Weber

Question 1

Max Weber

Answer 1

German sociologist (1864–1920) who explored how religious ideas shaped social institutions. In The Protestant Ethic, he showed how Protestant beliefs unintentionally fostered modern capitalism through disciplined, rational labor and joyless accumulation.

Question 2

Modernity (Weber’s View)

Answer 2

A historical rupture characterized by rationalization, bureaucratic domination, and impersonal control. Modernity replaces meaning with technical efficiency, creating a world ruled by systems rather than values.

Question 3

Iron Cage

Answer 3

Weber’s metaphor for how individuals are trapped in modern capitalist systems of rationalization and bureaucracy. What began as religious discipline becomes a compulsory structure that suppresses freedom, joy, and meaning.

Question 4

Spirit of Capitalism

Answer 4

A cultural ethos where making money becomes the ultimate goal of life. Distinct from profit-seeking, it requires disciplined labor, frugality, and deferred pleasure—not for happiness but as a moral imperative.

Question 5

Capitalist Action vs. Spirit of Capitalism

Answer 5

Profit-seeking behavior (capitalist action) has existed across cultures. The spirit of capitalism is a systematic ethic of rational labor and joyless accumulation, uniquely developed through Protestant values.

Question 6

Protestant Ethic

Answer 6

An ethic centered on salvation, emphasizing hard work, frugality, and self-denial. Work is sacred, and success is a sign of divine favor. This ethic laid the groundwork for modern capitalist behavior.

Question 7

The Calling (Beruf)

Answer 7

Luther’s idea that everyday work is a divine vocation. Instead of monastic withdrawal, Christians serve God through diligent labor in the world. Work becomes a sacred duty, not personal fulfillment.

Question 8

Asceticism (Protestant)

Answer 8

A disciplined, self-denying lifestyle that avoids pleasure and idleness. Unlike Catholic monasticism, Protestant asceticism is practiced in everyday work, fueling relentless productivity and saving.

Question 9

Predestination (Calvinism)

Answer 9

Doctrine that God predestines the elect for salvation. This created intense anxiety, leading Calvinists to seek reassurance through constant labor and moral discipline—a foundation for capitalist ethos.

Question 10

Impersonal Labor

Answer 10

In Protestant-capitalist systems, labor is detached from personal meaning and serves only to glorify God or accumulate capital. Work is done for duty, not self-expression or fulfillment.

Question 11

Primitive Accumulation of the Self

Answer 11

Weber’s idea that modern capitalism required a cultural transformation of people—training them to value discipline, delayed gratification, and rational labor before capitalism could flourish.

Question 12

Joyless Accumulation

Answer 12

A key feature of the capitalist spirit. People labor not for need or joy but out of moral compulsion or structural necessity. Accumulation becomes the goal, not enjoyment.

Question 13

Means vs. Ends Inversion

Answer 13

In modernity, tools like money, work, or efficiency become ends in themselves. People no longer ask “Why?” but only “How?”—a condition that defines the loss of purpose in modern life.

Question 14

Disenchantment (Entzauberung)

Answer 14

The decline of religious and moral meaning in the face of rationalization. The world becomes predictable, calculated, and devoid of spiritual depth—“disenchanted.”

Question 15

Moral Emancipation of Profit

Answer 15

Protestantism broke ethical barriers to wealth. Profit became not only permissible but morally required—wealth was seen as a sign of divine favor, though enjoyment of it remained suspect.

Question 16

Rationalization

Answer 16

The increasing dominance of efficiency, calculation, and control in all areas of life. Rationalization shapes work, politics, and even personal behavior—often at the cost of meaning and spontaneity.

Question 17

Discipline as Freedom Illusion

Answer 17

Modernity claims to offer freedom but replaces external religious authority with internalized discipline. People conform to economic norms not by force but through self-regulation.

Question 18

Transformation of the Self

Answer 18

Modern individuals are shaped to become rational workers and utility-maximizers. This self-discipline was historically produced through religious asceticism and later institutionalized.

Question 19

Modern Bureaucracy

Answer 19

An impersonal, hierarchical system based on rules and efficiency. It’s the administrative arm of modern rationality—orderly but dehumanizing, central to the iron cage.

Question 20

Post-Religious Capitalism

Answer 20

Though religious motives faded, their legacy persists in secular institutions. People still work compulsively, but now without the spiritual goal of salvation—only accumulation remains.

Question 21

Modern Economic Subject

Answer 21

An individual who must act rationally in markets regardless of personal values. Even without internal belief, outward conformity to capitalist norms is enforced by social structures.

Question 22

Secularization of Asceticism

Answer 22

Religious discipline becomes institutional habit. Schools, corporations, and bureaucracies reproduce the ascetic work ethic even without religious belief.

Question 23

“Specialists Without Spirit, Hedonists Without Heart”

Answer 23

Weber’s image of modern people: technically skilled but spiritually empty, devoted to means (career, wealth) without deeper ends or meaning.

Question 24

Reformation and Discipline

Answer 24

The Protestant Reformation replaced lax church control with intense self-discipline. Believers were expected to regulate every aspect of life in pursuit of salvation.

Question 25

Anxiety and Accumulation

Answer 25

Predestination created existential insecurity—believers proved their elect status through moral discipline and relentless work, fostering capitalist accumulation.

Question 26

Why Money-Making Specifically?

Answer 26

Money became a moral sign: if God offered profit, rejecting it would dishonor Him. Thus, accumulating wealth (but not enjoying it) became religiously justified.

Question 27

Origins Problem (Weber)

Answer 27

Capitalism’s rise wasn’t due to wealth alone but to cultural transformation. The capitalist spirit had to emerge as a shared ethic before economic institutions could flourish.

