Max Weber,charisma and nationalist leadership1

ABSTRACT. One of Max Weber's most well‐known achievements was the formulation of three concepts of legitimate authority: traditional, legal‐rational and charismatic. However, there are particular problems with the last of these, which is not historically grounded in the manner of the other two concepts. The charisma concept originated with Weber's sociology of religion, was pressed into service in pre‐war writing on the sociology of domination, shifted focus in his wartime political writings and changed meaning again in his post‐war writing on basic sociological concepts. To use the concept in historical‐political analysis, I argue, one must distinguish between a pre‐modern and modern form of charismatic domination. I argue that doing this enables us to understand features of the leadership of colonial nationalist and fascist movements.     

Max Weber on Causal Analysis,Interpretation, and Comparison

Max Weber's methodological writings offered a model of singular causal analysis that anticipated key elements of contemporary Anglo‐American philosophy of the social and cultural sciences. The model accurately portrayed crucial steps and dimensions of causal reasoning in these disciplines, outlining a dynamic and probabilistic conception of historical processes, counterfactual reasoning, and comparison as a substitute for counterfactual argument. Above all, Weber recognized the interpretation of human actions as a subcategory of causal analysis, in which the agents‘ visions of desired outcomes, together with their beliefs about how to bring them about, cause them to act as they do.     

马克斯·韦伯与古代史研究

一、引言马克斯·韦伯 (ＭａｘＷｅｂｅｒ)由于在方法论、比较宗教研究和社会经济学领域的开创性著作 ,①长期以来作为“社会学之父”著称于世 ,相对而言 ,他的带有历史学色彩的早期著作则较少受到人们的关注和重视。这种偏差由于学科体制形成方面的原因而受到进一步强化。在韦伯的时代 ,社会学作为一门自成体系的学科尚处于草创时期 ,“在海德堡 ,尽管已经以社会学为出发点来考虑许多问题 ,但作为研究社会的科学尚未在学院体系中出现。”②其前身在日耳曼地区是被称为国家学的学科 ,它由 (用现在的学科分类标准 )经济史、法理学、社会学和…     

Class,Status and Party in the Analysis of Nationalism: Lessons from Max Weber

Abstract. Little attention has been paid by those seeking to understand nationalism to Weber's writing on class, status and party. These concepts can be used to analyse the groups which carry the nationalist idea outside the narrow circle of intellectuals and we use the example of Welsh nationalism to illustrate how this can be done. In our example the group in question is a status group which has a basis in class. The character of Welsh nationalism reflects the character of this status group – the ‘Welsh class’– and the changes (for instance in public policy and in the law) produced by nationalist agitation have been of most benefit to members of this status group. In terms of Weberian theory this nationalist activity can be understood as the activity of a status group which is monopolising resources through social closure.     

Une Note de Max Weber sur les Danseuses Indiennes

The long note which Max Weber devotes to traditional Indian dancers in his study on the sociology of religions in India, Hinduism and Buddhism, is commented upon here through a comparison with one of the first German studies which deals with dance in India, The World history of the dance by Curt Sachs. Three themes are discussed: the relationship between the arts of the body and scholarly knowledge; the specificity of sacred arts, in this case the magical arts and the forms which correspond to them, such as the modes of apprenticeship which assure their transmission (understood as a «hereditary charisma»); the vision of women and the notion of the pure and the impure.     

Liberation from the Weberian Iron Cage: Pierre Manent on Max Weber

Abstract

In this article I contend that conventional social contract theory is self-referentially incoherent. Conventional contractarianism therefore fails to provide an adequate foundation for the authority of the state and for the obligation of citizens to obey. The insistence on consent for legitimate political authority has usually been rendered in contractarian terms. Thus, the fall of conventional social contract theory seemingly entails that we should reject the principle of consent as well. Yet, the necessity of consent for the authority of the state and, concomitantly, for the obligation of citizens to obey seems to be an entailment of human equality. Thus, insofar as human persons are equal, the legitimacy of the state seems to require a foundation logically precluded to it. We are therefore confronted with a theoretical crisis. Even so, I will argue that we need not reject the principle of consent. The self-referential incoherency of conventional contractarianism results from its conventionalism. We can begin the work of salvaging the principle of consent from the demise of conventional social contract theory by erecting it upon the foundation of moral and ontological realism.     

Vergemeinschaftung and Vergesellschaftung in Max Weber: A reconstruction of his linguistic usage

When Max Weber made use of the terms “Vergemeinschaftung” and “Vergesellschaftung” in the first chapter of “Economy and Society”, he was among other things alluding to Ferdinand Tönnies' well- known usage of “Gemeinschaft” and “Gesellschaft”, as well as to related conceptions in the work of Georg Simmel. However, Weber's usage not only differed from the senses in which Tönnies and Simmel used these terms; he had himself altered his own usage since the early draft of this chapter, published in 1913 as “On some Categories of Interpretive Sociology”. The tangled resonances that result from this are carefully identified and separated, and in so doing light is shed upon the nature and status of Weber's intentions in writing his important chapter on “Basic Sociological Categories”.     

Robert d'Arbrissel: Aristocratic patronage and the question of heresy

Robert d'Arbrissel, first of the wandering preachers of the late eleventh century in northwestern France, often skirted the edges of heresy. Scholars have wondered what separated Robert from similar figures, such as Henry of Lausanne, who were in fact condemmed as heretics. Since Robert came from a modest family in a region of Brittany dominated by the Angevin counts, his career was always oriented towards Anjou. One possibility, then, is to examine Robert's career within the context of the Angevin nobility. His first patron, Bishop Silvester of Rennes, was a member of the count of Anjou's entourage, as were many other powerful figures who later supported him. Chief of these was Rainald, Lord of Craon. Under Reinald's patronage, Robert was able to establish the church of La Roë with the personal approval of Pope Urban. When Robert left to preach to crowds of followers, powerful Angevin churchmen recalled him to his duty. Once again it was the Angevin nobility, many related to the house of Craon, who provided Robert with the means to establish a monastery at Fontevraud. This establishment, backed by the Angevin nobility, kept Robert within the good graces of the Church.     

