Max Weber

Max Weber, a German economist and sociologist is considered to be one of the most significant classical theorists because his methods that are still being implemented into modern sociological research. Weber is best known for his essay, The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism, as well as being highly regarded for his ideas on bureaucracy, his study on class, status and party, and for his theory of social action., Almost all of Weber's writing's have had some kind, if not, a major impact on modern sociology.

Weber believed that sociologists can learn to understand the actions of individuals and groups. This type of understanding is known as verstehen or "interpretive understanding" (E & A p. 138). Verstehen was Weber's main method of sociological analysis. He saw sociology as being a unique discipline because of its ability to be able to understand people. Weber saw this as an advantage over other disciplines, like science, which doesn't provide the same level of understanding.

Weber thought Sociologists should use the concept of verstehen to explain actions. In sociology, action can be either basic action (with meaning), or it can be a more complex social action, a term Weber introduced, meaning an action that not only has meaning but is directed at humans and generates a response. It is the goal of the sociologist to recognize the meanings that individuals give to their actions and to determine the significance that the actions holds in the individuals' society or culture (E & A p.138).

Weber categorizes four types of social action: instrumental-rational, value-rational, affective, and traditional. Instrumental-rational action is the pursuit of goals where the goal and the means to obtaining the goal are calculated to identify the positive and negative aspects associated with the completion of the goal. Rational means justify a rational end in this type of action. Value-rational action is Weber's second type of social action. This action is also characterized by the pursuit of a goal, but the goal is an end to itself. The goal may not be rational, but it is pursued by rational action using value judgment to do what is right in accordance to one's moral code. The third type is affective action, which occurs instinctively without any prior thought process. This type describes natural reactions that people have based on human emotion. Weber's fourth type is traditional action. This is the continuation of traditions throughout history. In this action a person's main objective is to follow past customs, not to fulfill a personal goal.

Webber is considered by many as being a value free sociologist, but this is not the case. In fact, Weber does not believe in being value-free. Being value free meant that one objectively conducts and presents sociologic research, holding all sides of the research on equal levels without showing any bias. Weber believes that one should allow personal interests lead them towards choosing a research, this is considered value-relevance, but once research has started the researcher needs to be objective, he calls this value-neutrality, which Weber thought researchers should strive for.

A constant theme displayed throughout Weber's, work is his idea of rationalization. He uses rationalization to describe the increased efficiency, calculability, and control in social systems, where traditional methods and values were replaced by a means to an end analysis. Rationalization leads to "disenchantment of the world", where surprises diminish because of increased calculability (E & A p.142).Weber's idea of rationality is very broad, but Stephen Kalberg is able to decipher Weber's different meanings. He creates four categories of rationality: practical rationality, theoretical rationality, substantive rationality and formal rationality (R & G p.220-21).

Practical rationality describes individuals who look for the best course of action in order to achieve ends. Theoretical rationality is where abstract concepts are a vital part of one's reasoning and understanding. These individuals use constructed models to understand the world. Substantive rationality is where consistencies are looked for in values or actions so that a path towards an end can be chosen. Kalberg believes that his fourth type, formal rationality is the most important (R & G p.221). This rationality characterized the West, where ends defined themselves. Formal rationality is associated with the creation of modern capitalist systems.

Weber believed that social phenomena (observable events) can never be completely comprehensible, but that they are better understood through conceptual application. Weber's "ideal type" has become a very prominent sociological tool used better to understand such phenomena. Ideal types are simplified forms of concepts and institutions that are used as a way to separate key features that are relevant to the task at hand. This gives the researcher the ability to look at an assortment of social aspects and compare these features to different cultures throughout time. Despite the fact that ideal types are a generalization, Weber felt that this method is vital to understanding social phenomena because ideal types allow us to look at human behavior which cannot be observed in physical phenomena (R & G p.204-6). Weber used ideal type to a great extent throughout his writings. For instance, Weber's four categories of social action are examples of ideal types. In their textbook, Classical Sociological Theory, Ritzer & Goodman held ideal types in high esteem, stating that it is Sociology's "most important conceptual tool" (R & G p.204).

In his famous essay, The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism, Weber introduces his notion of a "protestant ethic" and "spirit of capitalism" as two unique social phenomena of Western civilization. Weber believed that his belief of a protestant ethic in the West contributes to the emergence of capitalism Weber attributes his notion to the Protestant search for a worldly calling, which gives worldly activities religious meaning (E & A p.146.) Weber saw that the protestant religion, Calvinism provides an explanation for how a religious calling leads to the pursuit of wealth. Calvinists believe in predestination, which is the belief that a one's fate is determined before they are born; whether one will be saved or damned. Calvinists believe that very few people will be saved, and that the only way to know one's fate is from signs, from God. Calvinists see individual success and the accumulation of wealth as an indication of good favor with God. Other protestant religions, such as Baptists and Methodists, believed similar things as Calvinists. These protestant religions