Question 28

Modernity and Impersonal Domination

Answer 28

In modern life, people are ruled by abstract systems—markets, bureaucracy—not by human values. Power is exercised through structure, not individuals.

Question 29

Max Weber

Answer 29

German sociologist (1864–1920) known for foundational contributions to sociology, political theory, and the methodology of the social sciences. Developed influential ideas on bureaucracy, rationalization, and the role of values in research.

Question 30

Social Action

Answer 30

Behavior that is meaningfully oriented toward others. Unlike mere behavior, social action involves interpretation, intention, and shared meaning.

Question 31

Ideal Type

Answer 31

An analytical construct that captures the essential features of a social phenomenon. Not a perfect model, but a heuristic to compare reality against.

Question 32

Verstehen

Answer 32

Interpretive understanding. A key methodological concept where the sociologist seeks to understand the subjective meanings that motivate individual actions.

Question 33

Value-Free Sociology (Weber's Position)

Answer 33

Webers argues that social science can and should be neutral in analysis (value-free), but not indifferent in choice of topic. Researchers bring values to their work but must not let them distort findings.

Question 34

Objectivity in Social Science

Answer 34

Webers warns against moralism and ideology shaping research. Objectivity is achieved by separating empirical analysis from normative judgment—though values guide topic selection.

Question 35

The Ethic of Responsibility (Politics)

Answer 35

In “Politics as a Vocation,” Weber distinguishes between the "ethic of conviction" (absolute principles) and the "ethic of responsibility" (considering consequences). A true politician must act with foresight and moral burden.

Question 36

Politics as a Vocation

Answer 36

Defines the state as a monopoly on legitimate violence. Politics is a profession requiring inner distance, moral stamina, and acceptance of power’s dangers.

Question 37

State (Weber’s Definition)

Answer 37

“Human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.”

Question 38

Charismatic Authority

Answer 38

Leadership based on personal qualities and extraordinary claims. Opposed to rational-legal and traditional forms. Charisma is unstable and needs routinization.

Question 39

Bureaucracy

Answer 39

A rational-legal form of organization based on rules, hierarchy, and technical expertise. Efficient but potentially dehumanizing—central to Weber’s idea of modernity.

Question 40

Science as a Vocation

Answer 40

Weber's 1917 lecture. Argues science offers clarity, precision, and intellectual integrity—but cannot answer questions of ultimate value or meaning.

Question 41

Disenchantment (Entzauberung)

Answer 41

The loss of spiritual meaning in the modern world due to scientific rationalization. Science strips the world of mystery but cannot tell us how to live.

Question 42

The Iron Cage of Rationality

Answer 42

A metaphor for the rigid systems of bureaucracy and rationalization that trap individuals in rule-bound structures, limiting freedom and creativity.

Question 43

World-Rejection

Answer 43

Term from “Religious Rejections of the World.” Refers to religious withdrawal from worldly institutions: politics, wealth, sensuality, family. Exemplified in mysticism and asceticism.

Question 44

Innerworldly Asceticism

Answer 44

Ethic of disciplined action within the world to fulfill divine will. Central to Protestantism. Unlike mysticism, it reshapes the world through rational work and control of desires.

Question 45

Otherworldly Mysticism

Answer 45

A passive, meditative rejection of worldly action. Found in some forms of Buddhism or Christian mysticism. Opposite of innerworldly activism.

Question 46

Theodicy

Answer 46

Justification of suffering in a religious worldview. Religions develop theodicies to explain why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper.

Question 47

Religious Rationalization

Answer 47

Weber analyzes how religions evolve to make sense of the world—systematizing belief, ethics, and cosmology to cope with anxiety and uncertainty.

Question 48

Economic Ethic of Religion

Answer 48

Each religion, Weber argues, has an implicit “economic ethic” shaping its adherents’ behavior. Protestantism’s work ethic helped foster capitalism; Confucianism and Hinduism inhibited it.

Question 49

Religious Rejection of the World

Answer 49

Tensions between religious values and worldly institutions. Weber explores how prophets and mystics retreat from or seek to transform society through different paths of meaning.

Question 50

Prophet vs. Priest

Answer 50

Prophets are revolutionary figures who demand radical change (e.g., Jesus, Muhammad). Priests uphold ritual and stability. Each plays different roles in rationalization.

Question 51

Types of Legitimate Authority

Answer 51

Webers typology: Traditional (based on custom), Charismatic (based on personal leadership), and Rational-Legal (based on laws and procedures).

Question 52

Science vs. Meaning

Answer 52

Science explains “how” but not “why.” It cannot replace religion or philosophy in providing answers to meaning, value, or purpose.

Question 53

Specialists Without Spirit, Hedonists Without Heart

Answer 53

Weber’s bleak image of modern humans: technical experts who lack passion, and consumers who lack depth. Rationalization empties life of meaning.

Question 54

Politics and Violence

Answer 54

Politics involves power over others, often requiring violence. Unlike science, it is inherently value-laden and morally dangerous.

Question 55

The Vocation (Beruf)

Answer 55

Calling or duty. Originally religious, but secularized in modernity. Both science and politics, for Weber, require commitment, discipline, and acceptance of ethical limits.

Question 56

Meaninglessness of Science

Answer 56

Weber insists that science cannot provide ultimate meaning. It can clarify values and predict consequences, but cannot justify life goals.

Question 57

Methodological Individualism

Answer 57

Social phenomena must be explained by understanding the motivations of individuals. Even institutions emerge from individual action.

Question 58

Rationalization

Answer 58

The increasing dominance of calculation, predictability, and efficiency in all spheres of life—law, religion, bureaucracy, economy. Core to Weber’s account of modernity.