Max Weber

Lore & Background

Max Weber was born in Erfurt in 1864 and studied law and history in Berlin, Göttingen, and Heidelberg. After earning his doctorate in law in 1889 and habilitation in 1891, he taught in Berlin, Freiburg, and Heidelberg. He married his cousin Marianne Schnitger in 1893. In 1897, after his father died following an argument, Weber had a breakdown, ceased teaching, and travelled until the early 1900s. He recovered and wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. During the First World War, he initially supported Germany's war effort but later became critical and supported democratisation. He gave the lectures 'Science as a Vocation' and 'Politics as a Vocation'. After the war, he co-founded the German Democratic Party, unsuccessfully ran for office, and advised on the drafting of the Weimar Constitution. He resumed teaching in Vienna and Munich before dying of pneumonia in 1920. His book Economy and Society was left unfinished.

Reader's Guide

Weber's significance lies in his foundational contributions to sociology and the social sciences. He formulated a thesis linking rationalisation and disenchantment to the rise of capitalism and modernity. In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, he argued that the Protestant work ethic influenced the creation of modern capitalism. He examined the economic ethics of world religions, including those of China, India, and ancient Judaism. Weber defined the state by its monopoly on the legitimate use of force and categorised social authority into charismatic, traditional, and rational-legal forms. He was a key proponent of methodological antipositivism, advocating the study of social action through interpretive methods. After his death, Weberian scholarship grew slowly due to political instability and the rise of Nazi Germany. In the post-war era, organised scholarship led by Talcott Parsons and other American and British scholars revived interest. By the twentieth century, Weber was regarded as a founding father of sociology alongside Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim.

Did You Know?

• Weber married his cousin Marianne Schnitger in 1893.
• He had a breakdown in 1897 after his father died following an argument.
• He co-founded the German Democratic Party after the First World War.
• His book Economy and Society was left unfinished at his death.