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Lecture Review Notes 11: 
Max Weber
1864  -  1920
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 An Overview of Weber   
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 Weber on Rationality   
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       Charisma   
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       Tradition   
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       Bureaucracy   
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       Bureaucracy--Advanced  
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       A comparison of Charismatic, Traditional, & Rationality Authority  
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       Weber's Analysis on "The Iron Cage of Rationality"  
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       The Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy  
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       Weber on the role of Professionals in bureaucracy  
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 Weber held that there were THREE dimensions of Stratification  
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       Stratification  
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       Weber updates Marx on Class:  adds middle & professional classes  
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       Review:  Power  
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       Review:  Status  
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 Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism  ( PESC ):   Economic & religious systems exhibit causal interactions  
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       Weber on Ancient Judaism  
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       Weber on China  
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       Weber on India  
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 Socio Historical Analysis by Weber  
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       The Asiatic System  
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       The Ancient Slave Society  
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       The Middle Ages  
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       Western Capitalism   
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 Weber's Debate w/ the Ghost of Marx   
 
Outline on  CT 18: Weber's Methodology
  
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 Weber on Values in Science   

 
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  An Overview of   Max Weber  1864  - 1920
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  -  Project:   Your Status, Class, & Power 
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 -  Biography & Major Works   
  SUMMARY:  There are EIGHT major ideas of Weberian sociology
1.  The major influence in modern society is the development of rationality
2.  Charisma, tradition, & rationality are all forms of authority
3.  In relation to an overview of Weber, while rationality is necessary for the dev of mod soc, it is also dominating soc 
4.  The dimensions of stratification include class, power & status 
5.  Culture, like economics, affects the fundamental structure of society 
6.  History demonstrates the development of rationality
7.  Weber agreed w/ Marx on the functioning of the econ sector, but supplemented his work w/ examinations of rationality & culture 
8.  Weber believed that the development of social science methodology was needed		  
  There are EIGHT major ideas of Weberian sociology
 
  1.  THE MAJOR INFLUENCE IN MODERN SOCIETY IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF RATIONALITY
 
 
 For Weber, rationality is a method or practice of choice based on who / what works best in achieving a given objective  
  2.  CHARISMA, TRADITION, & RATIONALITY ARE ALL FORMS OF AUTHORITY
 
  2.1.  Charismatic authority is present when one is treated as endowed w/ supernatural, or at least exceptional powers or qualities not accessible to ordinary people  
  2.2.  Traditional authority is the claim by leaders & the belief by followers in the virtue of sanctity of age old rules & powers   
  2.3.  Legal/rational authority is a model of choice based on who / what works best in achieving a given objective  
  2.3.1.  BUREAUCRACY IS THE ULTIMATE RATIONAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION   
  See Weber on Organizations  
  Weber believed that, conceived as a pure type, the modern bureaucratic organization has several distinctive characteristics  
  2.3.2.  Weber noted that Marx largely ignored administrative domination & organizational life
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  See Also:  A comparison of Charismatic, Traditional, & Rationality Authority  
  3.  WHILE RATIONALITY IS NECESSARY FOR THE DEV OF MOD SOC, IT IS ALSO DOMINATING SOC   
  Weber viewed the development of the modern era as increasingly dominated by the "iron cage of rationality"  
  Weber called the rationalization of society, i.e. the development of the iron cage of rationality, the disenchantment of the world  
  Weber demonstrated that the disenchantment of the world had been carried out more thoroughly in the West than elsewhere  
  Weber thought the development of rationality in society was inevitable, but was extremely uncertain about the value of said development  
  For Weber, domination had been implemented, historically, through govt, i.e. political orgs  
  Weber feared that domination would become absolute through bureaucracy  
  Weber conceived of many of the dysfunctions of bureaucracy   
  Weber analyzes the role of professionals in bureaucracy & concludes that they have the best chance of breaking out of the "iron cage of rationality"  
  4.  THE DIMENSIONS OF STRATIFICATION INCLUDE CLASS, POWER, & STATUS
 
  See Also:  Stratification  
  4.1.  Class, a.k.a. the economic dimension, is based on wealth & income
 
  Weber updates Marx on class by adding the middle & professional classes  
  4.2.  Power, a.k.a. the political dimension, is based on political power
 
  4.3.  Status, a.k.a. the social dimension, is based on prestige, honor, etc.
 
  Weber is the first social theorist to make status important in social analysis  
  The addition of power & status to social analysis makes Weber similar to the neo Marxists   
  5.  CULTURE, LIKE ECONOMICS, AFFECTS THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY   
  Weber, contrary to Marx, believes that the cultural system affects being as much as the economic system
 
  Weber believed that all societal institutions were shaped by climate & geography as well as by the econ system  
  In the PESC, Weber finds that the economic & religious systems have mutual impacts on each other  
  The transition from ancient Judaism to Christianity enhanced the evolution of capitalism & rationality  
  China did not develop capitalism for many reasons  
  India did not develop capitalism for many reasons  
  6.  HISTORY DEMONSTRATES THE DEVELOPMENT OF RATIONALITY  
  Weber adds cultural effects to economic effects to understand history  
  Early Empire Era aka Asiatic System                         3 K - 200 BC  
  Empire Era: Ancient Slave Society: 
The Transition to Feudalism                             200 BC - 500 AD		  
  Middle Ages: Transition to Capitalism                                500 - 1300  
  Early industrial Age:  Western Capitalism                     1300 - 1700  
  7.  WEBER AGREED W/ MARX ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE ECON SECTOR, 
BUT SUPPLEMENTED HIS WORK W/ EXAMINATIONS OF RATIONALITY & CULTURE 		  
  Weber's "debate w/ ghost of Marx" was a sympathetic debate  
  Marx examines the development & impact of the economy  
  Weber examines the development & impact of rationality  
  8.  WEBER BELIEVED THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODOLOGY WAS NEEDED   
  Weber & many other soc scientists believe that the soc sciences must distinguish themselves from phil & common knowledge by developing a methodology that allows for the creation of verifiable, objective  knowledge   
  One of Weber's major discoveries was that science cannot be value free  

 
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Max Weber
1864  -  1920
( pronounced   vay ber )

Born and resided in: Germany, then Known as Prussia
Began as an historian, later converted to a full time sociologist. 

Weber studied legal and economic history at several German universities.
After a brief period as a legal assistant and on completion of his doctoral dissertation, he was appointed professor first (1894) at the University of Freiburg and then (1897) at Heidelberg. Despite a severe nervous breakdown several years later, Weber produced a body of work that established him as the foremost figure in social thought of the twentieth century.

Towards the end of his life, Weber became politically active and served on the committee that drafted the constitution of the Weimar Republic in 1918.

xrefer  Who's Who in the Twentieth Century, Oxford University Press, © Market House Books Ltd 1999

WEBER, Max (1864-1920). 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism', Max Weber's most controversial and stimulating book, was published in 1904-05. In it he asserted that the stern doctrines of Calvinism bred in believers a relentless commitment to one's earthly calling and an avoidance of trivial pleasures. The result was, in Protestant nations, the rapid accumulation of capital that has made possible the enormous structure of modern economic life. 
   Weber was born in Erfurt, Germany, on April 21, 1864, to an authoritarian father and strongly Calvinist mother. He was educated at the universities of Heidelberg, Berlin, and Gottingen and served briefly in the army. In 1895 he became professor of political economy at Freiburg, and the next year he went to Heidelberg in the same post. He advocated German overseas expansion as a means to raise the political consciousness of the German people. 
   Following a nervous collapse in 1898, Weber was institutionalized periodically until 1903. It was after this period that he did his most significant research. During this time he influenced sociological theory and tried to gain respect for sociology as a discipline by defining a value free methodology for it. He also argued strongly against German aims in World War I. After the war Weber helped draft the constitution of the Weimar Republic and founded the German Democratic party (see Weimar Republic). He died in Munich on June 14, 1920. 

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Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright © 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Major Works of Weber

Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. 1904, trans., 1930
General Economic History.
 Economy and Society.  1922; translated as Economy and Society, 1968
Methodology of the Social Sciences. (1949).


 
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Outline on  Rationality
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  -  Project:  What is rational? 
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  RATIONALITY IS A MODEL OF CHOICE BASED ON WHO / WHAT WORKS BEST IN ACHIEVING A GIVEN OBJECTIVE   
  A SOCIO HISTL ANALYSIS OF RATIONALITY DEMONSTRATES THAT THE RAT / SCIENTIFIC WAY OF THINKING IS A NEW / MODERN PHENOMENON   
  A form of scholarship known as antiquarianism spread across Europe beginning in the 1500s   
  Antiquarian scholars gathered, preserved, recorded, edited, and cataloged the basic materials for history   
  Examples of antiquarian research   
  Without the research of the antiquarians, the primary sources for many fields of history throughout Europe might have been lost   
  THE ENLIGHTENMENT, AKA THE AGE OF REASON, IS THE LATE MID AGES ERA WHERE RAT / SCIENCE CAME TO THE FOREFRONT, DISPLACING TRADL KNOWLEDGE   
  During the Age of Reason, aka the Enlightenment, which lasted from the late 1600s to the late 1700s, a group of French philosophers called the philosophes became prominent   
  See Also:  The Enlightenment   
  Writers during the Age of Reason preferred to write broad historical narratives to proclaim large scale theories of the progress and decline of civilization   
  In general, the works of the philosophes reflected the respect for rationality, critical thought, secular values, and scholarship that characterized the Age of Reason   
 
 Leading philosophes included the Marquis de Condorcet, Montesquieu, and Voltaire   
 
 The philosophers of the Age of Reason believed that each person has a rational will, which makes it possible to make and carry out plans 
 
  The Enlightenment thinkers declared that animals are slaves of their emotions; when an animal is afraid of something, it tries to escape; when an animal is angry, it fights   
  However for the Enlightenment thinkers, people can figure out the best course of action when they are afraid, angry, or in trouble   
  In addition, people can make themselves do the right thing, instead of doing only what may seem easier or more appealing   
  The Enlightenment thinkers realized that people do not always plan ahead but often act on impulse, which they attributed to inadequate education   
  All people, the Enlightenment thinkers believed, are born with the capacity to reason   
  RENE DESCARTE PHILOSOPHIZED THAT RATIONALITY WAS A NATURAL QUALITY OF HUMAN KIND   
  Descartes wrote that "the power of forming a good judgment and of distinguishing the true from the false, which is properly speaking what is called good sense or reason, is by nature equal in all men."   
  Descartes therefore thought that to become rational, a person need only acquire an education that teaches a good method of reasoning   
  JOHN LOCKE PHILOSOPHIZED THAT GOD GAVE US THE CAPACITY FOR RATIONALITY  
  Locke wrote that reason is "the candle of the Lord set up by Himself in men's minds" and "must be our last judge and guide in everything."  
  See Also:  Locke   
  Locke believed reason teaches that people must unite and form a state to protect their "lives and liberty and property."   
  Locke noted that although people must give up some rights when they form a state, they gain more in protection than they lose   
  Locke believed that anyone can reason, providing the capacity is allowed to develop   
  He therefore emphasized the importance of education and insisted on the right of free speech and on toleration for conflicting ideas   
  WEBER HELD RATIONALITY WAS THE CENTRAL & SUPRA POWERFUL FEATURE OF MODERNITY   
 
 Rationalization in Weberian sociology, is the process by which decisions are made on basis of what is expected to work best   
  Weber sees rational authority as displacing charismatic & traditional authority   
  Rationality is inherent in modernization, urbanization, & the Industrial Revolution   
  For Weber, bureaucracy is the primary means by which rationality occurs in modern society   
  Weber's forms of rationality parallel his forms of authority which are based on technical mastery of a area or subject   
  1.  SUBSTANTIVE RAT IS THE DOMINANCE OF NORMS & VALUES IN THE RATIONAL CHOICE OF MEANS TO ENDS   
  Substantive rationality creates the ability to draw on norms & values to motivate people to behave in a rational manner   
  Substantive rationality requires that people strive to master a situation & adapt it to their conscious ends   
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 Examples of Substantive Rationality   
  2.  THEORETICAL / INTELLECTUAL RAT IS THE ABILITY TO UTILIZE PEOPLE'S RATL PROBLEM SOLVING CAPACITIES   
  Theoretical rationality is also known as the rational cognitive process   
  Examples of theoretical rationality, which use a mental schema to make a decision, include:   
  -  the scientific method   
  -  risk management process   
  3.  PRACTICAL RAT IS DAY TO DAY RAT AS SEEN IN THE ABILITY TO FIND PRACTICALLY RAT WAYS OF HANDLING MUNDANE SITUATIONS   
  Examples of practical rationality include:   
  -  Pragmatism   
  -  What works best in the short run   
  -  Common sense   
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 Examples of Practical Rationality   
  4.  FORMAL RAT IS THE USE OF ORGL STRUCTURES WHICH CONSTRAIN PEOPLE TO ACT IN A RAT MANNER IN THEIR CHOICE OF MEANS TO ENDS   
  Bureaucracy is the primary orgl structure used to implement formal rat   
  Functional, aka formal rationality requires of the subordination of one's mind & self to a thing or mechanical process   
 
 Examples of formal rationality include   
  -  the typical top down bureaucracy today which is the organizational hierarchy as first devised in religion, govt, & then refined in the mideval military   
  -  the division of labor & the assembly line   
  -  Fordism   
 
 -  McDonaldization   
  Weber's thesis is that formal rationality & bureaucracy is the distinctive development in the modern world & displaces both:   
  a.  Charismatic authority   
  b.  Traditional authority   
  For Weber, formal rationality is vastly superior to earlier forms of organization   
  THE FOUR DIMENSIONS OF FORMAL RAT ARE EFFICIENCY, PREDICTABILITY, QUANTITY, & NONHUMAN TECH   
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 a.  Efficiency is the search for the best means to the end   
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 b.  Predictability is being able to determine future events, thus creating a world of no surprises   
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 c.  Quantity is the gaining benefits from the economies of scale, the opposite of which is quality   
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 d.  Nonhuman technology is the substitution of machines, computers,  biotech, etc. for human labor   
  There are inherent strengths & weaknesses w/ each form of rationality   
  A common weakness of rationality is called the irrationality of rationality which is the obsession w/ only one form of rationalization   
  As formal rationality develops, it draws less & less upon the other forms of rationality   
  Formal rationality downplays & ignores contributions of the three other forms or rationality   
  Dehumanization & demystification are often associated w/ progress & formal rationality   
  In Weberian Sociology, the process by which tradition, faith, and personal relationship are set aside in the conduct of business, with decisions being made on the basis of what is expected to work best is defined as rationality   
  HYPERRATIONALITY COMBINES EFFICIENCY, PREDICTABILITY, QUANTITY, & NONHUMAN TECH IN A FORMAL RAT PROCESS   
  Ritzer developed the concept of hyperrationality, which is a process that combines all of Weber's forms of rationality   
  There are THREE advantages of hyperrationality   
  a.  Hyperrationality mitigates individual rationalization weakness & emphasizes individual rationalization strengths   
  b.  Hyperrationality combines all forms of rationality to mitigate the weaknesses of each   
  c.  Hyperrationality can emphasize any of the forms of rationality, given the particulars of the situation   
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 Examples of Hyperrationality   
  Weber viewed the development of the modern era as increasingly dominated by the "iron cage of rationality"   
  Weber analyzes the role of professionals in bureaucracy & concludes that they have the best chance of breaking out of the "iron cage of rationality"   

