Weber Quotes

"but the character of these soteriologies, which was still ultimately gnostic and mystical, offered no basis for the development of a methodological rational, inner-worldly mode of life which would bee adequate to them. As a result, to the extent that their religion was sublimated under the influence of the salvation doctrines, they became adherent of the various forms of saviour religion."

Elective Affinity: Here Weber, explains that there is no capitalism in Asia despite the fact that there are ascetic religious beliefs because there is no rationality. Th ideal conditions did not connect with the material conditions. Thus, in terms of elective affinities the material explanation did not associate with the values (meanings).

"And if we put together the limitation of consumption referred to earlier and this breaking of shackles on acquisitiveness, then the outward result is obvious: capital accumulation resulting from ascetic compulsion to save"

Elective Affinity: How the ideals of Protestantism and the material circumstances drove capitalism to rise. He said basically, one chooses an ideology based on the material role one is living. Thus, to make sense of the world one chooses an ideology.

"And because death is meaningless, civilized life as such is meaningless; by its very "progressiveness' it gives death the imprint of meaninglessness."

Due to technological process and science, Weber believes we have lost magic, and live in a disenchanted world of science of with no morality.

"the constructed model of a fully rationally purposive action in such cases can bee understood by a sociologist with complete certainty and the total clarity which results from tis rationality. as a type it thus enables him to understand the real action"

Ideal Types: Here Weber is discussing ideal types, which are constructs means to help us capture the social reality and reduce uncertainty. It is a basic method for comparison. pointing of the confidence, an association between two things measured on a. scale of material explanations (political, economic) and values (meaning)

"....The outward result is obvious: capital accumulation resulting from an ascetic compulsion to save. The restrictions imposed not he consumption of what was acquired were bound to have a beneficial effect on its productive use as an investment capital:

Protestant ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Accumulation and reinvestment of wealth due to asceticism. Here, Weber is arguing for elective affinity, which is how the Protestant duty and ideal to accumulate wealth, mixed with the material conditions of time, inadvertently drove capitalism to grow.

"Not only did... regard the pursuit of riches as an end in itself as supremely reprehensible, but the achievement of wealth as the fruit of work in a calling, as an expression of God's blessing"

Protestant ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Pursuit of wealth, not as an end in itself but to serve the jury; calling; for a sign of salvation. According to Weber, Calvinism sees the pursuit of wealth as duty, as a sign of salvation to be classified as an elect.

"Riches are only dangerous as a temptation to idle response and sinful enjoyment of life, and the endeavour to acquire them is only suspect when its purpose is to enable one too later to live a life of frivolity and gaiety. When it is engaged in as part of the duties of the calling, however, it is not only morally permissible but positively commanded."

Protestant ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Under Protestant ethic, economic activity and gaining wealth have a religious significance. People can gain wealth for the purpose of enriching God, but not out of greed.

"On the other hand, it had the psychological effect of the traditionalist ethic: it burst the shackles confining the profit-motive, in that not only did it make it lawful, it even looked upon it directly as the will of God"

Protestant ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Wealth and economic activity (profit) gains religious significance. Charismatic social action, according to Weber, brought people to acquire wealth again, only this time for the specific purpose of pleasing a higher power. Ironically, we went from a disenchanted society the was too focused on money, to an inspired society that is too focused on money, but for a completely different reason.

"For divine providence has prepared for everyone without distinction a particular calling, which he must recognize and in which he must work. And this calling is.... a commandment by God to the individual to work to his glory"

Protestant ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Weber argues that in Protestantism everyone has to work as hard as they can to accumulate wealth with the purpose of feeling like an elect. This calling for work I what builds up the spirit of capitalism. In order to find fulfillment on earth regarding the things we do, we had to submit to gods will.

"Not work as such, but rational work in a calling, is what God requires. In the Puritan idea of the 'calling; the emphasis is always on this methodological asceticism in the practice of one's calling"

Protestant ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Weber is arguing for the calling which is the Protestant practice of striving to gain wealth for a purpose, and work everyday. Doing so in Protestantism would ben the highest way to spending one's life. Weber argues that, in protestantism, discipline, order and worldly success makes you feel like one the elects, even though you may not have been predestined to bee one. This idea of personal responsibility that Calvin mentions: the belief in predestination, the idea that your fate, whether you're saved or dammed, has already been set by god from the beginning of the universe. Success is the only way to prove this, thus people worked to accumulate as much wealth as possible to prove they were saved, with a goal of attaining salvation. In an ascetic world, you tru and gain your salvation in the world through hard world.

"... it nevertheless cannot be the intention to substitute for a one-sidedly materialist interpretation of cultural and historical causes and equally one-sidedly spiritualist interpretation"

Protestant ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism: Weber's standing between materialism and idealism. Weber, contrary to Marc, is a multicausal theorist, who takes into account both material and ideal conditions. A good example of this is his definition of elective affinity, which is driven by protestantism and the desire to accumulate wealth. The idea that one chooses and ideology based on the material role one is living.

