Chasing Society

In this episode, we continue our close examination of Max Weber’s famous study The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and will perhaps end up learning something about the history of Protestantism as well. Exciting stuff!

I use the following translation of the original text from 1904 and 1905 as well as the German original from the Max Weber Gesamtausgabe:

Weber, M. (2002 [1904-5]). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Other Writings (translated by P. Baehr & G. C. Wells). Penguin Books.

In this episode, we begin a close examination of Max Weber’s famous study The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. The text is surrounded by half-truths, myths, and so-called “common knowledge,” much of which we can hopefully debunk, nuance, and correct through careful reading. So, what is this text really about? And what does it tell us about the process of societal rationalization? Let’s find out.

I use the following translation:

Weber, M. (2002 [1904-5]). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Other Writings (translated by P. Baehr & G. C. Wells). Penguin Books.

In the episode, I outline Max Weber's idea of modern, rational capitalism. What defines it and what makes it rational? 

References:

Carruthers, B. G., & Espeland, W. N. (1991). Accounting for Rationality: Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the Rhetoric of Economic Rationality. American Journal of Sociology, 97(1), 31–69.

Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (2001). Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford University Press.

Swedberg, Richard (1998). Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology. Princeton University Press. 

Weber, Max (2019). Economy and Society. A New Translation by Keith Tribe. Harvard University Press.

Weber, Max (2002). The Protestant Ethic and the "Spirit" of Capitalism. Translated by Peter Baehr and Gordon C. Wells. Penguin.

Weber, Max (1961): General Economic History. Translated by Frank H. Knight. New York: Collier Books

In the third episode in my series about the rationalization of society, I will attend to another important manifestation of the rationalization process that Max Weber outlined: the rational state. What does it mean for states to be rational, and what is the relation between the rational state and liberal democracies? Let’s find out.

In this context, I will also explain and exemplify Weber's famous three types of legitimate domination, that will help us deepen our understanding of Weber's thinking.

References:

Hoyer, Katja (2021): Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871-1918. Cheltenham: The History Press.

Kershaw, Ian (2001 [1998]). Hitler. 1889-1936: Hubris. Penguin.

Weber, M. & Swedberg, R. (2020) Essays in Economic Sociology. 1st edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Weber, Max (2019): Economy & Society. A New Translation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Weber, M. (1970 [1948]): From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. Translated and edited by Gerth, H. H., & Mills, C. W. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 

In this episode we are getting serious.  We are going to talk about Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy and we are going to find out why bureaucracy is one of the most important rationalizing forces in the rationalized society.  And please be careful, you might even learn something about the history of  Prussia and the German Empire. 

Summary of the previous episode and introduction to this one starts at minute 2.14.
Section 1 starts at minute 6.28.
Section 2 starts at minute 23.50.
Section 3 starts at minute 39.09.

Sources:

• Blau, Peter. M. (1956). Bureaucracy in Modern Society. New York: Random House. 
• Clark, Christopher (2007 [2006]). Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947. Penguin. 
• Cochrane, Glynn. (2018). Max Weber’s Vision for Bureaucracy A Casualty of World War I. Springer International Publishing. 
• Coser, Lewis A. (1971). Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in historical and social context. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
• Dorn, Walter L. (1931). The Prussian Bureaucracy in the Eighteenth Century. Political Science Quarterly, 46(3), 403–423.
• Kaesler, Dirk. (2017). Universal rationalization: Max Weber’s great narrative. Irish Journal of Sociology, 25(3), 315-323. 
• Kiser, Edgar, and Joachim Schneider. “Bureaucracy and Efficiency: An Analysis of Taxation in Early Modern Prussia.” American Sociological Review 59, no. 2 (1994): 187–204. 
• Mommsen, Wolfgang J. (2000). Max Weber’s “Grand Sociology”: The Origins and Composition of Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft: Soziologie. History and Theory, 39(3), 364–383. 
• Parsons, Talcott (1968 [1937]). The Structure of Social Action. Volume 2: Weber. New York: The Free Press. 
• Ritzer, George. (2015). The McDonaldization of Society. 8th Edition. SAGE Publications 
• Senigaglia, Cristiana. (2011). Max Weber and the parliamentary bureaucracy of his time, Parliaments, Estates & Representation, 31:1, 53-66, DOI: 10.1080/02606755.2011.560753 
• Mashal, M. (2024, March 16). India’s 2024 General Election: What to Know. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/16/world/asia/india-2024-election.html?searchResultPosition=14 
• Max Weber, The Theory of Economic and Social Organization, translated by A.M. Henderson and Talcott Parsons, New York, Oxford University Press 
• Weber, Max (2019): Economy & Society. A New Translation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 
• Weber, Max. (2017). Methodology of Social Sciences. First edition. London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. 
• Yoon, J., & Kumar, H. (2024, April 17). Why Do Elections in India Take So Long? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/world/asia/india-elections-long-explainer.html 

In this podcast series, I want to take a deep dive into the rationalization of society. In this first episode, I want to set the stage for this series and answer a simple question: What do sociologists mean when they speak of the rationalization of society? 

This episode is a general introduction to the topic and I’ve kept it as short as possible so you can smoothly immerse yourself in this complex phenomenon. If you enjoy it, please be sure to follow this show on your preferred streaming platform so you don’t miss out on the next one. 

I’m glad to announce that the Chasing Society podcast will soon be back with new episodes. I haven't had the time to write and produce new material lately due to many professional commitments and the never-ending hustle of navigating academia's twists and turns. 

But now that I've emerged from the academic trenches, I've decided it's time to get back and produce new material. I’m very happy to tell you that I am currently cooking up an entire podcast series about a phenomenon that we sociologists call the rationalization of society. It's a big term with even bigger implications, but I think a highly important one in these times, especially in the face of a looming AI revolution. 

Why do we entrust the destiny of society to programmers, economists, scientists, bureaucrats and engineers? What makes them the architects of our future and not artists, athletes or priests? To understand that we will have to explore buzzwords like effectivization, optimization, standardization, and quantification. We will delve into whether rationalization strips away the magic and humanity from our world, and I also want to tell you what all of this has to do with Friedrich Nietzsche and Franz Kafka .

 I hope you are as excited as I am. The first episode is almost finished, and you’ll soon be hearing from me on this channel when it’s finally time to chase the rational society. 

In this episode, I talk to Ingvill Stuvøy about surrogacy, technology and the economics behind it...and about Karl Marx. Yes!

An interview with Romit Chowdhury about men, masculinity and city life. Romit is currently based at the University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. 

Reading recommendations will follow soon.