 
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Examples of Substantive Rationality: 
      Letting your values & goals dictate how you do something 
     Belief in democracy / equality:  involve the whole family in making decisions 
     Belief in patriarchy:  head male makes the decisions 

 
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Examples of Practical Rationality: 
      How to build a garden shed: 
      Buy the lumber, hand saw it up, nail it up 
      Buy a kit (wood is already cut), buy nail gun & compressor 

 
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Examples of Efficiency 
A drive through window is a good example of increased efficiency in fast food delivery
Ritzer 0411

 
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Examples of Predictability 
Example:  Big Mac in NYC is the same as in Paris 
[ standardization ] 
Ritzer 0411
Knowing how many people to put on each shift because of good analysis of demand 

Knowing where a store can profitably exist 


 
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Examples of the Economies of Scale 
Fast food gives you a healthy portion rather than a unique dining experience 
Ritzer 0411

 
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Examples of Nonhuman Technologies 

McDonalds' assembly line production w/ detailed instructions for preparing all the food

Ritzer 0411

 
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Examples of Hyperrationality: 
US & Japanese Auto Industries 
Ritzer 0411
McDonalds is becoming so 
Walmart 
PW

 
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 Outline on  Charismatic Authority & Organizations by Max Weber
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  CHARISMA IS AUTHORITY THAT IS BASED ON THE PERSONAL QUALITIES OF AN INDIVIDUAL, SUCH AS THE ABILITY TO EXCITE, INSPIRE & LEAD   
  Charisma is power that is legitimated through extraordinary personal abilities that inspire devotion & obedience   
  Charism ( 1927, 1953) is a special gift or power divinely conferred, as the gift of prophecy   
  Charisma is not an individual quality, rather it is a social quality that a group bestows on an individual or group   
  Charisma is not merely possession of 1 or more outstanding quality   
  People who have charisma do not necessarily possess any outstanding traits & those w/ outstanding traits do not necessarily possess charisma   
  For Weber, the devotion to a particular power holder on the part of the followers is based on his or her personal characteristics   
  WHILE CHARISMA IS BASED ON THE QUALS OF THE LEADER, IT IS ALSO BASED IN THE TENDENCY OF DEVOTION / LOVE / LOYALTY OF THE FOLLOWERS   
  For Weber, charismatic authority  is based on the devotion to a particular power holder on the part of the followers   
  Charisma is more a function of the followers than the characteristics of the charismatic leader   
  A charismatic leader can be ordinary   
  W/ relation to charisma, what is crucial is the extent to which, & process by which a leader is set apart form ordinary people   
  Charisma often has FOUR qualities including that the leader is: 
a.  believed to be endowed w/ supernatural qualities 
b.  at the least, believed to be endowed w/ exceptional powers or qualities 
c.  not accessible to ordinary people 
d.  for all practical purposes, fallible, or has special knowledge, insights, etc. 		  
  Charisma is a social relationship where based on the qualities of the leader &  the qualities of the followers, the followers freely choose to accept inspiration & give devotion   
  For Weber, a cult is a charismatic organization  
  CHARISMA IS STILL IMPORTANT TODAY, BUT IN THE PAST IT WAS PERHAPS THE PRIMARY LEADERSHIP QUAL IN THAT TRADL ORGS WERE USUALLY DOMINATED BY A CHARISMATIC LEADER   
  Charismatic authority was very prevalent in ancient orgs   
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 While charismatic authority is not as common today, many orgs & leaders still rely on it 
 
  Charisma is considered to be more beneficial to society if it is contained w/in an orgl structure 
 
  Charisma is considered to be more harmful to society if it is not contained w/in the org structure 
 
  Charisma is a revolutionary force 
 
  In the minds of organizational actors, charisma creates a subjective or internal reorientation that may lead to a radical alteration of the central attitudes & direction towards problems in the world 
 
  When new structures of authority arise, it dramatically changes people's thought & actions 
 
  CHARISMATIC AUTHORITY / LEADERSHIP OFTEN COME INTO CONFLICT W/ OR RUNS CONTRARY TO OTHER TYPES OF AUTHORITY   
  Recall the distinction btwn power, authority, & influence in that: 
 
  - power involves force or coercion, the threat of aggression   
  - authority involves a suspension of judgment on part of recipients where one accepts authority upon entering a system   
  - influence is authority that is accepted as a decision is made, consciously or unconsciously   
  For Weber, authority is either 
  - charismatic 
  - traditional 
  - rational 
These types of authority are non coercive, but do involve a suspension of judgment 
 
  Charismatic leaders arise most often during times of social conflict or social change 
 
  Charismatic leadership is often a major challenge to traditional or legal rational authority 
 
  Revolutions usually have charismatic leaders 
 
  Such revolutions always have underlying causes & grievances 
 
  Because charisma lies in the relationship btwn the leader & the followers, it cannot be institutionalized 
 
  Because the charisma brings change, & because it is usually outside of tradition or rational authority, the change it brings is unpredictable 
 
  And while some charismatic leaders are judged to be evil (Hitler, Stalin, etc.), many are also good 
 
  Weber believes that only charismatic leaders hold out a solution or bulwark against the rationalization that is enveloping the world 
 

 
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Examples of Charisma 
Jesus 
Charlemagne 
Hitler 
Ayatollah Khomeini 
Corazon Aquino  Philippines in the 1980s 
Mao Zedong in China in the 1950s to the 1970s 
Martin Luther King 
John Fitzgerald Kennedy 
Ronald Reagan, US President 1980 - 1988 

 
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 Outline on  Traditional Authority & Organizations  by Max Weber
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  TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY IS BASED ON A CLAIM BY LEADERS & THE BELIEFS BY FOLLOWERS IN THE VIRTUE OF THE SANCTITY OF AGE OLD RULES & POWERS   
  The trad leader is not a superior, but a personal master   
  The beliefs of the followers are based on belief that the established traditional order is best   
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 Traditional authority is the basis for the traditional org   
  Like the trad leader, a trad org can be sanctified   
  Most people believe that the sanctity of the Catholic Church is above the sanctity of the Pope   
  Secular orgs can be examined for their trad components as seen in the Presidency of Clinton, of whom most believed his unsanctimonious acts were separate from the office of the President, which should be honored   
  Based on trad, the sanctity of the family is important in nearly all societies   
  For Weber, the family is a trad form of org   
  THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF TRADL AUTHORITY OR ORGS, INCLUDING THE GERONTOCRACY, PRIMARY PATRIARCHY, PATRIMONIALISM, & FEUDALISM   
  a. the gerontocracy, which is characterized by rule by elders 
 
  b. primary patriarchy, characterized by male leaders who inherit positions & maintain a monopoly on most power 
 
  c. patrimonialism, which is the modern form of traditional authority which is characterized by administrative forces that are purely personal instruments of the master 
 
  d. feudalism which is a still more modern form of trad authority which usually combines patrimonialism & religious authority 
 
  Trad authority limits the discretion of the master through the development of more routinized, even contractual, relations btwn leader & subordinates   
  The routinization of relations via trad authority leads to more stabilized power positions   
  Feudalism was usually patriarchal, though there were exceptions   
  All of the forms of authority are still in existence in all cultures & orgs today, even in rationalized western societies   
  Note that feminists use the term patriarchy in a different manner than does Weber in that for feminists, patriarchy encompasses any structures or relations of male dominance   
  WEBER SEES TRADL & CHARISMATIC AUTHORITY AS A BARRIER TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF RATIONALITY 
 
  Traditional authority is a barrier to the rise of the rational economy, especially capitalism,  as well as other components of a rational society:  govt, judicial systems, media, etc. 
 
  Traditional authority permits the development of certain forms of primitive capitalism 
 

 
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Examples of Traditional Authority as a Basis for Traditional Orgs 

Monarchies still exist based on traditional authority 
Vestiges in orgs where founder of dominant figure is still present 
"The old man wants it that way" 
Religious leader usually base authority on tradition 


 
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  Outline on    Bureaucratic Orgs & Rational Authority   by Max Weber
External
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  -  Project:  Weber on Rational / Bureaucratic Orgs 
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  -  Project:  Your Bureaucracy 
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 -  Video:  The Corporation 
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  -  Project:  Video:  The Corporation & Bureaucracy 
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 There are THREE types authority 
a. Rational or bureaucratic authority 
b. Traditional 
c. Charismatic 
 
 
 Weber's definition of bureaucracy is an "ideal type"
i.e., an abstract definition based on a set of characteristics 
i.e., a pure type 
  Bureaucracy is an orgl model rationally designed to perform tasks efficiently   
 
 Weber developed, what may be called, a functionalist analysis of bureaucracy 
 
 
 Bureaucracy, for Weber, is the development of legal / rational authority in social life 
 
 
 For Weber, bureaucracies exhibit formal rationality, which means decisions are made purely on the basis of following the rules & procedures in order to accomplish organizational goals 
 
Link
 For Weber, conceived as a pure type, the modern bureaucratic org has nine distinctive characteristics 
1.  Division of Labor  2.  Hierarchy 3.  Rules  4.  Merit System  5.  Mgt 6.  Tenure 
7.  Wages & Salaries  8.  Technical Competence  9.  Formal Communications 
 
 
 1.  DIVISION OF LABOR IS THE ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCTION BASED ON SPECIALIZED POSITIONS 
 
 
 In a bureaucracy, positions may require technical qualifications that require training (OJT or higher ed) 
 
 
 Bureaucracy consists of positions bound by rules 
 
 
 Positions have specialized spheres of competence w/ set of obligations & authority to carry it out 
 
 
 2.  HIERARCHY IS AUTHORITY SPECIFIED VIA A TOP DOWN CHAIN OF COMMAND 
 
  In a bureaucracy there is a hierarchy of offices & positions   
 
 Each official in a hierarchy has specific scope of authority 
 
 
 In a hierarchical bureaucracy, each position commands those below it & takes commands from those above it 
 
  The bureaucratic characteristics of the division of labor & hierarchy results in the pyramidal shaped org w/ which we are all familiar   
 
 Note:  militaristic chain of command 
 
  3.  RULES ARE PRINCIPLES MADE TO GUIDE & CONTROL ACTION; STANDARDS OR REGULATIONS   
 
 Rules include administrative acts & decisions that are formulated & recorded in writing 
 
  Rules are usually written today, but this is a recent innovation   
  In most forms of organization, including bureaucracy, there are many informal, i.e. unwritten rules   
 
 4.  A MERIT SYSTEM IS EVALUATION ON THE BASIS OF ACHIEVEMENT 
 
 
 Impersonality & universality in the merit system holds that people should be evaluated on the basis of achievement 
 
 
 5.  THE JOB OF MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION IS COORDINATION 
 
  In early orgs, mgt was often done by the owner who many times was also a worker, who usually had the 'master' status   
  As orgs became larger, mgt was separated from the workers, but usually the owner still participated in mgt   
  Today there are some large orgs where the owner has little or no mgt duties; the owner hires a mgr just as they would a worker   
 
 6.  TENURE MEANS HAVING A LIFELONG CAREER / JOB SECURITY 
 
  Job security / tenure has not been widely practiced in US since the Reagan era ( 1980s ) of downsizing began   
 
 7.  PAYING WAGES / SALARIES WAS A COMPENSATION INNOVATION WHEN COMPARED TO PIECE WORK, DAILY PAY, BARTER, OR 'UNCOMPENSATED' WORK BASED ON TRADITION, E.G. SERFS, SLAVES, ETC. 
 
  Paying wages / salaries developed in the late middle ages since before that most people were either owners or unpaid serfs, peasants, etc.   
  Before bureaucratization, salaried positions were often bought but Weber believed that bureaucratization should eliminate this practice, & it did   
  8.  TECHNICAL COMPETENCE IS THE POSSESSION OF SKILL BASED ON EDUCATION & / OR EXTENSIVE TRAINING   
Technical competence is the ability to do the job whether that is an actual technology related job or an admin job   
  As the division of labor advances, the degree of technical competence also increases in that expertise rises & versatility falls & experts have less ability to talk & work together   
  Traditional methods of education, training, & certification are being rationalized to ensure people are technically competent   
  9.  FORMAL, WRITTEN COMMUNICATION IS THE PRACTICE OF RECORDING COMMUNICATIONS IN A FORMALIZED, STANDARDIZED MANNER   
  Formal, written communication is seen in the practice policy of writing everything down in order to allow all relevant parties to have access to the info   
  The present era is an info era in that more info is available to more people than ever before both because people generate more info & because that info is available to more people   
  The practice of formal, written communications by bureaucracies is the cause of the privacy crisis; for example, many orgs know more about a person than that person knows about themselves   
  WEBER BELIEVES BUREAUCRACY IS THE MOST POWERFUL SOCIAL INVENTION SINCE THE FAMILY & RELIGION   
  Though modern people equate bureaucracy w/ red tape & inefficiency, bureaucracy is the most efficient form of organization ever devised   
  Weber saw rationalization as one of the most significant trends in modern society, & bureaucracy was the means by which it occurs   
  Rational authority is based on a claim by leaders, acknowledged by the followers, that decisions made in the organizations are the most efficient in achieving the goals of the organization   
 
 For Weber, Boeing is a rational, bureaucratic organization 
 
 
 The dominant type of organization in modern society is the bureaucracy, i.e. the bureaucracy has great power, it is the most common, & is becoming more common 
 
 
 Bureaucracy is one example of the rationalization of society 
 
 
 Bureaucracy / rationalization is replacing tradition, religion, common sense & all other methods of knowledge & organization 
 
 
 For Weber, bureaucracy was modeled after the Prussian military 
 
 
 Historically speaking, bureaucracy is the most efficient system of organization 
 
 
 Compare it to your family, church or unorganized group of people trying to accomplish a task 
 
 
 Bureaucracy has displaced force, patrimony, loyalty, graft, corruption, etc. as methods of organization 
 
 
 BUREAUCRACIES ARE EFFECTIVE FOR THREE REASONS, INCLUDING THE ELIMINATION OF IRRATIONAL AUTHORITY, A FOCUS ON TASKS, & COORDINATION
 
 
 a.  Bureaucracy eliminates charismatic & traditional forms of authority which are usually seen as personal favoritism, nepotism, ethnocentrism, etc. 
 
 
 b.  Bureaucracy identifies tasks that need to be done & assigns someone to do them, & monitors how well they get done 
 
 
 c.  Bureaucracy provides a way to coordinate activities of a large number of people so that each effort contributes to the common task, goal or product rather than to individual tasks, or rather than working at cross purposes 
 
 
 But there are also many inefficiencies of bureaucracy which overlap w/ many of the inefficiencies of the division of labor 
 
 
 Bureaucracy destroys meaning & reason for work, people become interchangeable components 
 
 
 For Weber, the bureaucratic organization is ‘the worst form of organization except for every other kind.’ 
 