"In that case it might indeed become true to say of the last men of this cultural development: specialist without soul, hedonists without heart: this cipher flatters itself that It has reached a stage of humanity never before attained"

Protestant ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism: modern men are hallow, sensuous without feeling. While in the past, traditional world, people were following a vision, it is no longer the case. According to Weber, the modern world follows rational-legal authority, which drives us to be hallow, sensuous men, without feeling. In this world, Weber is scared of stagnation, and hopes for charisma that would get us mobilized. Here weber argues for social science to truly understand individuals (Verstehen), one must reconstruct the motives of the actor and the rational process that drive them to act this way.

"Not every kind of human action is social in character: it is only social when one person's behaviour is related inn its meaning to the behaviour of other people"

Social Action: Here, Weber is saying that human action doesn't have to be for the sake of others. A particular social condition is based on society. For example, ZWECk rationality, you may act based off calculations, not based off others.

"Social action may be rational in the sense of employing appropriate means to a given end: that is the agent may use his expectations of the behaviour of external objects and. other human beings as conditions or means to achieve as the outcome of his own rationally pursued and calculated purposes.

Social Action: Social action may be ZWECK-rational which is, rationalization calculated and for the purpose of gaining profit, a select given means to achieve a particular end. It is the instrumental action where social action is pursued after evaluating its consequences and considerations of the various means it will take to achieve it. You know exactly who you are and what your values are. There doesn't have to be a rational end.

"Social action... may bee rational in the sense that it is an attempt to realize some absolute value: that is, the agent may consciously believe int he unconditional intrinsic value, whether ethic, aesthetic, religious or any other, of a particular sort fo behaviour, purely for its own sake and regardless of its consequences"

Social Action: may be WERT-rational which is value rationality. This uses rational means to fulfill ends. It is value rationality. Action which are taken place because it leads to a valued goal, with no thought of its consequences and often without consideration of its appropriateness of the means chosen to achieve it. The end justifies the means.

"In all these cases, the term understanding refers to the interpretative grasps of the meaning which are either really intended in a particular case... or intended by the average agent to some degree of approximation"

Verstehen: Is one of Weber's methodologies - the understanding, humans having the capability of thinking and making sense of the world. It is the science which aims at the interpretive understanding of social behaviours in order to gain an explanation of its cause and effects.

No one knows who will live in this cage in the future, or whether at the end of this tremendous development entirely new prophets will arise, or there will be a great rebirth of old ideas and ideals, or, if neither, mechanized petrification, embellished with a sort of convulsive self-importance. For of the last stage of this cultural development, it might well be truly said: 'Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved

Weber believes we currently live in an Iron Cage. We are in a rational society with no escape, but religion has flown through the bars, and we now think we work because it is our duty.

"They are pathetic experts in political triviality: they lack the deep instinct for power of a class which has been called to political leadership.... IF we are the political opponents of the working class, it is because there is no greater disaster that can befall a great nation than leadership by a politically uneducated philistine class"

Weber view on the working class: He recognizes the working class cant lead a revolution because they are uneducated. Contrary to Marx, Were doubts the notion of dictatorship of proletariat.

"What is lacking is precisely the decisive element in Western economic life, the modification this instinctive avarice, its transformation into a rational pursuit on gain and its integration into a system of ration, inner-worldly ethic of action - that transformation which was achieved int he West by the inner worldly asceticism of Protestantism."

Capitalism did not come from Self interest: Weber argues that capitalism did not come from self-interest but from a mix of both puritan work ethic and beneficial material conditions. In short, the West obtained the spirit of capitalism through a unique blend of material an ideological circumstances.

"Clearly, the life of the petty bourgeoise, especially the urban artisan and small businessman, is much further removed from any kind of connection with nature than is that of the peasant, so that dependence on the use of magic to influence the irrational forces of nature cannot play the same part in his life as in the peasants. On the contrary, the economic conditions of his life are essentially more rational, which means in this context, that they re much more amenable to calculation and to the influences of means rationality chosen to achieve an end goal"

Elective affinity: The bourgeoises is attracted to specific ideal circumstances (Protestianism) while other groups like peasants aren't. Peasants are attracted to magic due to life circumstances. They depend on the weather for their crops to grow, ie. --> So they pray to the rain gods. vs. bourgeoisie who do believe in Protestantism because it fits into their values and they need it for their class to function. So there is an elective affinity between your circumstance and the belief that you choose.

"Status situation may depend on class situation directly or in a roundabout way. But it is not determined by it alone: possessions of money and the position of an entrepreneur are not, in themselves alone, qualifications for status....on the other hand, status situation, either in combination with other things or by itself, may influence a class situation, without for that reason being identical with it"

Multicasual Theorist: Weber is a Multicasual theory, who believes that power comes not just from economic but from multiple additional sources. here, he argues that money isnt enough to have power, but that power can give you money.