber's personal creed, the concept of intellektuelle Red-
rg64, pp. 554ff., note r (author's trans.). The authenticity of this statement
is, however, somewhat dubious.
12
11 Of. above, pp. soff. A lengthier exposition of this point is to be found above, pp. 57ff.
ro6 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair
lichkeit (intellectual honesty). Some of Nietzsche's key arguments no means merely ideologies; they are rather a social force in
turn up repeatedly in Weber's sociology of world religions, their own right; and Weber, indeed, held the notion that this
although not always unopposed. 13 Weber's contention that every is the way in which creative individual action makes itself felt
individual has to choose his own values, and to put them to the in the course of history. However, he was careful to avoid taking
proof in the way in which he conducts his own life, is deeply up a naive idealist position; on the contrary, he made it quite
indebted to Nietzsche's philosophy. It is, however, more important clear that most men are guided in their social conduct and their
to note that Weber was strongly affected by Nietzsche's prognosis social activities by interests of various kinds, which in turn are
that Western civilization was on the decline, and that all modern largely determined by material considerations. Yet at the same
mass movements had dangerous levelling consequences. It is true time he strongly adhered to the opinion that ideas can change
that Weber did not accept all of this, yet even so he was un- the course of events, if only indirectly, by influencing the in-
doubtedly influenced by Nietzsche's message that it is the great tellectual outlook and consequently the social expectations of
personalities who make up the essence of history. However, he men. It is at this point that Weber follows Nietzsche's contention
refused to go all the way with Nietzsche. He strongly objected to that it is the duty of great individuals to set forth values and goals
Nietzsche's aristocratic contempt of the masses. In his opinion for the people at large. On the other hand, Weber accepted
the great personality is great only in so far as it goes with the Marx's interpretation that by and large social processes are
masses, not against them. Also he would not have anything to directed, and, indeed, propelled forward by the 'dynamism of
do with the vulgar Nietzscheanism of his contemporaries. material interests'. He did not think, however, that in this respect
Actually Weber worked out a sort of compromise between the form of the appropriation of the means of production was of
Nietzsche's intellectual aristocratism and his own liberal con- decisive importance, although he himself argued that only a
victions. To put it another way, he tried to harmonize the system of private ownership could achieve a maximum of formal
doctrine of the Levellers with the message of Nietzsche, as far rationality and, hence, at least to some degree, a maximum of
as this was possible. At the same time he combined Marx's efficiency. In his opinion, it was not the workers' deprivation of
findings and his own discoveries as to the nature of bureau- the means of production which was the most significant feature
cratization and rationalization with Nietzsche's prognosis that of modern industrial capitalism-this element it had, in fact,
the 'last men' on this earth must eventually give way to a mass of in common with many previous civilizations-but the continuous
faceless men incapable of displaying any higher, humane interests. advance of ever more bureaucratic forms of social organizations,
In a famous passage in the Introduction to the Wirtschaftsethik primarily in the economic, but of necessity also in the political
der W eltreligionen, which was written fairly late in his life, field, in order to maximize production, profits, and the supply
Weber attempted to formulate his own position, as deviating of goods to an ever widening, yet at the same time more com-
from Marx, without disowning him altogether: 'Interests petitive market. Modern capitalism was, as a matter of fact,
(material and ideal ones), not ideas, determine the actions of affiliated with bureaucratization and rationalization in so many
men directly. The Weltbilder that were created by "ideas", ways that the dynamism of the capitalist process inevitably
however, very often were the switchmen who determined the resulted in a steady growth of more and more gigantic bureau-
lines alongside which the dynamism of interests pushed human cratic structures. From the point of view of Weber's individualistic
action onwards.' 14 'Ideal interests' are, in Weber's opinion, by philosophy it was the latter factor, which mattered above all,
and what he was most concerned about.
1s See on this point the arguments of Jacob Taubes, in Stammer, pp. It is, therefore, by no means surprising, and in fact completely
222ff. in line with Weber's most fundamental assumptions about the
14 RS, Vol. 1, p. 252 (author's trans.).
I08 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair I09
role of man in history that in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft there rather to enable the individual or groups of individuals to bring
emerge two sets of forces that bring about social change, namely them to bear all the more powerfully on a given social context
'other-worldly', (and very often religious) beliefs on the one hand, and a given situation.
and rationalization, routinization and bureaucratization on the This is clearly brought out by the history of Weber's own belief
other hand. While the latter forces work anonymously, propelled in W erturteilsfreiheit. As early as I 895 he had strongly argued
by material interests, the former are implemented only by men in his famous "Inaugural Lecture" at Freiburg that science can
who are willing to give themselves up completely to these beliefs, never establish nor prove the validity of any values, yet he did
and to rationalize their lives so as to achieve a maximum effect this in order to make clear beyond doubt that the ideas of
with regard to the basic values they adhere to. Weber, as it were, nationality and the preservation of the nation state by all suitable
gradually came round to the assumption that this could be means deserved preference to the supposedly well established
initiated, at least in modern societies, only by charismatic leader- principle of maximum productivity, with regard to the economic
ship. Hence the concept of charisma-which Weber had con- and political conditions of the areas in Eastern Prussia. And
ceived originally as applying predominantly to earlier forms of Simey has shown that much the same kind of motives induced
civilizations-eventually emerged as a key concept in his Weber to launch the famous debate on value neutrality in the
sociology, as well as in his political theory, being the only viable Verein fur Socialpolitik in 1913. 15 For many years Weber and
counterpart of bureaucracy. his brother Alfred had challenged the conservative course of
It is at this point that one may object on the grounds that Schmoller, raising numerous political issues-for instance, the
Weber believed in value neutrality, and in his main work attitude of heavy industry towards social policy, the issue of
Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft tried hard to abstain from all value parliamentary versus bureaucratic government, and many others
judgements. There can be no doubt that the abstention from -all without any doubt involving value judgements. Now all
value judgements was one of the basic principles of Weber's of a sudden Weber asked his adversaries to abstain from all value
work. And, indeed, many empirical social scientists have labelled judgements in their scholarly work. This, as it were, seemed
Max Weber as one of their forefathers because of his endeavours somewhat odd to the majority of the members of the V ere in fur
to develop a kind of general theory of social action which was, Socialpolitik. What Weber was really after was to put an end
or rather claimed to be, free of so-called value judgements. I do to the mixture of social science and conservative politics which
not want to raise the point whether Max Weber actually was represented by Schmoller and his school, because social
succeeded in this; I would like to point out, however, that there science of such a kind favoured in its effects the existing semi-
are important differences between Weber's idea of 'abstention bureaucratic type of government in Germany. By not clearly
from value judgements' and the position of contemporary distinguishing between value judgements and the findings of
empirical social science. The latter attempts to eliminate every- empirical research, both, argued Max Weber, were to suffer;
thing which may be called values in a traditional language, in a clearcut choice between different sets of values, something
order to be able to formulate general theories that can be used which is the essence of all politics as well as of social reform,
to explain as well as to predict social processes of various kinds. would be made almost impossible.
Weber admittedly did take some steps in this direction, but he Rather than present value judgements in a scientific drapery
never considered this to be an ultimate objective of the social of whatever kind, the social sciences should make clear which
sciences. He rather headed for something substantially different. value options lie behind the various controversial issues in modern
He worked hard to eliminate all value judgements, not so much 15 Cf. T. S. Simey, 'Max Weber: Man of Affairs or Theoretical Socio-
in order to get rid of value judgements as such altogether, but logist?', The Sociological Review, Vol. 14, rg66, pp. 303ff.
IIO A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair I I I

society, and enable people to make the right choices in view of to forestall any argument which would try to establish a formal
their own values-instead of suggesting to them in a semi- link between his methodological views and his personal con-
authoritarian way quasi-objective solutions of social problems. victions. 'It is a tremendous misunderstanding to think that an
It was, according to Weber, the most sublime, and most essential "individualistic" method should involve what is in any con-
task of all social science, to make people aware of their own ceivable sense an individualistic system of values.' 18 This may
values, or their value preferences, and to make them face the well be true, yet even so it would seem that in view of the ultimate
inevitable conflict of values which occurs in any given concrete goal assigned by Weber to the social sciences-that is, to help
situation. Lastly, science should help them to decide rationally the individual to lead a rational life fully in line with his values-
what to do, and this, of course, meant taking all foreseeable he was bound to take this position. For in order to be able to do
consequences into account. This rather rigid theory implied, so, the social sciences must take into account the value-oriented
incidentally, a particular kind of formal ethics. It rested, as it motives of individual persons or groups, and attempt to evaluate
were, on the assumption that it is only the individual who, in their actions in view of their own objectives and values. It is for
the pre-rational sphere of the personality, can decide on value this reason that Weber could not dispose of the method of
issues, and that in doing this he chooses his own destiny. Verstehen, for only in this way could one establish links between
Weber's sociological work was, as regards its final intentions, actual social processes and the value assumptions of particular
so designed as to fulfil this very task. It should enable people to individuals or groups, which then resulted in a better compre-
choose rationally between different sets of values in any given hension of the values involved, as well as the inevitable conflict
situation, which required the making of decisions. It was intended between the latter.