 
 Internal
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  Outline on    Bureaucratic Orgs & Rational Authority--Advanced   by Max Weber
 External
Links
  Bureaucracy socializes us  
  Weber agrees w/ Marx that the separation of the worker from the means of production is an important facet of socialization under capitalism  
  A bureaucracy, no less than a factory, molds a person's psycho physical being in an effort to adapt it to demands of the organization   
  BUREAUCRACY & DOMINATION   
  Weber said:  “It is horrible to think that the world could one day be filled with nothing but those little cogs, little men clinging to little jobs and striving towards bigger ones....”  
  Weber recognized that organized domination called for continuous administration, humans must be conditioned to obey, & power must be seen as legitimate  
  Weber recognized that organized domination called for continuous administration  
  BUREAUCRACY REPLACES TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATION   
  In the evolution of human social organization, bureaucracy & rationalization replaces the traditional organization ( discussed below ) & the charismatic organization  ( discussed below )  
  In this replacement of tradition by rationalism, bureaucracy & rationalization strive to eliminate favoritism, cronyism, authoritarian organizations, unfairness, etc.  
  Bureaucratic orgs replaced feudal style orgs & military orgs & religious orgs which were the major types of orgs previous to the development of bureaucracy  
  BUREAUCRACY & CAPITALISM   
  Bureaucracy developed as capitalism developed  
  The concentration of power has also increased bureaucratization via: 
    - power politics
    - large armies
    - immense budgets		  
  All the facets of modern power & bureaucratization require complex administration  
  Marx was 1st to recognize that capitalism was becoming increasingly concentrated & centralized & workers were being separated from means of production
 
  For Weber, the concentration of power w/in bureaucracy is other side of domination   
  Weber recognized that bureaucracy itself increases the separation of the worker from the means of production  
  - the soldier was separated from means of warfare
- the civil servant was separated from means of admin
- the scientist is separated from research facilities
And all of these spheres showed continual concentration. 		  
  Marx recognized bureaucracy as a necessary evil  
  WHY IS BUREAUCRACY DEVELOPING?   
  Rationalization in Weberian sociology, the process by which decisions are made on basis of what is expected to work best  
  Bureaucratization is one more example of formal & technical rationality in the West  
  The qualities of bureaucracy include:   speed, precision, other forms of cost reduction  
  But it is not just blue collar who has become proletarianized.  Almost everyone has become
- paid labor
- separated from the means of production
- works under a bureaucracy
- in an industry/sphere of society that is undergoing concentration of power		  
  BUREAUCRACIES ARE PRACTICALLY INDESTRUCTIBLE   
  Bureaucracies are rarely, if ever, dismantled
Bureaucracies are merely taken over transformed
 
  The state bureaucracy will wk for whomever takes it over  
  Therefore, Weber concluded, revolution, in sense of creating a new society that transcended bureaucracy, was becoming more & more unlikely  

 
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 Outline on a  Comparison of Charismatic, Traditional, & Rational Authority
External
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  ORGS HAVE EVOLVED FROM CHARISMATIC TO TRADITIONAL TO RATIONAL   
  Orgs have, in general, evolved from charismatic to traditional, to rational orgs, & a continuing trend toward greater rationalization continues today   
  There are no absolute boundaries btwn charismatic, traditional, & rational  types of authority in that even traditional churches have rationalized bureaucracies to address admin issues & even rat business orgs have charismatic leaders or depts who wield inordinate amounts of power   
  A bureaucracy, like our govt or the presidency, may or may not have a charismatic leader   
  A charismatic org, like a cult, may develop formal goals, written rules, etc.   
  See Also:  Power   
        There is a clear, though not absolute, distinction btwn power, authority, & influence   
        Power involves force or coercion:  threat of aggression 
 
        Power is often seen as political power where the coercion is politicized, & this is easily confused w/ political authority or influence 
 
        Authority involves a suspension of judgment on part of recipients 
 
        Directives are followed because it is believed that they ought to be followed 
 
        Compliance is "voluntary" 
 
        For authority to be effective, participants require a common value system 
 
  Charisma is fragile, e.g., when the leader dies, the charismatic org often ends 
 
  In relation to charismatic orgs, important followers may try to develop procedures for choosing new leaders, such as tests, visions, etc. that prove the worthiness of the new leader 
 
  When a charismatic leader is gone, there is no guarantee that the next leader will be charismatic because charisma cannot be routinized 
 
  Because charismatic leadership cannot be routinized or institutionalized, there is often a cycle where charismatic leadership transforms to either a traditional or rational org, & then the returns to a charisma org some time in the future 
 
  In the modern world, charisma is more likely to return to rationality, & stay rational 
 
  FDR is an example 
 
  All types of systems compete, charisma w/ tradition, w/ rationality, w/ charisma, etc.   
  Charisma is a constant threat to other forms of authority 
 
  Tradition may trump rationality or charisma in a given situation 
 
  WEBER BELIEVED THAT RATIONAL AUTHORITY WAS DOMINATING SOCIETY & ELIMINATING RATIONAL & TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY, BUT CHARISMA HAD THE POSSIBILITY OF SAVING RATIONALITY FROM ITSELF   
  The power of rationality threatens to create an iron cage of a totally rational society.  Weber said, “Not summer’s bloom lies ahead of us, but rather a polar night of icy darkness and hardness, no matter which group may triumph externally now.” 
                  Weber, in Gerth and Mills, 128
 
  For Weber, the only hope in moderating the iron cage of rationality lies w/ isolated charismatic individuals who manage somehow to avoid the coercive power of society   
  Rationality has been a revolutionary force   
  The Enlightenment heralded the advent of rationality in the West & other regions have had their Enlightenments   
  While charisma is an internal revolutionary force, formal rationality is external revolutionary force   
  Weber believed that charismatic or rational revolutionary forces change the structures of society 1st & then, ultimately the thoughts & actions of individuals   
  But for charisma to endure, its basic character must be transformed & routinized   
  The routinization of charisma ultimately transforms it into traditional or formal rationality   
Link
 Table on Weber's Types of Organizations as Compared to the Social Structures, Past & Present   
  The Table on Weber's Types of Orgs Compared to Social Structures, Past & Present demonstrates that orgs w/in soc structures have evolved over time, w/ more of them becoming more rational   
Link
 Table on Comparative Characteristics of Weber's Types of Orgs   
  The Table on the Comparative Characteristics of Weber's Types of Orgs demonstrates that each of the types of orgs, e.g. charismatic, traditional, & bureaucratic, demonstrate a unique attribute of organization in relation to the characteristics of orgs, e.g. div of lab, hierarchy, rules, merit, admin, tenure, & pay   

 
Top
  
Table on Weber's Types of Organizations 
as Compared to the Social Structures, Past & Present
Charismatic Org
Traditional Org
Bureaucratic / Rational Org
Today Peer groups  (friends)
Cults
Govt
Bands (Recreation / Entertainment)		 Family
Church
Govt
Church
Business
Govt
School
Military		 Media
Charity
Recreation / 
Entertainment
Past All Social Structures have at one time or another been charismatic
(few peer groups)
Church
Family
Business
Govt		 School
Military
Media
Charity
Recreation
The 1st bureaucracies were developed by the Egyptians as they developed centralized irrigation projects
The Table on Weber's Types of Orgs Compared to Social Structures, Past & Present demonstrates that orgs w/in soc structures have evolved over time, w/ more of them becoming more rational

 
Top
  
Table on Comparative Characteristics of Weber's Types of Orgs
Characteristics of Orgs \/
Charismatic Orgs
Traditional Orgs
Bureaucratic / Rational Orgs
1.  Division of Labor Lacks Position's w/ clearly defined spheres of competence
Staff not tech trained, but chosen for charisma or devotion		 Lacks Position's w/ clearly defined spheres of competence
Positions consist not of specialists but "personal retainers"		 Specialized positions
2.  Hierarchy Lacks a clear hierarchy.
Charismatic leader is free to intervene whenever leader feels staff cannot handle it		 Lacks a clear hierarchy. 
Personal loyalty, not impersonal duty determines  relationship of staff to master		 Authority is specified via a top down chain of command. 
Each position has specific scope of authority
3.  Written Rules & Regulations No formal rules, no admin organs, no precedents Retainers obey because leader has weight of traditional
Precedent		 Formal, written.
Bureaucrats obey rules, &  rational authority of  office
4.  Merit System:
     Impersonality & Universalism		 No regular system of appointment & promotion No regular system of appointment & promotion Evaluation on  basis of achievement
--merit
5. Management & Administration No rational ordering of relations of superiority & inferiority No rational ordering of relations of superiority & inferiority Their job is coordination
6. Lifelong Careers / Tenure No career.
Based on whim of master		 No Career.
Based on whim of master		 Not practiced in US since Reagan era of downsizing began
7.  Wages / Salaries May gain by pillaging;
or by whim		 May gain by pillaging;
or by whim		 Paid; 
not an owner
8.  Technical Competence  Low  Low  High 
9.  Formal Communications  Low  Low  High 
The Table on the Comparative Characteristics of Weber's Types of Orgs demonstrates that each of the types of orgs, e.g. charismatic, traditional, & bureaucratic, demonstrate a unique attribute of organization in relation to the characteristics of orgs, e.g. div of lab, hierarchy, rules, merit, admin, tenure, & pay 

 
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 Outline on  Weber on the "Iron Cage of Rationality"
External
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  Weber viewed the development of the modern era as increasingly dominated by the "Iron Cage of Rationality"
 
  Rationality, especially in the form of bureaucracy, would dominate all social structures
 
  Weber viewed bureaucratization w/ apprehension, fearing it would create an 'iron cage' that would capture & harm all social relationships because :
 
  - it reduced initiative  
  - it eliminated opportunities for autonomous & genuinely rational conduct  
  - bureaucracy is nothing but rationalized action w/ exact execution of received order in which all personal criticism is unconditionally suspended  
  - it tends to dominate & eliminate other forms of authority such as charisma & tradition  
  See Also:  The Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy
 
  For Weber 'Bureaucracy is the worst form of organization, except for every other kind.' but Weber sees no possible alternative to bureaucracy
 
  Under socialism there was an increase in bureaucracy
 
  Capitalism allowed the most freedom & creative leadership in a bureaucratic world, but it still would become stifling  
  For Weber there is little hope for a better world w/ bureaucracy being he dominate form of org.  Weber said, “Not summer's bloom lies ahead of us, but rather a polar night of icy darkness and hardness, no matter which group may triumph externally now.” 
Weber, in Gerth and Mills, 128 
 
  Weber analyzes the role of professionals in bureaucracy & concludes that they have the best chance of breaking out of the "Iron Cage of Rationality"
 

 
Internal
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Top
 Outline on the  Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy
External
Links
  -  Supplement:President Dwight D. Eisenhower:  Farewell Radio & Television Address to the American People.       January 17, 1961 
Link
 Link
 -  Video:  Why We Fight:  Now:  David Brancaccio analyzes the reasons we fight.         February, 2006       13:48 & 9:12 
Link
  -  Project:  Video: Why We Fight:  The Dysfuncions of Bureaucracy 
Link
  WHILE BUREAUCRACY IS A NEUTRAL TOOL, & ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL INSTITUTIONS, & ONE OF THE MOST PERVASIVE INSTITUTIONS TODAY, IT DOES HAVE MANY WEAKNESSES / DYSFUNCTIONS   
  Bureaucracy is a neutral human tool 
Bureaucracy's positive features include its unsurpassed efficiency 
Bureaucracy's negative features include its capacity for inefficiency & error 
 
  There are TWELVE dysfunctions of bureaucracy: 
1.  Decision Avoidance 
2.  Ritualism 
3.  Trained Incapacity 
4.  Self perpetuation & Goal Displacement 		 5.  Tendency to Expand 
6.  Alienation of workers 
7.  Groupthink 
8.  Group Polarization 		 9.  Oligarchy 
10.  Red Tape 
11.  Systems Failures / Catastrophe 
12.  Rationalization 
 
Link
 See Also:  The Chart of Bureaucratic Dysfunctions   
  The Chart on Bureaucratic Dysfunctions demonstrates that bureaucracies have a wide range of serious weaknesses that may result in inefficiency, domination, or riskiness   
 
 1.  DECISION AVOIDANCE OCCURS WHEN PEOPLE IN ORGS ONLY MAKE ROUTINE DECISIONS WHERE THEY MIGHT BENEFIT & NOT BE PUNISHED 
 
blank
 Decision avoidance is usually practiced by lower or mid level people in an org because they do not have the expertise to make the decision 
 
  Decision avoidance is practiced by lower or mid level people in an org because they do not wish to take responsibility for the decision   
  Decision avoidance is often practiced when lower or mid level people in an org perceive little reward & / or a high risk   
 
 2.  RITUALISM IS THE PROCESS OF PLACING THE PROCEDURES OF THE ORG AHEAD OF THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH THE PROCEDURES WERE DESIGNED 
 
  Merton coined the term bureaucratic ritualism to describe a preoccupation w/ rules & regulations to the point of thwarting an org's goals   
  Ritualism is following all the rules all the time   
  Research has shown that very few workers in organizations develop ritualistic behaviors   
  Parkinson's Laws, which are tongue in cheek business admonitions, are often based on the concept of  ritualism   
  According to Parkinson's Law work expands to fill the time available   
  Robert Merton developed the concept of the bureaucratic personality, which essentially means rule follower 
 
  William Whyte developed the concept of the organization man, which essentially means rule follower 
 
 
 3.  TRAINED INCAPACITY OCCURS WHEN PEOPLE HAVE A NARROW RANGE OF TRAINING SO THEY CANNOT DEAL W/ ANY ISSUES OUTSIDE OF THEIR PURVIEW 
 
  Trained incapacity is the organizational dysfunction whereby because people are trained in extremely narrow fields, they cannot respond to unfamiliar situations 
 
  Trained incapacity is the failure to adapt to new conditions   
  Trained incapacity often occurs when people in bureaucracies are faced with an unfamiliar situation, they try to fit the situation into an area for which they do have guidelines   
  In 1921, Veblin found that people may be well trained, but they are usually not taught to handle unfamiliar situations 
 
  People in bureaucracies try to force the situation fit one within the guidelines 
 
  Individuals in orgs do not make bold or innovative decisions, because it implicitly challenges "the way we do things" 
 
  Trained incapacity means people in orgs are socialized to try to fit decisions into the old patterns, or are taught to kick them upstairs 
 
  People in bureaucracies do not adapt well to change 
 
  Note:  A liberal arts education combats the dysfunction of trained incapacity because it is designed to create independent thinkers 
 
 
 See Also:  Hurricane Andrew   
 
 See Also:  USS Vincennes   
 
 4.  SELF PERPETUATION & GOAL DISPLACEMENT OCCURS WHEN ORGS CHOOSE SURVIVAL OVER ALL OTHER GOALS, & DISPLACE THEIR ORIGINAL GOALS FOR ANY GOALS THAT WILL HELP THEM SURVIVE 
 
  The organizational dysfunction of self perpetuation & goal displacement denotes that frequently the overriding org focus becomes survival at all costs  
 
 Goal displacement occurs when the original goals of the organization are subverted and the primary goal quickly becomes preservation of the organization
 
 
 Examples:  The US Calvary;  WTU & the YWCA
 
 
 5.  THE TENDENCY TO EXPAND OCCURS WHEN ORGS PURSUE EXPANSION OVER EFFICIENCY OR NEED 
 
  The orgl dysfunction of the tendency to expand is the orgl dysfunction whereby the org puts the goal of expansion ahead of its original purpose  
 
 Bureaucrats frequently are not rewarded directly on outputs or profits, but on such bureaucratic indicators as the number of people managed, the size of the budget, etc.
 
 
 Because prestige for administrators is often determined by the number of people supervised, a common administrative goal is to gain more workers
 
  Bureaucratic inertia refers to the tendency of  bureaucratic orgs to perpetuate themselves  
 
 Parkinson's Law:  Example: Computers do not save time, $  
 
 6.  THE ALIENATION OF WORKERS OCCURS WHEN THE WORKERS ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE ORG IN ANY SENSE EXCEPT A MONETARY SENSE 
 
 
 As defined by Karl Marx, alienation is the separation or isolation of workers from the products of their labor, or more broadly, the feelings or experience of isolation, powerlessness, or loss of control
 
 
 Marx found that alienation is the result of separating the worker from the process of the work (control) the product the surplus other workers
 
  Weber was also keenly aware of bureaucracy's potential to dehumanize the people it is supposed to serve  
 
 Alienated workers are unmotivated
 
 
 Alienated workers become separated from their "humanity"
 
 
 For Marx, bureaucracy only meets the needs of the rich and powerful
 
 
 See Also:  Alienation  
 
 7.  GROUPTHINK OCCURS WHEN PEOPLE CHOOSE, W/O CRITICAL THOUGHT, TO TAKE THE GROUP'S POSITION DESPITE MISGIVINGS 
 
 
 The organizational dysfunction of groupthink is the process whereby a group collectively arrives at a decision that individual members privately oppose but do not challenge
 
 
 Groupthink is the result of over conformity & cohesion
 
 
 Groupthink happens in small, cohesive groups w/ powerful leaders
 
 
 Under conditions of groupthink, people with different opinions do not want to break cohesion or challenge a leader 
 
 
 Examples: 
 
  Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam Policy  
 
 See Also:  Bay of Pigs invasion  
 
 Counter Example:  Cuban Missile Crisis
 
 
 See Also:  Space Shuttle Challenger explosion  
 
 8.  GROUP POLARIZATION OCCURS WHEN MEMBERS OF AN ORG MOVE TO EXTREME POSITIONS RATHER THAN MOVING TOWARD COMPROMISE 
 
  The organizational dysfunction of group polarization occurs because groups tend to make decisions that are extreme, rather than the middle or compromise decisions  
  Group polarization is the process in which a group moves toward a stronger position or more extreme course of action than its members individually favor  
  Group polarization may be though of as the orgl  "Digression from the Mean"  
  One type of group polarization is the risky shift  
  The effects of group polarization were first discovered in the form of the risky shift   
  The type of group polarization called the risky shift occurs when groups make decisions that are more unsafe or extreme than those that members would make individually   
  Examples:  young men on a night out;  lower level employees in high reliability organizations:  firefighters, etc.   
  One type of group polarization is the cautious shift   
  The type of group polarization called the cautious shift occurs when groups make decisions that are more conservative than those that members would make individually   
  Examples:  The Bureaucratic Personality, The Organization Man   
  9.  OLIGARCHY OCCURS WHEN AN ORG IS RUN / MANAGED BY A FEW PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONCENTRATED POWER   
  The organizational dysfunction of oligarchy occurs when power becomes concentrated in the hands of a few people   
  See Also:  Michels' Iron Law of Oligarchy   
  10.  RED TAPE IS THE COMMON USAGE NAME FOR THE INTRICATE PROCEDURES / FORMS THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED IN MANY ORGS   
  The organizational dysfunction of red tape occurs because orgl decisions are much slower than individual decisions  
 
 Org decisions may take months, even years or decades
 
 
 Many times decision are purposely buried in red tape so that an unpopular or dangerous decision does not have to be made
 
 
 Thus some red tape is really decision avoidance
 
 
 Criticism of the govt response to the hurricane disaster of 2005 pointed to the problem of bureaucratic inefficiency
 
 
 The failure of a formal organization to carry out it's work as illustrated by the response to Hurricane Katrina is a familiar problem, & illustrated in the concept of red tape
 
 
 11.  SYSTEM FAILURES / CATASTROPHES OCCURS AS A RESULT OF "SWISS CHEESE" ERRORS & CASCADING ERRORS 
 
  Swiss cheese errors occur when several factors line up to magnify a problem such as when a pilot is tired, turns over duties to a co-pilot, who does not have experience w/ in a particular location, & thus makes an error (Exxon Valdez, 1989)  
  In a Swiss cheese error, several weaknesses in the system 'line up' to create the error; any one of them could probably be overcome   
  Cascading errors occur when one error leads to a worse error, which leads to a worse error, etc. as when wkrs make a mistake in the test run of a power plant which causes overheating, when they attempt to cool the plant, it causes a small explosion, when they attempt to deal w/ the fire, they blow the electrical system, etc.  (Chernobyl, 1986)   
  In a cascading error, w/o the first error in the chain of events, it is unlikely the other errors would have occurred   
 
 The orgl dysfunction of system failures /catastrophes occurs because complex orgs create complex disasters 
 
 
 Modern major disasters always have a strong orgl component 
 
 
 Systems failures occur because of cascading errors and trained incapacity 
 
 
 Perrow has come to call systems failures "normal accidents" because modern people have come to accept that complex systems will fail 
 
 
 See Also: Perrow's Normal Accidents 
 
  See Also: The Organizational Component of   9 - 11   
  12.  RATIONALIZATION CAN COME TO DOMINATE AN ORG'S DECISIONS ESCHEWING ALL OTHER FACTORS, SUCH AS THE HUMAN OR ENVL COSTS   
  The organizational dysfunction of rationalization occurs because logic is only one way of knowing, and when it displaces other ways of knowing the organization experiences the weaknesses & threats associated which a loss of knowledge / understanding   
  Weber held that through rationalization, bureaucracies are specifically designed to address the problems inherent in charismatic & traditionally based orgs, however, this destroys humanity, "enchantment"   
  Weber described bureaucracy as an iron cage   
  Examples of the rationalization of orgs displacing other ways of operating can be seen when: 
-  chain stores have a difficult time giving personal service 
-  large universities cannot offer individual attention to students 
-  the Bank of America cannot take character into account for a loan 
-  modern doctors in HMOs do not know their patients 		  
  See Also: Weber on the Disenchantment of the World   
  See Also: Post Modernism   
  NOT INCLUDED from Hodson & Sullivan: top heavy mgt, centralization & control of the econ, ruling elite, reduced creativity, rigidity, corp accountability, externalizing costs   

 
Top  
The Chart of Bureaucratic Dysfunctions 
Type of Dysfunction
Description
  1.  Decision Avoidance   Only make routine decisions
  2.  Ritualism: The Bureaucratic Personality   Only follow the rules
  3.  Trained Incapacity   Trained in extremely narrow field
  4.  Self Perpetuation & Goal Displacement   Overriding org focus = survival @ all costs
  5.  Tendency to Expand   Org puts expansion goal ahead of original purpose
  6.  Alienation of Workers   Wkrs not connected to org;
  Wkrs separated from their "humanity"
  7.  Groupthink   Over conformity & cohesion
  8.  Group Polarization   Digression from the mean
  9.  Oligarchy   Power becomes concentrated
  10.  Red Tape   Too many rules to follow, stifling action
  11.  System Failure / Catastrophe   Complex orgs = complex disasters
  12.  Rationalization   Planning at the expense of intuitive action may lead to alienation
The Chart on Bureaucratic Dysfunctions demonstrates that bureaucracies have a wide range of serious weaknesses that may result in inefficiency, domination, or riskiness

 
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 Outline on  Weber on Professionals & Bureaucracy / Rationality
External
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  In “Politics as a Vocation” Weber looks for the development of political leaders w/ "a calling" to oppose the rule of bureaucracy
 
  In “Churches and Sects in North America: An Ecclesiastical Socio-Political Sketch”  (Quakers), Weber examines TWO ethics that may assist professionals in resisting the rationalization of bureaucracy
 
  a.  With the "ethic of responsibility,"  passionate commitment to ultimate values is combined w/ a dispassionate analysis of alternative means of pursuing them
 
  b.  With the "ethic of conviction,"  rational choice is foregone & actor orients action to the realization of some absolute value or unconditional demand
 
  For Weber, ethics of responsibility & conviction, these are important components in the constitution of a professional as compared to a bureaucratic, managerial, worker, etc. dominated society
 
  Weber's conception of the role of professionals & professional orgs in confronting the dysfunctions of bureaucracy & social problems in general is very similar to Durkheim's conception of workplace associations  
  For Weber, a slim hope of breaking out of the "iron cage of rationality" lies in professionals who stand outside the bureaucracy & can control it to some degree
 
  For Weber, professionals includes a broad class of knowledge workers such as lawyers, doctors, professors, accountants, professional politicians, scientists, intellectuals, capitalists & others  

 
Internal
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Top
  Outline on  Weber on Social Stratification:   Class, Status, Power, Influence
External
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  Stratification is the social process where scarce social & physical resources such as wealth, income, power, status, etc. are non randomly distributed among members, groups, classes etc. of society  
  Stratification is the study of how resources are distributed among society  
  Summary:  Different ranking systems, based on the distribution of different scarce resources, have been referred to by sociologists as Stratification  
  Various analytical constructs posit FOUR differing bases for stratification  
  Weber recognized that most societies have three major dimensions of stratification
 
  Organizational theorists maintain that organizational influence has unique stratification properties  
      Type of Strat    Dimension of Strat          Definition  
 
a.  Class Economic Placement in the strat system is determined by income & wealth
 
 
b.  Status Prestige Placement in the strat system is determined by cultural determinations of prestige, honor, charisma, etc.
 
 
c.  Power Political Placement in the strat system is determined by political determinations of control or authority over others
 
 
d.  Influence Organizational Placement in the strat system is determined by organizational determinations of control or authority over others
 
  For Weber,  there is a strong interaction of class, status, power & influence  
  Weberian Theory holds that our system of stratification restrains both the masses & the elites  
  For Weber,  status, power, & income all are part of stratification  
  Weber found that status, power, income, stratification, the individual maximization of wealth, poverty, inequality, etc. are all a function of the interaction of status, power, & class which are determined by the interaction, of not only the economic system, but also the religious, cultural & social systems  
  In the Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism, (PESC) Weber studied cultural values as they related to religion in a wide variety of past societies  
  See Also:  Weber's PESC  
  Weber found that through most of human history, people did not value maximizing personal wealth & comfort  
  Values in most preindustrial societies centered on spiritual life, interpersonal relations, community, & tradition  
  Weber links the spread of a norm of maximization w/ the individualistic values of Protestantism & argues that by promoting individualism, Protestantism created a cultural atmosphere in which capitalism flourished  
  In the PESC, Weber found that the norm of maximization is not universal, it has existed only in some societies through history  
  In the PESC, Weber found that the culture & values of a society may make it more or less conducive to capitalism  
  Weber's position in the PESC is consistent w/ those who believe capitalism needs the norm of maximization, of personal greed, in order to fully develop  
  While some have countered Weber in the PESC by arguing that the norm of maximization is a product of modernization & industrialization, not capitalism, Weber saw Protestantism, capitalism & industrialism as all contributing to the set of values that includes maximization  
  Lenski believed that the low technology of primitive societies resulted in stratification based only on status  
  Lenski & Weber believe that the development of society resulted stratification based on income, power, & status  
  Lenski & Weber believe that status has always been an aspect of stratification, but it cannot be the basis of economic & power stratification  
  Status, as a sole indicator, is important primarily in highly integrated society with a high level of consensus such as monasteries or Japan  

 
Internal
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Top
  Outline on  Social Stratification:   Class, Status, Power, Influence
External
Links
  -  Video Project:  Stratification by the Standard Deviants 
Link
  -  Video: Stratification by the Standard Deviants        18 min
Link
  -  Video Project:  Social Class by the Sociological Imagination Group
Link
  -  Video: Social Class by the Sociological Imagination Group     25  min
Link
  Introduction:  Stratification is the study of how resources are distributed among society  
  Summary:  Different ranking systems, based on the distribution of different scarce resources, have been referred to by sociologists as Stratification  
  The word "strata" means layers  
  There are various definitions of stratification  
  Stratification is the social process where scarce social & physical resources such as wealth, income, power, status, etc. are non randomly distributed among members, groups, classes etc. of society  
  Stratification is any social ranking system resulting in a hierarchy & an unequal distribution of different (social /physical ) goods or resources  
  Stratification is a structured process by which social groups are assigned a social position, resulting in a hierarchy  
  Stratification is a pattern whereby scarce “resources” are unequally distributed  
  Stratification is a structured social process by which social groups are assigned a social position, resulting in a hierarchy  
  Stratification is the institutionalization of  inequality: A system of social relationships that produces & reproduces inequality  
  The institutionalization of inequality means that the system is composed of a layered hierarchy that is well established & is a system of social relationships that determines who gets what & why, i.e. offers an ideology that supports an unequal distribution of resources  
  A stratification system has informal "rules," which are relatively fixed over time which are influenced by the conflict of groups in society  
  Inequality itself is not institutionalized, nor unjust, but often it does come with a hierarchy because we are social/meaning creating beings who label things as good/bad....   
  It is only when inequality is institutionalized that we call it stratification and it is only when inequality is based on ascription or when equal access to resources required to achieve in a society are controlled by those high in the stratification system that we say that a stratification system is unjust  
  Heller holds that  "The term structured indicates an arrangement of elements, the inequality is not random but follows a pattern, displays relative constancy and stability, and is backed by ideas that legitimize & justify it."  
  The study of stratification focuses on how a particular pattern of the allocation of resources is passed down from one generation to another  
  The US once had an average level of income inequality, but now it has the highest inequality of any industrialized country  
  "The central focus of stratification study is the fact that over a number of generations, those individuals who fill positions in any particular level of positional hierarchy tend to be recruited from the corresponding level of the hierarchy of individuals and subgroups"  
  "Those advantaged usually find ways to assure that their offspring will be advantaged"  
Link
 Social differentiation is often a basis for stratification, but should not be confused w/ it:  
  Social differentiation exists when a distinct group or individual has distinct social qualities & social roles  
  Social differentiation & the level of stratification has increased in our society  
  The division of labor often parallels or reflects the stratification system since different jobs often have different rewards & unequal access to resources (social, et al)  
 
 Social mobility is the degree of individual or group movement within a stratification system, up or down  
 
 Vertical mobility is movement is social mobility up or down the occupational ladder & / or the class dimension  
  Horizontal mobility is movement across positions & / or occupations of roughly equal rank  
 
 Vertical & horizontal social mobility has slowed in the U.S.
 
 
 A society is said to be stratified by ascription when people primarily receive class, status, etc. through birth and is usually based on race, sex, family, social position, etc.
 
  Typical ascriptive characteristic in the US include race, gender, name, religion, etc.  
  The concept of ascription connotes that social position is "hereditary"  
  Ascription factors play a larger part in social mobility than our value system, which is part of our ideology, would have us believe  
  A society is said to be stratified by achievement when placement is primarily due to qualities that can be controlled by individuals e.g. what job you take or what education you get  
  Achievement is the level class, status, etc. which one attains, at least partially, through something they do, i.e. through their own efforts  
  When stratification occurs through achievement, social position is “earned”  
  Typical achievement characteristics in the US include occupation, income level, marriage status, educational level, etc.  
  Achievement factors play a smaller part in social mobility than our value system (ideology) would have us believe  
  Many fundamental social problems are addressed by the study of stratification  
  The study of stratification answers the questions:
-  Why are people rich or poor? 
-  What are the problems of poverty AND wealth?
-  How far can society allow each person to determine their own social position?
-  How are the social relationships of freedom, achievement, inheritance, etc. related?.
-  How do social factors operate to influence a person? 
-  How does the combination of individual & social factors impact ones achievement level?
-  To what extent is society responsible for all people?
-  Which generation do we blame? 
-  What are the political, economic, and social forces that produce inequality and stratification? 
-  Why do people rebel or not rebel? 
-  How does U.S. stratification compare to other countries? 
-  What is the basis of power? How is it maintained? 		  
  Various analytical constructs posit FOUR differing bases for stratification including class, status, power, & influence  
  Max Weber recognized that most societies have three major dimensions of stratification, which are the economic dimension, the social prestige dimension, & the political dimension: 
 
  a.  Class is the economic dimension of stratification  
  b.  Status is the prestige dimension of stratification  
  c.  Power is the political dimension of stratification  
  The composite term that includes a person's income, wealth, occupational prestige, and educational attainment is socioeconomic status  
  d.  Influence is the organizational dimension of stratification  
  Some theorists recognize that one's influence in society today is a function of the orgs, networks, peer groups, etc. to which one belongs & that this influence is largely independent of the three dimensions of strat as delineated by Weber, et al  
Link
 There is a strong interaction of class, status, power & influence in determining ones position in the stratification system  
  The degree of inequality in the stratification system in the modern world system has increased  
  Historically there has been extensive social mobility in the US mostly from the beginning of immigration & conquest in the 1400's to the 1950s  
  There is clear evidence that upward social mobility slowed & eventually reversed from the 1960s to the 1980s  
  In the mid 1990s, there was a restart of upward social mobility  
  The restart of upward social mobility for the middle class stopped in the face of the econ "slowdown" of 2001 & has remained stopped through 2005
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Examples of Social Differentiation
      race      gender       job       clique....

 
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Examples of the interaction of class, status, power & influence

1.  In general they all vary in the same direction
     lo class = lo status = lo power = lo class ....

2.  But sometimes one dimension of stratification is out of sync
     lo class = hi status = hi power = ....
    Example:  political leader such as Lech Walensca of Poland

    hi class = lo status = lo power = ...
    Example:  Za Za Gabor:  despised actress

3.  At the extremes of any 1 dimension, unusual things happen
      Examples
     All the class (wealth) cannot directly translate into power
    Steve Forbes & Ross Perot have failed at running for President
    (This is because other billionaires are competing, through proxies, for this power)

     Example:  street person may have great power if they admit to self & others that they have nothing left to lose


 
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 Outline on  Weber on Class, Status, Power
A Revision of Marx's Class Analysis
External
Links
 
Summary: 
Weber agrees w/ Marx that capitalism is the dominate system
Capitalism is efficient/rational & this quality is oppressing
Weber essentially concurs w/ Mx on his THREE class:
     a. Bourgeoisie
     b. Proletariat
     c. Old aristocracy/landowners today
But proletarianization did not happen
So Weber analyzes 4 classes 
     a. Working class:  same as Mx's proletariat
     b. Petty bourgeoisie:  rising small business class		      c. Propertyless intelligentsia & specialists
     d. Privileged: big business & old aristocrats
For Weber, class is determined by 3 factors 
     a. Life chances 
     b. Possession of goods & opportunities for income 
     c. Conditions of commodity or labor markets 
There are 3 types of power
     a. economic
     b. status
     c. authority/power
Marx ignored administrative domination:  bureaucracy
 
  WEBER & MARX AGREE   
  Weber agrees w/ Marx that: 
 
  -  a class analysis is necessary to understand the functioning of society  
  -  capital is an important & unique economic form  
  -  capitalism has dominated social relations since mid 1800s  
  -  capitalism has THREE qualities that make it unique  
  WEBER & MARX ON CAPITALISM  
  For Marx & Weber, capitalism:   
  a. stresses the appropriation of all physical means of production  
  b. has a free market  
  c. has free labor  
  Free labor means free of slavery, & separation from the means of production  
  MARX'S 3 CLASSES   
  In Das Kapital Marx discusses THREE major classes, including the:
 
  a.  proletariat who are generally made up of laborers from the old serf class of feudalism  
  b.  bourgeoisie who are generally made up of capitalists from the old merchant class of feudalism, & some serfs who became merchants when they were removed from enclosed lands  
  c.  aristocracy who are generally made up of feudalistic aristocratic landowners who are losing power as the bourgeoisie gain  
  But Marx dies before completing the analysis & in Economy and Society, Weber notes this unfinished analysis  
  See Also:  Stratification:  class, status, power  
  See Also:  Bourgeois's & proletariat  
  As does Marx, Weber discusses class consciousness, class conflict, & class interests
 
  Weber revisits Marx & notes that proletarianization, which is characterized by deskilling & increased exploitation, did not happen as Marx thought it would  
  Marx anticipated the sinking of petty bourgeoisie into working class      (In this usage, 'petty' means small or insignificant)  
  Weber notes that proletarianization did not happened
 
  Weber witnessed phenomenal growth of new middle class, which included such occupations as
 
  - specialists                  - office workers                                  - & others
- technicians                 - other white collar employees		  
  For Marx the fact that these workers were propertyless & that they were separated from means of production meant they had common interests w/ all similar workers  
  But it became clear in early 1900s that white collared employees had a different consciousness than workers  
  WEBER'S 4 CLASSES   
  Weber's classes were very similar to Marx's  
  Weber views small business people as a permanent class  
  Weber views the old aristocracy & big business as melding into 1 class w/ same interests  
  Weber added the bureaucratic class  
  Weber's FOUR major classes included:   
  a.  The working class, which is the same as Marx's proletariat  
  b.  The petty bourgeoisie, which are the rising small biz owners   (In this usage, 'petty' means small or insignificant)  
  c.  The propertyless intelligentsia & specialists, which are the bureaucrats, academics, scientists, & others who perform knowledge based labor  
  d.  The privileged class, which is made up of big business & some of the old aristocrats who made the transition to business & are now in business  
  CLASS DETERMINATION   
  Weber believes that THREE factors create class determination, including
 
  a.  life chances
 
  b.  the possession of goods & opportunities for income
 
  c.  the conditions of commodity or labor markets
 
  Weber believes that the concept of "common life chances" provides a better understanding of class, but does not discount class as represented by economic possessions & opportunities (skills) as framed w/in a commodity market  
  For Marx, class determines life chances while for Weber life chances determine class  
  There are also other types of social forces that also impacted one's class
 
  Weber examines non economic forms of power  
  Marx neglected non economic forms of power  
  Weber notes that control of wealth, especially the means of production, is not the only source of power  
  Social honor, prestige, knowledge, control of administration, etc. are all based upon property, education, location, etc. or whatever might be route to power  
  Weber, as for Marx, emphasizes that property & lack of property are basic categories of all class situations  
  STATUS   
  Marx ignored status  
  Marx did not discuss status, believing it was determined by class
 
  For the middle class, differences in education, training, & property other than means of production all shaped their social psychology, & hence class identity  
  Weber separates analysis of class from analysis of status
 
  Status or prestige is determined by the style of life of a status group  
  W/in every class, one finds several status groups  
  This may be based on:
- size & source of income            - specialized training
- political positions                       - old or new wealth
- education		  
  See Also:  Stratification:  class, status, power  
  Marx did not discuss administration domination, i.e. bureaucracy
 
  POWER   
  Review:  Power:  the ability to realize one's will despite & against resistance of other(s)  
  Weber saw that bureaucrats had power  
  Thus concentration of power was not limited to the economic sphere:  
  a. Small minorities had power (the wealthy)  
  b. Separation of majority from means of production meant that bureaucrats arose to transfer power from rich to & over the non rich  
  Thus power was available/delegated to bureaucrats  
  See Also:  Weber on bureaucracy  
  The power of the other means of production
 
  Marx asked:  who controls the means of production?
 
  Weber also asked:  who controls other stratified means of controlling & dominating human beings?
 
  For Weber, other important means of production included the means of
- political administration
- violence
- scientific research		  
  Thus while Weber focused on class, status, bureaucratic power, he also recognized other avenues to power  
  While ones political or power status is primary, one must also consider relationship to the market, as did  Marx, which includes what are you selling, how you produce it, (your labor) & the basis of your knowledge  

 
External
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Outline on the Stratification of Power
External
Links
 
 -  Video:  Power             0:29 
Link
  POWER IS THE ABILITY OR AUTHORITY TO ACT OR DO SOMETHING, OR TO HAVE SOMETHING DONE, OR CONTROL SOMETHING OR SOMEONE   
  Review:  Stratification is the social process where scarce social & physical resources such as wealth, income, power, status, etc. are non randomly distributed among members, groups, classes etc. of society   
  Power is the ability to affect the actions of others   
  The political scientist Robert Dahl ( 1957 ) defined power as the ability of a person or social formation (group)  to get another social formation to act or believe in a particular way that they would not have done before   
  Power may be exercised on many levels such as 
a.  the individual level 
b.  the group level 
c.  the organizational level 
d.  the societal level 		  
  Most theorists believe power is meaningless unless it is used   
  For most social theorists, there is an interaction among class, status, & power   
  The study of power was first made important by Hobbes   
  For Hobbes & many others, power involves force or coercion, the threat of aggression, etc.   
  POWER IS OFTEN SEEN AS POLITICAL POWER WHERE THE COERCION IS POLITICIZED, & THIS IS EASILY CONFUSED W/ POLITICAL AUTHORITY OR INFLUENCE   
  For Weber, power is exercised through the political system & organizations  
  For Weber, the political dimension is the most important because this is where Weber puts "inevitable" organizational struggle   
  The power dimension of stratification is based on political position   
  For Marx, power is exercise through the economic system & orgs   
  Marx holds that the class / economic dimension is the most important, i.e. the basis & conduit more the primary exercise of power in society   
  Parsons holds that the status dimension is the most important, i.e. the basis & conduit more the primary exercise of power in society   
  Others argue power is exercised through all social structures, including 
1.  peer networks  6.  the military 
2.  the family / gender  7.  charity 
3.  religion  8.  education 
4.  work /economy  9.  the media 
5.  govt  10.  leisure / recreation 
 
  Power, in modern societies, is exercised through social structures primarily through influence, but also through authority, orgl politics, control of information, control of wealth, & even force & coercion   
 
 Most social theorists agree that in most situations, there is no fixed amount of power   
  LEGITIMATE POWER IS POWER THAT PEOPLE ACCEPT AS PROPER   
  Legitimate power is power that people agree that the people exercising the power have the right to do so or groups accept as proper   
  Legitimate power is often attached to a position in society; i.e. teachers have power in the class room, police in the street, parents in the home; & each of these people would not have power in the others' sphere   
Link
 There are SIX basic sources of power including   
  1.  Authority   
  2.  Politics:  voting, elections, etc.   
  3.  Force & Coercion   
  4.  Control of Information   
  5.  Wealth & Income   
  6.  Influence   
  There is a subtle distinction btwn power based on authority, politics, force, coercion, expertise, information, wealth, income, or influence, but the types of power often interact or reinforce each other   
  NOT IN NOTES:  
  See Yukl's 3 forms of power in CSU responses Orgl Psych  

 
Internal
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 Outline on  Status
External
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  STATUS IS PRESTIGE, HONOR, RESPECT   
  Review: Stratification is a social process where scarce social & physical resources such as wealth, income, power, status, etc. are non randomly distributed among members, groups, classes etc. 
Link
  The prestige dimension of stratification is based on status position   
  If people think highly of you and you are well known, you have a high level of status, prestige, etc.   
  STATUS IS A RELATIVE POSITION OR STANDING IS A SOCIAL SYSTEM   
  Any position, role, in a social system has a status 
 
  The concept of status denotes that one is in a hierarchy of prestige   
  Positions are roles w/ status 
 
  Thus status is another form of power, in that one can use status to get people & orgs to act in ways that they would not otherwise act 
 
  Legally, status is ones legal character, position, or condition of a person or thing such as the status of a minor, a corporation, a prisoner, etc.   
  Status is often used to signify position in a social structure   
  There are particular rights & responsibilities (duties) attached to each status position in society 
      Examples:  student & teacher         parent & child          doctor & patient 		  
  But a status based analysis may or may not place one in a position w/in a hierarchy in that the ranking of status is less linear than economic or power strat   
  FOR MANY FUNCTIONALISTS, A PERSON'S STATUS IS THE MOST CENTRAL ATTRIBUTE IN UNDERSTANDING THEIR POSITION IN SOCIETY; E.G. MORE IMPORTANT THAN CLASS, WHICH IS THE MOST CENTRAL TO CONFLICT THEORISTS   
  Many analysts develop major theoretical orientations on status 
 
  Max Weber first made status important in social analysis 
Link
  For Weber, the stratification of status is seen in a fixed hierarchy of prestige & honor   
  For Weber, Objective indicators of status stratification include 
- ones style of life 
- ones restrictions or advantages on social interactions (networking) 		  
  Talcott Parsons:  Of any theorist, Parsons gives the most prominence to status as a mode of  stratification in social analysis 
Link
  OCCUPATIONAL PRESTIGE IS THE ESTEEM & RESPECT ASSOCIATED W/ HIGH TO LOW OCCUPATIONAL ATTAINMENT 
 
  Examples of occupational prestige can be seen in the varying status of a plumber or an electrician, & an office wkr or a teacher, & a lawyer or doctor 
 
  While occupations may have slightly different status', the differences of status of a plumber & an office wkr are more based on economics & power   
  In relation to occupational prestige surveys done over half a century in the United States have consistently shown that the same jobs retain high status   
  Kerbo believes the concept of status does NOT explain the primary characteristics of strat in the modern industrial world 
 
  For Kerbo, strat is based more on economics & power 
 
  Status attainment research examines the exact mixture of achievement versus ascriptive factors that determine where people end up in the status hierarchy 
 
  Neo Marxists, post modernists, feminists, popular culture analysts, et al would counter Kerbo's conception of status being superseded by econ & power   
  Some analysts would note that the power of status in today's world has increased, pointing out that actors, performers, musicians, politicians, & others' social position is based more on status than econ or power   
  Kerbo points out that most people whose social position appears to be based on status, also have high economic position income, & or power   

 
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Table:  Occupational Prestige Ratings:  US Compared to 60 - Country Average
Far 0506
OCCUPATION
60 COUNTRY AVERAGE
US
University Professor or Dean
86
82.4
Physician
78
 81.5
University Professor
78
78.3 
 Physicist
76
73.8
 Member, Board of Directors
75
71.8
 Lawyer
73
75.7
 Architect
72
70.5
 Dentist
70
73.5
 Chemist
69
68.8
 Sociologist
67
65.0
 Airline pilot
66
70.1
 High school teacher
64
63.1
 Clergy member
60
70.5
 Personnel director
58
57.8 
 Artist
57
57.0
 Classical musician
56
55.0
 Social Worker
56
52.4
 Journalist
55
51.6
 Professional nurse
54
61.5
 Secretary
53
45.8
 Actor or actress
52
55.0
 Union official 
50
41.2
 Real estate agent
49
44.0
 Professional athlete 
48
51.4
 Farmer
47
43.7
 Motor vehicle mechanic
44
35.8
 Policeman / woman
40
47.8
 Railroad conductor
39
40.9
 Telephone operator
38
40.4 
 Jazz musician
38
37.2
 Carpenter
37
42.5
 Dancing teacher
36
32.3
 Firefighter
35
33.2
 Sales clerk
34
27.1
 Truck driver
33
31.3
 File clerk
31
30.3
 Assembly line worker
30
27.1
 Construction worker
28
26.2
 Gas station attendant
25
21.6
 Waiter
23
20.3
 Janitor
21
16.1
 Farm worker
20
21.4
 Garbage collector
13
12.6
 Shoe shiner
12
   9.3 
Note:  In a limited number of instances, there were slight differences in job titles btwn the world average and the US average.  The closest job title was used.