资本主义精神：新教伦理、个人主义还是“民族主义”

韦伯、桑巴特和托尼对资本主义精神的理解各不相同。韦伯突出宗教改革对资本主义兴起的意义,重视禁欲主义、勤奋、节俭等新教伦理;桑巴特强调个人对财富和享乐的追求,甚至认为资本主义产生于奢侈。但他们都对资本主义的恶性发展和精神危机表示忧虑。托尼同样担忧资本主义活动中道德伦理的缺失,认为宗教冷淡和个人主义的发展会带来恶果。格林菲尔德以某种“集体意识形态”替代韦伯命题中的个体意识,反对用个人主义解释资本主义。但她以“英格兰民族主义”为资本主义兴起与持续发展动因的论述,既不能解释资本主义的兴起,也不符合资本主义发展的历史。     

马克斯·韦伯眼中的孔子:韦伯中国史观中的精神与自然力

[提要]作为德国社会学古典理论的奠基人之一,马克斯·韦伯以“新教伦理与资本主义精神之间具有历史亲和力”的观点在世界范围内享有盛誉。他终其一生都在以摒弃西方人传统偏见的态度去探究非西方的文化。韦伯在中国宗教(尤其是儒教和道教)研究领域取得了巨大成就。他以对孔子和儒者的仰止之心指出儒教是一种高度发达的、冷静的理性主义,深刻剖析了宗教是中国未能发展成为现代化工业社会的决定性因素。韦伯进一步揭示了自然环境及其变迁对于中国历史进程的影响,阐释了自然环境状况也是中国未能发展成为工业资本主义的另一症结所在。     

Vergemeinschaftung and Vergesellschaftung in Max Weber: A reconstruction of his linguistic usage

When Max Weber made use of the terms “Vergemeinschaftung” and “Vergesellschaftung” in the first chapter of “Economy and Society”, he was among other things alluding to Ferdinand Tönnies’ well-known usage of “Gemeinschaft” and “Gesellschaft”, as well as to related conceptions in the work of Georg Simmel. However, Weber's usage not only differed from the senses in which Tönnies and Simmel used these terms; he had himself altered his own usage since the early draft of this chapter, published in 1913 as “On some Categories of Interpretive Sociology”. The tangled resonances that result from this are carefully identified and separated, and in so doing light is shed upon the nature and status of Weber's intentions in writing his important chapter on “Basic Sociological Categories”.     

SEKE,the KKE and the language question

Abstract

This article presents an overview of SEKE and the KKE's views on the language question between 1918 and 1936. By examining unpublished sources, shifts in the party's views become discernible which cannot be attributed solely to changes in the language debates. The article introduces two innovations: it argues that there is a correlation between political changes within the KKE and transformations in its views on language, and analyses these with reference to ideas on language in the USSR. Studying these views augments our knowledge of a relatively neglected dimension of the language question. Moreover, as the influence of Marxism on some Greek intellectuals increased in this period, its findings can be used to elucidate aspects of literary production.     

Weber and Marshall on the State

The conventional understanding of Weber's discussion of state legitimacy and Marshall's treatment of citizenship and social class are partial and distorted. Rather than endorse the view that the modern state is based on legal‐rational legitimacy Weber's analysis shows that the state in class society is without legitimacy and that its political domination is based on coercion and manipulation. While Marshall does argue that the expansion of citizenship rights tend to reduce aspects of class inequality he also shows that the working class can use the legal and other advantages of ‘industrial citizenship’ to improve the conditions of its struggle with capital. Our understanding of state mediation is improved by an appreciation of Weber's and Marshall's full contributions to a consideration of these matters, even though their positions do contain certain limitations.     

Devolution,equity and the English question*

ABSTRACT. Following devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, does England need a stronger political voice and/or constitutional changes to safeguard its identity and interests? (the ‘English question’). Polling and other evidence suggests that it does, albeit more to redress inequities associated with voting in parliament (the ‘West Lothian question’) and the distribution of public spending (the ‘Barnett formula’) than to safeguard its identity. Although campaigners for English devolution have had little impact, and alternative institutional responses to the English question are all problematic, it would be imprudent of the major parties to do nothing. The least difficult course would be adoption of English votes on English matters and reform or replacement of the Barnett formula.     

Max Stirner, Hegel and the Young Hegelians: A reassessment

Max Stirner is generally considered a nihilist, anarchist, precursor to Nietzsche, existentialism and even post-structuralism. Few are the scholars who try to analyse his stands from within its Young Hegelian context without, however, taking all his references to Hegel and the Young Hegelians as expressions of his own alleged Hegelianism. This article argues in favour of a radically different reading of Stirner considering his magnum opus “Der Einzige und sein Eigentum” as in part a carefully constructed parody of Hegelianism deliberately exposing its outwornness as a system of thought. Stirner's alleged Hegelianism becomes intelligible when we consider it as a formal element in his criticism of Bauer's philosophy of self-consciousness. From within this framework it becomes quite clear what Stirner meant with such notions as “ownness” and “egoism”. They were part of his radical criticism of the implicit teleology of Hegelian dialectics as it found according to him its highmark in Bauer. In short, this article puts the literature on Stirner into question and tries for the first time in 30 years to dismantle Stirner's entire undertaking in “Der Einzige und sein Eigentum” by considering it first and foremost a radical criticism of Hegelianism and eventually the whole of philosophy while fully engaged in the debates of his time.