Max Weber (1864-1920)
 Born into middle-class family in Germany
 Father and Mother
 BA to PhD (Law, Economics, History)
 Workaholic?
 Sundays at Max and Marrianne’s
Sociology to Weber
 “Sociology…is a science concerning itself with the
interpretive understanding of social action and
thereby with a causal explanation of its course and
consequences.” –Max Weber (1920)
Major Concepts I
 Verstehen
 Ideal Types
 Values
 Social Action
 Class, Status, and Party
Major Concepts II
 Bureaucracy
 Authority
 Rationality
 Iron Cage
 Spirit of Capitalism and Religion
Ideal-Typical Bureaucracy
 Organization of official functions (offices)
 Each office is specialized
 Organized into hierarchy
 Rules are put in writing
 Staff does not own the means of production
Readings for Today
 Ben Franklin and the Iron Cage!
 The Spirit of Capitalism