Source:  Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective by Donald J. Treiman, 1977, Academic Press. 

 
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 Outline on  Weber's Protestant Ethnic & the Spirit of Capitalism
External
Links
  -  Project:  Weber & the PESC
Link
  Summary: The PESC holds that the Protestant ethic enhances the evolution of capitalism.  Weber wants to refute some Marxists who believed Reformation was consequence of economic developments, but has no intention showing that capitalism is necessary & inevitable outcome of Reformation.  For Weber, development of capitalism was a multi factor event:  primarily economic & religious.  Many factors in Protestantism encouraged the development of capitalism  
  In the analysis of the PESC, Weber demonstrates that economic & religious systems have mutual impacts on each other  
  To analyze the relationship btwn religious & economic systems, Weber utilized, what today we would call a multi factor analysis
 
  Weber looks at how Protestantism affected capitalism, & how Protestantism was influenced by the totality of social conditions, especially economic
 
  Weber discuss an "elective affinity" btwn ideology of Protestantism & values (spirit) of modern, rationalized capitalism  
  Marx agrees: “Christianity w/ its cultus of abstract man, more especially in its bourgeois development, Protestantism, Deism, etc., is the most fitting form of religion.”     ( Das Kapital )  
  Weber asks, How did the capitalist system overcome the resistance of the old order?
 
  Weber recognized that the typical answer on the development of capitalist ideology discussed the influx of precious metals, capital accumulation, expanded markets, growth of pop, new tech, etc.
 
  Weber did not deny the importance of technical & historical factors in the dev of cap, yet there were countries that had all these qualities & yet did not embrace cap, & vice versa
 
  The West's revolutions fostered social change
 
  In the West there were strong independent forces that different princes could ally w/
 
        For Weber, five great revolutions decided the fate of the West, including the:
Italian rev
 1100s & 1200s
Netherlands rev
 1400s
English rev
 1600s
American rev
 1776
French rev
 1789
 
  The Protestant Ethic was the new moral value that emerged w/ religious changes of 1500s
 
  The Reformation affected the actions of new capitalist entrepreneurs
 
  The Protestants believed that self denial is the best manner to improve this world
 
  In their education, Protestants studied more technical subjects, they were more often proprietors
 
  Protestants developed & practiced economic rationalization faster than others
 
  The Protestants are not more worldly or hedonistic than Catholics, but more ascetic:  self denying
 
  Ben Franklin:  time is money
But Franklin was not hedonistic. 
Franklin was ideal type of an ascetic Protestant Cap
 
  Asceticism can be traced to Calvin, not Luther
 
  Luther developed the concept of a Calling:  a moral duty to fulfill task assigned by God 
 
  The Calling meant that for 1st time in Western history, a religion gave significance to people's daily, worldly activities
 
  But Luther aligned himself with princes, not peasants & so became a defender of status quo, thus idea of a calling was not a sufficient moral base for capitalism   
  Weber asks, How did notion of Calvinistic predestination lead to support of worldly activities such as business?   
  While Calvin rejected any notion of a sign of being chosen, his followers modified original doctrine to include good works in daily life  
  Baxter, a Protestant minister writes of Protestant ethic, rejecting seignior and the rich, & also praising sober, middle class, self made person  
  Thus, Baxter links the Protestant ethic w/ the work ethic  
  Seignior:  anything taken or claimed by sovereign  
  For Weber, Baxter carried ethos of rationalistic organization of capitalism & labor & turned it against hedonism  
  The Protestant Ethic embodied:  
  a. Self denial today creates rewards tomorrow "A penny saved is a penny earned"  
  b.  Activity in world today affects chances of getting into heaven  
  c.  Wealth, success, etc. was a sign of religious favor; making $$ became associated w/ being in god's grace  
  There is value of "doing good work" i.e., good work is favored by god  
  d.  Protestantism supported idea of making profit off another's labor because those in favor can help others find the path  
  In short, work hard to get ahead  
  Many factors in Protestantism encouraged the development of capitalism
- end to predestination
- a calling
- value of self denial:  "a penny saved is a penny earned"
- value of "doing good work" 
- activity in world today affects chances of getting into heaven
- Protestantism supported idea of making profit off another's labor
- making $$ became associated w/ being in god's grace 		  
  The Protestant Ethic was a catalyst for the development of capitalism  
  Over time, religious roots of capitalism died out, giving way to the secular view of utilitarianism  
  Protestantism supported: 
- exploitation of worker's willingness to labor, 
- eased employer's conscience, 
- treated workers' labor as a calling		  
  Thus, mutually reinforcing developments of cap & Protestantism  
  Once capitalism was established, the Protestant ethic was no longer necessary for maintenance of the system  [ true? ]  
  Calvinistic & Lutheristic ethics  
  But why did Weber not choose Calvin as his ideal typical ascetic?   
  Weber uses Baxter, Franklin & John Wesley, all who lived 100 yrs after Calvin  
  Weber shows that as Calvinism developed, it came under influence of economic & other developments  
  Weber is suggesting that two relatively autonomous developments intersected at a given historic point which created modern rational temperament  
  Weber was not a religious determinist  
  Economic & political interests of Puritans were important, not determinant  
  Weber is not saying that religion is a permanent prerequisite to capitalism, nor does he set fourth a general theory of the relationship of religion to economics  
  Weber also analyzes THREE cultures whose religious & other cultural factors, were not conducive to the development of capitalism  
  - Religion in China   
  - Religion in India  
  - Ancient Judaism  

 
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 Outline on  Ancient Judaism
2000 BC - 500 AD
External
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  SUMMARY: 
The Transition from Ancient Judaism to Christianity enhanced the evolution of capitalism / rationality
a.  Judaism held that actions on Earth were important
b.  Jew's pariah status prevented assimilation & enhanced development of their ideology
c.  Prophets opposed magic
d.  Rejection of magic enhanced rationalization
e.  Judaism rejected pacific/isolationist religion		  
  The transition from ancient Judaism to Christianity enhanced the evolution of capitalism & rationality
 
  A.  JUDAISM HELD THAT ACTIONS ON EARTH WERE IMPORTANT 
 
  The roots of rationalization in the West can be traced to the prophets & the early Greeks
 
  The ancient Jewish prophets were fundamental to the development of rationality & capitalism
 
  Judaism held that God created world & intervened in history
 
  This is not a pacific/isolationist religion that ordains people should wait for death for salvation
 
  And what is done on Earth is important to God
 
  The trouble of today would give way to God ordained order
 
  God guided political & social revolutions
 
  Devotion to Commandments in a prerequisite
 
  The ideas of ancient Judaism are free of magic 
 
  Irrational quests for salvation are futile
 
  Yahweh was angry because a Commandment had been violated, which was an action in this world, but this required knowledge of Commandments & knowledge of past behavior
 
  B.  THE JEW'S PARIAH STATUS PREVENTED ASSIMILATION & ENHANCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR IDEOLOGY 
 
  Social segregation resulted from religious rituals
 
  It is self imposed & antedated their forced ghettoization in medieval Europe
 
  Weber shows how Judaism lead to inequality: rich patriarchs & poor, indebted
 
  This was exacerbated w/ emergence of monarchy, particularly under Solomon
 
  Under Solomon, prophets of social justice emerged  
  HOW DID JEWS BECOME A PARIAH PEOPLE?   
  The Jewish people became pariahs through:   
  a.  their prophecy, where the Jewish Prophets challenged the govt leaderships  
  b.  ritual requirements which opposed other religious rituals, practices, etc. of societies in which they lived  
  W/ destruction of Temple, ritual sacrifice in Jerusalem was impossible, so a tradition of keeping Jewish laws intact arose  
 
 Exile consolidated their ideas, laws, practices
 
  Jewish success & professional status made combined w their minority status made them good scapegoats for entrenched interests who wished to deflect attn from themselves  
  THE JEWISH PARIAH STATUS PREVENTED ASSIMILATION   
  Many exiled people are assimilated into other cultures  
x
 Social segregation creates a society that is not assimilated  
  This allows greater preservation & development of that culture  
  Jews were thus resistant to the ideas of other cultures & therefore were able to preserve their ideology throughout the ages  
  AUTONOMY OF THE PROPHETS   
  The Prophets were relatively autonomous  
  Their political orientation was oriented toward change in stratification & to the institutionalized  monarchy  
  As prophets arose, there were changes in political & social structures under David & Solomon.   
  The King in Israel was not a priestly dignitary who headed the order of prophets  
  The King & independent prophets were in conflict  
  Samuel prophesied that kings were making Israel a corvee state, a house of bondage  
  Weber says prophets were not spokesmen for oppressed  
  It was that Commandments were being violated  
  C.  THE PROPHETS OPPOSED MAGICAL PRACTICES  
  Greatest support for rationalization came from prophets' war against magical & orgiastic practices  
  Jewish liberation from Egypt was proof that Yahweh's word was good  
  Covenant mediated by Moses, demonstrated lasting jewish debt of gratitude   
  David was to have no gods before him  
  Yahweh offered salvation from Egyptian bondage, not from a senseless, out of joint world   
  D.  THE REJECTION OF MAGIC, ENHANCED RATIONALIZATION  
  In contrast to other ancient religions, magic was dislodged from its position of dominance,
    though it was never eliminated		  
  Prophets, Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, despite religious motives, were political demagogues, even pamphleteers  
  They were silent during times of strong leaders, & active in times of conflict  
  They were active in this world, but not political partisans  
  They were neither defenders of democracy nor spokesmen for people  
  Their support came not from the oppressed but from individual, pious, distinguished families in Jerusalem  
  E.  JUDAISM REJECTED PACIFIC / ISOLATIONIST RELIGIONS   
  a. Jews loathed everything about Egypt, including cult of dead  
  b. Bedouin practices were rejected, because they too were enemies  
  c. Baal [the war god?] was synchronized w/ Yahweh  
  Thus there was a turn against more mystical forms of understanding religion & actions of god  
  OTHER HISTORICAL SOCIAL FORMS WERE COMPARABLE TO THE INFLUENCE OF JUDAISM   
  - Hellenic intellectual culture  
  - Development of Roman Law  
  - Development of the Roman Catholic church which rests on Roman concept of office  
  - Medieval order of estates  
  - Protestantism  
  RELIGIOUS CULTURAL SUPERSTRUCTURE   
  Weber examined what Marx might call the religious cultural superstructure of Asiatic mode of Production which ultimately lead to capitalism in some instances, & stagnated in others  
  Religion is thus neither a prime mover nor an incidental  
  It is a significant element in a complex of many elements  
  Weber's theories, like Marx's were historically specific  

 
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 Outline on Weber's Analysis of Religion in China
2100 BC - 1700 AD
External
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  SUMMARY:  For Weber, China did not develop capitalism because:
a.  revolution did not bring real change
b.  bureaucratization stabilized the status quo
c.  no private property developed
d.  Chinese society, science, etc. remained magicified
e.  religious ethics did not change
f.  religious ethics supported the status quo		  
  RATIONAL CAPITALISM DOES NOT EMERGE IN THE 'EAST'  
  Rational capitalism emerge as an indigenous development only in the West & not in China, India, & ancient Israel  
  Typical explanations of the non development of capitalism in China include:  
  - the influx of precious metals  
  - a significant growth in population  
  - a dramatic increase in agricultural productivity  
  - widespread warfare  
  CHINA'S SIMILARITIES W/ THE WEST   
  China had FOUR important, economically related qualities that were similar to the West, including:
 
  a.  that the capacity for work & individualism was unsurpassed
 
  b.  the existence of powerful & autonomous merchant guilds, which were not concentrated in towns
 
  c.  a growth in population
 
  d.  an increased discovery & use of precious metals
 
  China had economic qualities that were similar to the West, yet no capitalism ever developed
 
  WESTERN & EASTERN CITIES
 
  Cities, papal curia, towns, emerging states of the Middle Ages were all vehicles of financial rationalization of money economy, & of political capital
 
  China had no cities as the West did
 
  The small cities & other centers of power in China lacked political autonomy, & had no military power of their own
 
  Thus a city could not defend itself
 
  There was no independent bourgeois class centered in autonomous towns
 
  Unlike China, the West's revolutions fostered social change;  See the PESC  
  CHINA DID NOT DEVELOP CAPITALISM FOR SIX REASONS 
 
  A.  REVOLUTION IN CHINA DID NOT BRING REAL CHANGE 
 
  There was no real revolution, & therefore no real social evolution in China  
  Though, there were constant wars resulting in new ruling dynasties  
  Revolutions in China merely replaced 1 political faction w/ another  
  The Chinese revs did not really alter the system  
  The polis, i.e. the center of political power, of antiquity was an overseas trading city  
  In China, trade was by land  
  The ruler of China limited trade to a single port:  Canton  
  Industry in China was not centered in the cities  
  Industry was centered in the country side  
  B.  BUREAUCRATIZATION STABILIZED THE CHINESE STATUS QUO   
  An efficient rational bureaucracy developed in China:  
  Bureaucrats were appointed to office based on educational qualities rather than criteria of birth & rank  
  This made rulers dependent on the bureaucracies, but also allowed the ruler to more efficiently control society  
  Bureaucrats in China had a strong interest in maintaining the status quo  
  TAX ASSESSORS  
  Bureaucrats created a class of tax assessors w/ inheritance   
  Bureaucrats became "tax farmers"  
  Bur ensured that sons had the education to pass bureaucratic exams & so could carry on the family career of tax farmer  
  Thus families had an interest in the exam system & other traditional institutions   
  Ancestor cults:  ancestral spirits acted as mediators btwn descendants & deities  
  Ancestral home remained home  
  BUREAUCRATS HAD AN AIR OF DIVINITY  
  Exams based, not upon scientific advancement, but upon traditional Confucianism  
  This wisdom made bureaucrats appear as if they possessed magical qualities  
  People were reluctant to wage wars of revolution against an almost divine bureaucracy  
  C.  PRIVATE PROPERTY DID NOT DEVELOP IN CHINA   
  Private property never became truly private as in the West  
  Land was not unconditionally sold  
  Siblings always retained right to repurchase  
  D.  CHINIESE SOCIETY, SCIENCE, ETC. REMAINED MAGICIFIED  
  Demagicification of religion was begun in the West by ancient Jewish prophets & culminated in ascetic Protestantism  
  Superstition remained, but all magic was seen as devilish  
  E.  RELIGIOUS ETHICS DID NOT CHANGE  
  No prophets arose to challenge the status quo  
  China retains much of their original religions today  
  The development of religion, i.e. the "rationalization of religion" did not occur in China because they did not experience  
  - the elimination of officially approved magic  
  - a degree of unification btwn Heaven & Earth  
  Protestantism:  separate H & E, but wk here to improve it & to get to heaven  
  Confucianism:  this is best of all worlds, the tension was natural  
  Prophets called for abandonment of old ways in Christianity  
  The literati of China never called for an abandonment of magic & other ancient practices  
  F.  CHINESE RELIGIOUS ETHICS SUPPORTED THE STATUS QUO  
  Religious ethics in China were an obstacle to the development of capitalism  
  Prevailing religious mentality in China constituted major obstacle to emergence of rat cap  
  This mentality was codetermined by economic & political conditions  

