The Conflict between Methodology and Rationalization in the Work of Max Weber
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2302292 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lars Udehn (Department of Sociology, Uppsala, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1981 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 131-147 |
| Publication date | 1981-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Acta Sociologica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-6993 • E-ISSN: 1502-3869 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/000169938102400301 |
| OpenAlex | W1988590438 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 34 |
Max Weber is the leading representative of an interpretive sociology aiming at an explanation in terms of the motives of the acting individuals. He is also the proponent of the thesis that the Western world is moving in the direction of increasing rationalization, held by many to be the uniting theme of his work. It is the thesis of this paper that there is a conflict between these two themes in Weber's work. The process of rationalization ends in an 'iron cage' of bureaucratic domination. But bureaucracy es capes analysis with Weberian methodology for two reasons: (1) because it is a form of domination which reduces men to means for the bureaucracy and its leaders, thus making their own motives unimportant, and (2) because it is a type of domination which rests upon the acceptance of, and subjection to, a rational legal order. The conclusion is that Weber's methodology is primarily a methodology for the analysis of leaders, since they alone are the determinants of their own actions
Bureaucracy · Economics · Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Rationality · Rationalization (economics · Sociology · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
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Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Soziologie und Sozialpolitik
Roscher and Knies
Max Weber
Industrialization and Capitalism
The Open Society and Its Enemies
Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik. 44.3; 45.1
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904–5/1920)
Zweck – Herrschaft – System
The Structure of Social Action
Beyond the Sociology of Conflict
Max Weber
Social Evolution and Sociological Categories
Beyond the Sociology of Conflict
Social Analysis
The Concept of “Rationalization” and Cultural Pessimism in Max Weber's Sociology
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Max Weber and German politics 1890–1920
Gesammelte politische Schriften
Methodology of Social Sciences
Max Weber's 'Interpretive Sociology
History and Sociology in the Work of Max Weber
The Meanings and Confusions of Weberian 'Rationality
Class and Society
The notion of rationality in the work of Max Weber
Max Weber und die rationale Soziologie
From Max Weber
The Concept of Rationality in the Work of Max Weber
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,05 |
| Citation span | 1983 - 1988 (6) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |