Menu Expand
Max Weber

Max Weber

Kieran Allen

(2004)

Additional Information

Book Details

Abstract

Max Weber is one of the founding fathers of sociology. He is often referred to as a sophisticated 'value-free' sociologist. This new critical introduction argues that Weber’s sociology cannot be divorced from his political standpoint. Weber saw himself as a ‘class conscious bourgeois’ and his sociology reflects this outlook. Providing clear summaries of Weber's ideas – concentrating on the themes most often encountered on sociology courses – Kieran Allen provides a lively introduction to this key thinker.

Kieran Allen explores Weber's political background through his life and his writing. Weber was a neo-liberal who thought that the market guaranteed efficiency and rationality. He was an advocate of empire. He supported the carnage of WW1 and vehemently attacked German socialists such as Rosa Luxemburg. Weber’s most famous book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, ignores the bloody legacy associated with the early accumulation of capital. Instead, he locates the origins of the system in a new rigorous morality. Using a political framework, Kieran Allen's book is is ideal for students who want to develop a critical approach.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
1. Introduction 1
2. The Sociologist of Empire 15
3. The Spirit of Capitalism 32
4. Why Didn't Asia Develop? 47
5. Methodology 68
6. Class, Status and Party 81
7. Domination and Bureaucracy 97
8. The Fall and Rise of the West 117
9. Capitalism, Socialism and Bureaucracy 134
10. War and Revolution 154
11. Conclusion 173
Notes 180
Additional Reading 200
Bibliography 203
Index 211