 
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 Outline on  Weber's Analysis of Religion of India
2600 BC - 1700 AD
External
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  SUMMARY:  India did not develop capitalism because:
a.  the Indian religion was not conducive to development of capitalism
b.  the Indian culture maintained a magical mentality
c.  the Indian culture emphasized the unimportance of secular world 
d.  the Indian economic system did not develop a money economy
e.  of the caste system
f.  of the pacifism of salvation of Jainism & Buddhism 		  
  Many features of Indian society were rationalized including:
- war             - capitalist institutions          - tax farmers
- finance        - creditors                 - urban development
- politics        - contractors
 
  India did not develop capitalism for SIX reasons  
  A.  RELIGION NOT COMPATIBLE W/ CAPITALISM   
  The Indian religion was not conducive to development of capitalism
 
  Weber regards India's religion as one factor among many which may have prevented capitalist development 
 
  If the Indian society had developed Protestant asceticism, they might have developed capitalism
 
  B.  MAGICAL MENTALITY  
  The Indian culture maintained a magical mentality  
  Some magical features of the Indian culture include:
- sacred cows
- tools were worshipped as quasi fetishes		  
  The East remained an enchanted garden in that all aspects & institutions of Oriental civilization were permeated & dominated by magical mentality
 
  The enchanted culture of the East was a brake on econ dev
 
  The Occident, i.e. the West, has undergone significant disenchantment
 
  C.  UNIMPORTANCE OF THE SECULAR WORLD   
  The Indian culture emphasized the unimportance of secular world   
  Indian system was anti rationalistic & anti capitalistic
 
  Traditional, antirationalistic "spirit" of the whole social system was the main obstruction
 
  Indian early capitalists were weak because of the:
 
  a.  caste system
 
  b.  pacifism of salvation of Jainism & Buddhism
 
  Pacifism prevented rise of a strong military spirit which blocked rise of a polis or commune in the European sense, though India always had a military  
 
 D.  INDIA DID NOT DEVELOP A MONETARY ECONOMY 
 
  Weber credits Marx w/ recognizing that the artisans in India were dependent upon fixed payment in kind & did not produce for mkt  
  The lack of a monetary system helps explain the stability of system since barter systems are known to be much more stable than monetary systems   
  Weber says the caste system as a whole is very stable   
 
 E.  THE CASTE SYSTEM LIMITED RATIONALIZATION IN INDIA 
 
  Indian caste system was major factor
- Brahmans
- Kshatriyas
- Vaishyas
- Shudras		  
  Historians don't know the exact origin of the caste system  
  Weber explores process by which new castes form & others undergo schisms  
  The caste system increased the wealth of 1 group  
  Wealthy refuse to perform menial tasks: these are deemed to be unclean tasks  
  They bring in alien workers who live in their own enclaves  
  They remain politically & socially separate from the village  
  But caste system still allowed concentration of labor in large scale enterprise   
  Caste proscriptions against interaction w/ ritually impure not main impediment to industrial development  
  Jew's pariah status was similar to the caste system  
  But Jews brought w/ them a written law & set of beliefs that allowed them to retain their identity throughout history  
  The pariah people developed an interest in retaining their position & so become integrated into the community as a separate caste  
  In the short run, caste status guarantees an economic position for a group, in long run it limited economic development  
 
 F.  THE PACIFISM OF SALVATION OF JAINISM & BUDDHISM
 
  India had non rational religious ethics  
  Buddhism devalued the world  
  India, like China, remained an enchanted garden  
  ASIATIC RELIGIONS ARE SECRETIVE, ELITIST; & THE CONTROLLED ACQUISTION  
  Gnostic religion & knowledge of spiritual realm could be mystically acquired in proper school/temple  
  ( Gnostic:  esoteric/secret knowledge of spiritual things )  
  Frequently this knowledge was acquired through asceticism or meditation  
  In contrast to soul saving doctrines of Christianity, no emphasis was placed on this life  
  The lust for gain never gave rise to modern economic system  

 
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 Weber on  Historical Development
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  Weber discusses 4 major stages of history, in some depth, including the: 
a.  early "Asiatic" era 
b.  ancient slave era 
c.  middle ages 
d.  early Western capitalist era 
For Weber, the development of histl stages is based on economic, cultural, & other factors 		  
  To understand history, Weber adds the analysis of cultural effects to the analysis of economic effects 
 
  The Hunter Gatherer & Pre Empire Stages 
 
  Weber says very little about the H-G & Pre Emp eras except that they are characterized by primitive communalism 
 
  The Asiatic Era, a.k.a. the Early Empire Era                          3000 BC  -    200 BC 
 
  Weber sees two major lines of development; one in the East & one in the West 
 
  The Asiatic system was stable until invaded by the West 
 
  The Ancient Slave Society, a.k.a. the Roman Era                   200 BC   -    500 AD   
  The ancient slave system broke down as a result of end of slave/conquest economy & in response to the retinue lifestyle of Europe
 
  Feudal Society, a.k.a. the Middle Ages                                   500   -  1300   
  In feudal society, the retinue system transformed the latifundia into manors, slaves to serfs, & there was the development of a self sufficient barter economy 
 
  Capitalism, a.k.a. the Early Industrial Era                               1300  -   1700   
  The birth of a limited market economy, technology & the effects of warfare transformed feudalism into capitalism 
 
  Capitalism developed out of the feudalistic breakdown & the development of the Protestant ideology   
  The Industrial Age & beyond                                                 1700 - 
 
  Like Marx, Weber says little about the future 
 
  Weber does not predict socialism, instead he sees the continuing oppressive rationalization of the economy 
 
  Thus, Weber has rather accurately predicted the situation as it exists today 
 

 
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Summary of a Weberian Socio Historical Overview 
Approx Time Period
  
         Weber on Ancient Judaism 
2000 BC - 500 AD
  
         Weber on China 
2100 BC - 1700 AD
  
         Weber on India 
2600 BC - 1700 AD
  
  Weber's Socio Historical Analysis 
 
       The Asiatic System 
 3000 - 200 BC
  
        The Ancient Slave Society 
200 BC - 500 AD
  
        The Middle Ages 
500 - 1300
  
        Western Capitalism 
1300 - 1700
  

 
Top
  
Socio Prehistorical Time Line:  5 billion BP to 1,000 BP

 
  The earth's origins begins w/ the planet's origins 5 bill yrs BP & indicates that another full billion yrs passed before the earliest forms of life appeared   
  Our human origins shows that plants & animals continued to evolve for billions more yrs until, about 12 mm yrs ago, our earliest human ancestors came onto the scene   
  During the period of the earliest civilization, it is apparent that what is called civilization is a relatively recent event, w/ the 1st permanent settlements occurring in the Mid East a scant 12,000 yrs ago   
  The written record of our species' existence extends back only half this long, to the time human invented writing & first farmed w/ animal driven plows, some 5 k BP  
  Sociology came into being in the wake of the many changes to society wrought by the Industrial Revolution over the last few centuries   
  The modern era is characterized by innovations in social & physical technology   

 
Top
  
Socio Historical Time Line:  1775 to Present





 

 
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 Weber on the  Asiatic System
The Early Empires Era     circa   3,000 BC  -  200 BC
External
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  SUMMARY:  For Weber, the end of primitive communalism came at different times in different locations & developed into Asiatic System, Ancient Slave Society & finally W Capitalism. The Asiatic & Ancient Slave Society based on agriculture.  Religious beliefs affects or determines the Asiatic economic system.  The Greek system advanced because of class struggle.  The Asiatic system was very stable because of many factors including centralized irrigation, bureaucracy, etc.  
  Synonyms for this era include:
- Early Empire Era
- Asiatic System
- Oriental Despotism
 
  THE ERA OF THE ASIATIC SYSTEM SAW THE END OF PRIMITIVE COMMUNALISM 
 
  Primitive communalism was leftover from the pre empire ( 10 k - 3k BC ) & hunter gatherer societies ( 1.5 mm BP - 10k BC ), but still exists today in some native tribes
 
  Weber believes there was almost no primitive communalism left by end of antiquity period  ( 400, fall of Roman Empire ), & he was correct for Europe
 
  Even the Russian Mir, which looks very communal, forced people to return to help pay taxes, making it closer to feudalism than to communalism
 
  In all of this, Weber's goal was to explain why capitalism didn't develop out of these economic systems of antiquity & why manufacturing did not expand
 
  COMMUNALISM IN EARLY ANCIENT SOCIETY
 
  Weber explored the nature & extent of communalism in the earliest stages of ancient society
 
  Greeks & Romans were different from communalism in ancient society in that a family's land was removed from commons when they were raised to monarchical status
 
  In time, the commons were eliminated as aristocrats took private ownership
 
  In Germany access to land was distributed equally, when cattle, slaves, & other goods became early private property
 
  AGRARIAN SOCIETIES OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
 
  Ancient agricultural society existed at little more than the subsistence level
 
  Individual farmers had little power
 
  Weber examines this era to determine origin of later medieval & modern economic system, i.e., capitalism
 
  RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AFFECTED / DETERMINED THE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
 
  Religion is an institution that may have considerable economic importance in some historical circumstances  
  The Torah [Pentateuch] maintained ancient freedom based on equality  
  For Weber, the 10 Commandments & Mosaic law protected free people from social stratification in wealth & power  
  Keeping the Sabbath was extended to laborers, slaves, & cattle  
  GREEK HISTORY ADVANCED BECAUSE OF CLASS STRUGGLE   
  In Greece, the growth of sea trade led to crisis because of the:  
  a.  accumulation of wealth in money & land  
  b.  increasing indebtedness of the peasantry  
  The wealth that resulted from trade created inequality among the new rich, who were commercial traders, the poor free men without property, & it impoverished propertied aristocrats  
  Frequently rich traders formed alliances w/ poor free men against aristocrats  
  Much of ancient Greek history can be understood as a class struggle of old aristocrats trying to stay in power, opposed by some other class  
  THE ASIATIC MODE OF PRODUCTION  
  Weber's analysis of the asiatic mode of production is a fruitful elaboration of Marx's analysis   
  For Weber, Marx is correct to see stability of this system as based upon a system of fixed payments in kind, instead of production for the mkt  
  Centralized irrigation systems gave great power to the monarchy  
  Weber, rounds out Marx's analysis on the econ by looking at the the supporting institution of religion  
  Wars were fought to obtain slaves to dig canals  
 
 THE QUALITIES OF ORIENTAL DESPOTISM 
 
  One qualities of oriental despotism is that: 
-  every individual has a position in the system 
-  individuals are essentially unfree, though not strictly a slave
-  ag is dependent on centralized irrigation
-  there is forced labor
-  there is a highly repressive govt / military
-  centralized bureaucracy / admin runs the irrigation & other systems
-  taxation was high
-  absolute leaders have authority over the retinues, army, bureaucracy, etc. 
-  the leader has divine status		  
  The divinity of the leader is not mysterious when one considers the absolute power wielded by these leaders   
  Note that the status of divinity was also conferred upon ancient Roman leaders & feudal kings & queens  
  BUREAUCRACY CREATED THE SEPARATION OF ADMINSTRATION FROM OWNERSHIP   
  Bureaucracy allowed the administrators to be separated from what they controlled   
  Under feudalism, a prince granted land to nobles who paid their own costs & thus had autonomy  
  THE STRUCTURE OF CITIES, MILITARY, & IRRIGATION ALSO IMPACTED SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT   
  There were no cities developed in the East since the army was older than the city  
  MILITARY:   
  In the West the military was organized around the principle of private ownership of equipment, i.e. a soldier supplied & owned his own sword, armour, etc.   
  In the East, the supplies & equipment of army was owned & controlled by the ruler  
  Irrigation was the heart of all this centralization  

 
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 Outline on Weber on  Ancient Slave Society 
The Roman Era        circa  200 BC - 500 AD
External
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  SUMMARY:  During Roman Era, development of the city state was widespread.  The Roman Empire united these city states, but the city state was still most common form of govt.  Slavery dominated in the country, while free labor dominated in the urban areas.  Slavery based on conquest, but when conquest failed, the Romans could not replenish their slave base.  Rome collapsed because as the slave economy collapsed, & the mkt econ was replaced by subsistence barter economy.  The subsistence barter economy of the late ancient slave era became the econ basis of the Middle Ages  
  The development of the city state was instrumental in the development of the ancient slave society
 
  Ancient civilization was based on urban city states
 
  The economy of the ancient slave era rested on trade of manufactured & agricultural products & was linked to marine shipping
 
  In interior, rural areas, peasants lived in self sufficient tribal communities
 
  FREE LABOR & SLAVERY   
  Free labor & slavery existed side by side, but most of the econ dev was based on slavery
 
  From earliest times, cities relied on free labor while country estates relied on slavery
 
  Free craftsmen in cities; slaves worked on the land in estates not much different from those of Middle Ages
 
  Weber recognized that the exchange econ needs new mkts to grow, & there were several attempts by cities to break up the rural estates
 
  For Weber, the most salient feature of the ancient social structure was slavery  
  Weber examines why the transition from slavery to free labor occurred
 
  Weber examines why slavery prevailed in antiquity while free labor eventually became norm in the Middle Ages
 
  Weber examines the transition from ancient slave society to feudalism
 
  CONQUEST / SLAVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS 
 
  In antiquity, it was primarily the slave owners who expanded production based on a division of labor  
  In antiquity, imperialism fed the slave market
 
  The slave market fed the economy, & kept the econ growing, squeezing out the exchange economy of the city 
 