not only to provide casual explanations for various kinds of social For the personality, in Weber's own understanding, it was vital
actions; but it was supposed to make choices between different to be as fully aware as possible of the conflicts between different
sets of values no longer a matter of mere emotional reactions or sets of values, for as he occasionally put it, 'its essence lies
of guess-work, but of rational deliberation conducted in view in the constancy of its inner relationship to specific ultimate
of the foreseeable results, as a responsible operation. "values" and "life-meanings"' that determine his actions, and
For that very reason Weber also stuck to a strictly individual- have a rationalizing effect on his social conduct in all spheres of
istic methodology in social science. Although he spoke constantly life. 19
in his sociology of social groups of all kinds, classes, castes, parties, Here the two ends of Weber's thought come together again.
and the like, he was rigidly opposed to any sociology working on His scholarly work was, to a substantial degree intended to make
collectivist principles. 'The individual is, even if viewed from it possible for personalities to live in the modern world without
the point of view of larger social units, the only embodiment of giving themselves up to irrational faiths, myths or prophecies.
meaningful behaviour.'16 In March 1920, a few months before On the other hand he could not but concede that all forms of
his death, Max Weber wrote to Liefmann: 'Sociology can be individualistic, value-oriented conduct were universally on the
done only by taking its starting point in the actions of the in- retreat. In fact, Weber gradually abandoned his original position
dividual or individuals-they may be few or many-or, to put which had placed side by side the types of 'value-oriented con-
it in another way: in a strictly "individualistic" manner.'
17
duct-the Puritan inner-worldly asceticism being the most
It must be admitted, however, that Weber himself attempted conspicuous case for this-and 'goal-oriented' rational con-
duct. More and more he was inclined to think that, under the
1e WL, p. 439 Cf. WuG, Vol. r, pp. 7f.
17Letter to Robert Liefmann, 9 March 1920, quoted in J. Mommsen,
18 WuG, Vol. r, p. 9 (EaS, Vol. r, p. r8).
19 WL, p. 132.
Universalgeschichtliches Denken, p. 576., note 57 (author's trans.).
112 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair II3
conditions of modern bureaucratic societies, charisma was the only nation states just as between different values, rather than eternal
force which could possibly check the advance of routinization peace and weak compromise, possibly even forced upon the
and purely instrumental social institutions. He eventually sub- world by the rule of a universal power state; in this respect the
sumed all social activity which could be described as emanating example of the late Roman Empire was anything but en-
from individual initiative under the concept of charisma. Charis- couraging. In internal politics also there ought to be as much
ma was described by him as the only creative force in history; dynamism as possible, and consequently open struggle and con-
a force which, unlike the forces of rationalization and routiniza- flict between the various groups and classes-although the legal
tion, revolutionizes men from the inside out, and which by doing framework of the parliamentary democracy was to ensure that.
so is capable of mobilizing social energies of such a magnitude physical violence was reduced to a minimum.