  Through conquest, free & slave labor competed
 
  At first, the system had too much conquest & slaves & so they limited reproduction of slaves  
  The best land was used for cash crops which happened to be capable of being tended by slaves:  olives, wine, etc.   
  Other land was leased to free people who grew cereal crops  
  But ancient slaves did not reproduce themselves because they lived in barracks in non monogamous relationships, & so were replenished by conquest  
  Thus when conquests became difficult, it created a crisis for the system  
  The conquest system was never capable of reproducing slaves   
  THE FALL OF ROME:  THE TRANSITION TO THE MIDDLE AGES  
  Weber essentially agrees w/ Marx when Marx says, 
“[T]he disintegration of the Roman Empire was the inevitable political consequence of a basic economic development:  the gradual disappearance of commerce and the expansion of a barter economy.”
Das Kapital
  
  For Weber & Marx, the slave system was based on the conquest system, & each had it's own contradictions which lead to it's downfall, allowing the opportunity for the feudal system to arise   

 
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 Outline on  Weber on  The Middle Ages
circa 500 - 1300
External
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  Summary:  Serf relationships replaced slave relationships, but serfs had some rights, they owed labor to the sovereign.  The slave based latifundia transited to serf based manors.  The latifundia traded at first, but as slave population declined, they became as self sufficient as was the manor.  The decline of Rome continued as the decline of the Dark Ages.  Retinues filled the Roman power vacuum, & developed into feudal kingdoms.  Charlemagne's Kingdom was an example of the feudal barter system based on self sufficiency.  There was a push & pull transition from to feudalism to capitalism w/ the push being the enclosure mvmt & the pull being the efficiency of manufacturing in cities  
  Slavery to Serfdom  
  For Weber during the Middle Ages, the slave system transitioned to serfdom
 
  Unfree labor lived in monogamous relationships in their own home
 
  And so the unfree laborers were able to inherit & became the early serfs
 
  Thus, the lowest classes again acquired the right to a family life & to private property
 
  Slaves had risen in status & become serfs
 
  Barracks gave way to peasant cottages
 
  Latifundia transformed into manors
 
  New relationships in the forces of production changed the social structure
 
  Great estates of Roman Empire, latifundia, devolved into feudal like, self sufficient units called manors
 
  Urban craftspeople lost their rural mkt
 
  In relation to previous ages, in Europe the Middle Ages are often thought of the Dark Ages because some aspects of society were in decline
 
  Thus commerce declined taxes declined population declined & recruits for military declined
 
  Decline of slavery, made free labor more important & so less people went into the military
 
  Mercenaries became the rule, especially barbarians, i.e., those from newly conquered European & Asian countries
 
  Charlemagne:  subsistence, barter economy
 
  This subsistence, non trading economy is seen under Charlemagne   
  Charlemagne: Lived for 72 yrs from 742 to 814  
  Most famous ruler in the Middle Ages  
  He conquered most of Western Europe & united it  
  This was first Empire after the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 400s  
  During Charlemagne's time, Europe had almost no towns   
  His empire had no standing army, no bureaucracy, no monetary taxes, & no trade  
  Charlemagne began much of the system of what was to be called feudalism by granting large estates to nobles who began some infrastructural improvements  
  Marx & Engels believed the retinues were the key to the transition from feudalism to capitalism  
  For Marx & Engels, it was retinues that favored rise of kingship  
  Retinues ceded vast tracks of formerly Roman land to the people as the commons  
  But there was a transition of this land into a land of nobles  
  The retinues resulted in a shifting of the mode of production  
  Retinue developed into aristocratic class, which became hereditary  
  Tribes always made war, but a successful warrior would develop his retinue  
  The retinue could gain power & become relatively independent of the tribe  
  They conquered land & became aristocrats, w/ hereditary status  
  Those who were not wealthy enough to equip themselves for war, became serfs  
  Those who were defenseless, voluntarily submitted to a noble or lord for protection  
  The Enclosure was the result of a gradual increase of the serf population & efficiency in production  
  Since the feudal lord was a professional warrior, not a farmer, agriculture did not develop rapidly  
  Weber quotes Marx:  peasants had no interest in increasing productivity because lord was not interested in developing a market for those goods  
  Thus neither lords, nor peasants wanted to expand production  
  But as lords controlled more land, the enclosure began ( kick serfs off the land ) because serfs' population & efficiency increased  
  Serfs fled to the cities, & here they developed the market system  
  Increased efficiency of manufacturing in cities  
  It was not just more labor that made the system expand, because plagues & wars limited population, but rather more efficient labor  
  The putting out system & manufacturing created new forms of prod to meet expanding demand  
  Expanding trade increased power of merchants ( i.e., the bourgeoisie )  
  This created "urban attraction"  
  Peasants were drawn to the cities  
  Wealth of bourgeoisie began to compete w/ the aristocratic wealth  
  Developing market limited by feudalism  
  The market system started, a feedback loop, which affected manor by creating more of a market for agricultural goods  
  But relations of feudalism set limits on advancement of capitalism  
  Serfs could not produce just for market, because they had to make large payments to manor  
  Thus could not consume, & thus failed to support guild prod in cities  
  Guilds limited production, advanced technology  
  Guilds also limited production  
  For craftsmen did not want to see falling prices  
  Manors (aristocrats & serfs ) were self sufficient & thus did not buy city goods  
  This limited guild & manufacturing system growth  
  But guilds did have sufficient production to allow them to advance technology of production  
  Growth of cities fueled the transition to capitalism  
  Cities, papal curia, towns, & emerging states of Middle Ages were all vehicles of financial rationalization of the money economy, & of political capitalism  
  Feudalism very decentralized & thus offered political independence for many lords  
  China:  no transition to feudalism or capitalism  
  China had no cities as the West did  
  They lacked political autonomy, & had no mil power of its own  
  Thus it could not defend itself  
  In short, there was no independent bourgeoisie class centered in autonomous towns  

 
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 Outline on  Weber's Complementary Analysis on
Western Capitalism: 
The Early Industrial Age    circa  1300  -  1700
External
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  SUMMARY:  Capitalism required free labor & the Enclosure Movement released serfs, creating free labor.  The release of serfs, rationalized labor by making it more efficient.  The ideology of Protestantism enhanced development of capitalism, but English Mercantilism was a separate path that did not enhance the development of capitalism   
  CAPITALISM REQUIRES FREE LABOR
 
  Weber agreed w/ Marx that "free" labor is a requirement of capitalism 
 
  Free labor was: 
- freed from the bonds of servitude as existed under slavery or serfdom 
- separated from their means of production 
 
  THE ENCLOSURE FORCED SERFS OFF THEIR TRADITIONAL LANDS, & INTO THE CITIES WHERE THEY BECAME PROLETARIAT  
  The Enclosure Movement resulted in a major structural change in the econ social structure & therefore throughout society 
 
  The Enclosure Movement is the removal of land from the Commons & the removal of serfs from their ancestral feudalistic lands   
  Starting in the 1500s, there was a great mass of vagabonds, an army of unemployed, which fostered the first poor relief 
 
  By the 1700s, labor contract took place of unfree work which meant less capital invested in slaves 
 
  THE RATIONALIZATION OF LABOR RESULTED IN INCREASED EFFICIENCY, EXPLOITATION, & ALIENATION  
  The risk of death or injury was no longer on owner but on worker her or himself 
 
  Labor created the possibility of exact calculation 
 
  Labor is economically compelled to sell their labor 
 
  The means of production were concentrated in hands of the entrepreneurs 
 
  PROTESTANTISM ENHANCES THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM 
 
  See Also:  Weber's Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism  
  CAPITALISM DEVELOPED IN SPITE OF ENGLISH MERCANTILISM
 
  Capitalism did not emerge out of non rationalized English mercantilism, by which monarchy granted fiscal & colonial privileges & monopolies
 
  Modern capitalism was pioneered by entrepreneurs which developed independently of political administration & secured systematic support of Parliament in 1700s, after collapse of fiscal monopoly policy of Stuarts   
  The Bank of England, as dominated by Paterson, a Scotchman, gave way to rationalistic, free trading Puritans   

 
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 Outline on  Weber's Debate w/ the Ghost of Marx
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  Marx has been so influential that much of sociology, political science, history, & other disciplines have been in "a debate w/ the ghost of Marx"  
  Many try to paint Weber & Marx as opponents, but Weber & Marx agree on much more than they disagree
 
  Marx focused on the development of economic systems & the rise of capitalism while Weber focused on the development of religious systems & rise of capitalism
 
  PARSONS, & OTHERS  
  Parsons' work misleads many in his belief that Weber rejected Marx's analysis
 
  In 1929, Parsons declared that Weber's The Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism ( PESC ) was a refutation of Marx, but he was mistaken
 
  Parson implies Marx had failed to understand much of history & thus it became accepted that Weber opposed & refuted Marx
 
  Zeitlin, Albert Salomon, CW Mills, others all believe that Weber rounds out & supplements Marx's work
 
 
 Marx & Weber agree that society is determined by social class  
  Weber & Marx are compatible & complementary
 
  There are very few inconsistencies in the works of Weber & Marx
 
  Weber knew Marx's readings & took them into account, though no one in academia could admit to reading Marx until academic freedom triumphed in the 1950s
 
  Weber does refute single cause theories such those as supported by orthodox Marxists
 
  The PESC  is not a refutation of Marx
 
  ECONOMIC & RELIGIOUS FACTORS ARE COMPLEMENTARY   
  In the PESC Weber explores the economic relevance of a religious ethic demonstrating that the Protestant work ethic was a vital factor that lead to the development of capitalism
 
  Many, but not Weber, believed that Marx confused technical & economic factors
 
  Weber understood that when Marx said: "Labour is organized, is divided differently according to the instruments it disposes over. The hand mill presupposes a different division of labor from the steam mill." he was focusing on the complex interaction of social & physical forces in the determination of the nature of society  
  Weber believed that Marx's understanding of the interdependence of the technology of labor & the organization of labor indicates that he is not a technological determinist  
  Marx's position is that the division of labor allows particular relations of ownership & relations of production ( separate worker from the means of production )   
  For Weber & Marx, only that division of labor varies w/ technology, & this does not determine an overall economic system 
 
  Marx is often ambiguous because he writes both political statements as well as academic analyses  
  EMERGENCE OF CAPITALISM   
  Marx & Weber were both concerned w/ the emergence of capitalism  
  Weber is concerned w/ origin & nature of modern capitalism & why it emerges 1st in the West  
  Weber used a historical social method that is compatible w/ Marx's historical materialism  
  Marx's major aim was not to see the economy as a primary social determinant, but to explore the relationships btwn the economy & other social institutions  
  Both Weber & Marx define the economy as the material struggle for existence  
  Weber's journal describes his work at the investigation of the general cultural significance of socio-economic structure, & its historic forms  

 
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 Outline on  Weber on Values in Science
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  Max Weber originated idea of value free science, but even he knew it was impossible to accomplish  
  SCIENCE CANNOT DECIDE VALUE ISSUES   
  Weber held that science cannot decide value issues
 
  For Weber, the clarity of issues is all that science can offer us
 
  Science can provide us w/ means but not ends
 
  Science can never show the way to true values
 
  A conflict of values is inevitable
 
  Values can never be arranged through science, or otherwise, into one universal scale
 
  Weber demonstrated that it is difficult not to use science to determine values because science offers insight:
 
  - into the nature of human actions  
  - into the meaning of certain goals
 
  - into the means of attaining goals
 
  - into the costs & consequences for those goals & goals not pursued
 
  SCIENCE SHOULD MINIMIZE VALUES IN RESEARCH   
  Weber was one of the first people to maintain that the sciences should try to minimize values in research
 
  For most of the public AND many scientists (social & natural), there is assumption that science is neutral, i.e. value free
 
  But we must realize that value free science is a noble, but relatively unattainable goal
 
  Science often assumes a particular set of values
 
  Values are personal judgments or preferences about what is considered good or bad, or about what is liked or disliked
 
  Values & theory overlap because many of our value judgments are unproven "personal theories" however, this should not lead us to the belief that scientific theories can prove values
 
  Values, unlike scientific theory, can never be proven
 
  If we have a question of values, that should be resolved by the political process, the religious process, etc.
 
  Questions of science can be resolved, questions of values cannot  
  It is difficult to separate values & science on many issues
  - abortion
  - death penalty
  - pollution
  - unemployment policy....		  
  What are the questions of values & science here or in other issues?   
  A value loaded statement is one that purports to be neutral but has value statements  
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 Examples of loaded statements  
  VALUES ENTER INTO RESEARCH VIA SPONSORS, THE RESEARCHERS' PARADIGM, IN HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION, BY INTERPRETATION, & BY BAD SCIENCE   
  Weber proposed value free science, though he understood that this is an impossible goal, it is something to be striven for  
  Today science has established a mantle of objectivity which holds "science is value free"  
  Values enter the scientific process through FIVE Avenues  
  a.  SPONSOR:  Values enter the scientific process through the sponsor of the research who inevitably has some interest in the outcome of the research   
  The influence of the sponsor can be minimized by asking 'Who are is the researcher working for?  What are the interests of the sponsor?'  
  b. PARADIGM:  Values enter the scientific process through the perspective or paradigm the researcher is researching from  
  For researchers, the bias inherent in a paradigm is difficult to account for because they often have difficulty conceptualizing factors that lie outside their paradigm  
  The influence of perspectives or paradigms can be seen in that different fields of science work w/in different theoretical frameworks, & are based on a set of different theories or models   
  Sociology has the paradigms of functionalism, conflict theory, & symbolic interactionism  
  Astronomy has the paradigms of the collapsing universe, the expanding universe, & the rapidly expanding universe  
  c.  HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION:  Values enter the scientific process through hypothesis formulation, the question is the researcher exploring, the statement of  the problem  
  Values enter in hypothesis formulation because 'the answer you get depends on the question you ask'  
  Values may be minimized in research by exploring a variety of questions & hypotheses & by using a variety of research methods, since each method asks the research question in a different manner  
 
 d.  INTERPRETATION:  Values enter the scientific process through the processes of generalization & interpretation
 
  Among various researchers, there is often strong disagreement over the interpretation of the same data  
 
 e. BAD SCIENCE:  Values enter the scientific process through bad science in the form of hoaxes & faulty research
 
  In research today, there is a very small amount of hoaxes or faked science  
  In research today, there is a very small amount of faulty or erroneous science  
 
 The Scientific Method attempts to mitigate effect of values by making research process visible to all through the principle of organized skepticism
 
  VALUE ISSUES ARE OFTEN LEGITIMATELY DISCUSSED IN THE CONCLUSIONS OF SCIENCE PAPERS   
  Values usually do not enter the research process in the application or methods of the study, but each type of methods has its own bias  
  Values are legitimately relegated to the conclusion of a research project where they are identified as such  
  See:  Epistemology & the Antidotes to Bias  
  a.  Antidote:  Question knowledge: have no blind faith in science.  Keep on Questioning.   "Question Authority"  
  b.  Antidote: Ask, "Who benefits from a given bit of knowledge?"  
  c.  Antidote:  Ask  "Who controls or creates a given bit of knowledge?"  

 
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Examples of Loaded Statements: 
"Conflict is bad because it usually leads to violence, & rarely changes anything anyway."

"We should decrease welfare payments because too many people are lazy & are skimming off of working people when they could have jobs."

Neutral:  "Conflict leads to violence.  Conflict rarely changes things."

"We should decrease welfare payments because given welfare recipients skill levels, & the number & type of available jobs, 15% could have jobs.

It is impossible to be value free.

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