that it becomes possible to break through the confines of a Yet above all there ought to be a dynamic leadership which_
rationalized world and to impart a new direction to the course was both competent and imaginative. It is for this reason that
of events. History is, from Weber's individualistic point of view, Weber eventually advocated the 'plebiscitarian leader-democ-
in the last resort, more or less identical with what he occasionally racy', in contrast to the various types of what he called 'de-
called 'the variegated struggle between disciplinization and indi- mocracies without leadership' (fuhrerlose Demokratien), which
vidual charisma'. 20 adhere to the principle of the minimization of domination of man
With regard to the eventual outcome of this eternal struggle, over man. 23 In sociological terms Weber defined plebiscitarian
which may as well be defined as an eternal strife between two democracy-being 'the most important type of "Filhrerdemo-
types of human beings, the Ordnungsmenschen and the Kultur- kratie" '-as a special version of charismatic domination which
menschen Weber was extremely pessimistic: 'When the rationali- derives its legitimacy formally from the consent of the governed,
zation of the means of satisfaction of all political as well as all yet in fact from their emotional devotion to the plebiscitarian
social needs will be completed, disciplinization as a universal leader. 24 In this system of government the plebiscitarian leader
phenomenon will make irresistible headway in every sphere of is entitled to be in absolute command not only of the administra-
human life. Consequently charisma and all individually oriented tive machinery, but the party organization-the party machine
forms of social action will have less and less importance.' 21 Weber -as well; he can also request unreserved obedience on behalf
was not, however, willing simply to resign himself to this. In what of his followers as long as he is in power, whatever their own
has been aptly described as a sort of heroic pessimism he resorted convictions may be. Max Weber was, of course, aware of the
to a series of fairly radical measures which were designed to keep dangers inherent in this kind of highly emotional rule, yet iri
the 'open society' of his day 'open', as long as there was any his opinion this disadvantage was offset by the fact that thereby
point in doing so. It is at this point that Max Weber reveals maximum efficiency, and at the same time, a maximum degree
himself as a Liberal in despair. For the moment there were no of political dynamism would be ensured. Or to put it in a different
prophets around, and it was futile to do nothing while waiting way: there ought to be as powerful a rule as possible by res-
for them to appear. 22 Rather one should do everything possible ponsible charismatic leaders, and at the same time effective control
to keep society as dynamic as possible. of their doings by rival leaders, in order to guarantee a maximum
For this reason there ought to be a permanent struggle between of mobility in politics and society, and hence a maximum oppor-
tunity for individual creativity on the political level.
20 WuG, Vol. 2, p. 6gi (author's trans.). Cf. EaS, Vol. s, p. I ISO.
23
21 Ibid., p. 6gs (author's trans.). Cf. EaS, Vol. 3, p. I rs6. A systematic treatment of this aspect of Weber's political theory will
22 For Weber's condemnation of such attitudes see his famous public be found in Mommsen, Plebiszitare Filhrerdemokratie.
24
lecture 'Wissenschaft als Beruf', WL, p. 6ogf. Above we have attempted a precise location of the type of 'plebisci-
I
 I 14 A Liberal in Despair A Liberal in Despair 115
In taking such a position Max Weber was about to abandon They strive to gain power over our lives, and again they resume
the platform of traditional liberalism, in particular the traditional their eternal struggle with one another.' 26 Looking back after
concept of a liberal-democratic order. 25 This is the case in par- fifty years this prognosis has come to be much more accurate
ticular with regard to the concept of parliamentary democracy than Max Weber himself had assumed in his own lifetime.
which he defined as being little more than a system of selecting
qualified political leaders. Yet he assumed that there was no
26
WL, p. 6os.
other choice left in view of the secular trends in society and
politics alike.

Did Max Weber, we may ask again, really herald the 'end of
ideologies'? Definitely not in the sense which Parsons had in
mind in 1964, namely that empirical sociology would have to
take over in order to solve those social problems which the
traditional scholarly disciplines ridden by ideologies of all sorts,
had failed to do. In ossified societies which are dominated through
and through by bureaucratic institutions, ideologies would indeed
be stripped of all importance. Max Weber, however, did not
envisage anything of this kind in the near future, as is born out
by his famous public lecture 'Science as a Vocation'. He ad-
mitted that the 'disenchantment of the world' would inevitably
continue, but this would not mean that all struggle for the realiza-
tion of ultimate values was to come to an end, at least not in
the immediate future. He rather maintained that in the time
ahead social conflicts were likely to become more intense than
ever before. He argued, in words which are very close to
Nietzsche's, that after a period of relative tranquility, which was
to no small extent due to the tranquillizing influence of Christi-
anity, 'the old plurality of Gods ascend from their graves, they
are disenchanted and hence take the form of impersonal forces.

tarian democracy' within Weber's systematization of the 'Three Types of

Legitimate Domination', pp. 87ff.
25 This issue is fully discussed, though from a somewhat more dogmatic

viewpoint than I would entertain nowadays, in Mommsen, Max Weber.

The arguments put f01ward there initiated a heated controversy that has
not yet come to an end. Some authors, however, would seem to close their
eyes to the serious problems involved in a theory of democracy that relies
to a substantial degree on the concept of charisma. See, for instance,
Anthony Giddens, Political Thought and Political Theory of Max Weber,
London, 1972.
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