Lecture 7: Weber Flashcards
who is Max Weber?
- A key figure in the sociology of law
- He saw modern society as becoming more rational and focused on efficiency
- Law, along with the economy, state, and bureaucracy, plays a central role in modern society
- Weber described modern legal systems as relying heavily on clear rules and procedures
- His ideas about law are connected to his broader views on how society works
- His ideas are often compared to Durkheim’s
Weber’s perspective on society and action
- Sociological theories often focus on understanding the nature of society
- Max Weber viewed society as a network of social relations
- Social relations are created through human interactions
- Social interactions are reciprocal
- Actors may not always share the same meanings or agree
- Despite differences, all interactions are guided by motives
For Weber, interactions involve
- Two or more individuals
- Motivations and intentions guiding the actors
behaviour vs. action
- Behaviour: causally determined, not meaningful (unintentional)
- Action: subjective and meaningful (intentional)
sociology for Weber seeks to
- Understand human actions
- Focus on their meaning in a social context
Marx vs. Weber
Marx and Engels didn’t emphasize law as a major theoretical problem, but Weber did
foci of Economy and society
- Sociology of law
- Political sociology
- Sociology of religion
- Sociology of economics
Key ideas in Economy and Society
- Rationality
- Ideal type
what is an ideal type?
- A tool to help sociologists understand complicated things like law, politics, and economics
- It’s a pure model that doesn’t exist in real life
- Created by focusing on important features of something and ignoring the messy details
why use ideal types?
- Makes it easier to talk about complex things in a simple way
- Helps compare real-life examples of the ideal model
- Shows where real-life examples match or differ from the ideal
examples of ideal types
- Bureaucracy: a perfect organization with clear rules and roles
- Capitalism: an economic system focused only on profit and markets
capitalism (Weber)
- Weber defines capitalism as “the industrial provision for the needs of a human group”
- Capitalism and modern industrial capitalism are referred to as the same by Weber
rational capitalist system (Weber)
- Uses capital accounting
- Calculates income and profits through modern bookkeeping
Weber on rationality
- Weber considered rationality central to his sociology, especially in understanding social action and structure
- Rationality is the hallmark and rooted in modern Western civilization and distinguishes it from other cultures
- No sociologist knew what Weber meant by rationality beyond the basics…
Enter sociologist Arnold Eisen (1978)
6 components of rationality
- purpose
- calculability
- contorl
- logic
- universality
- systematic organization
purpose
- social action is driven by conscious intent to achieve a specific goal
- Ex. choosing time and effort to finish a task before a deadline
calculability
- decisions are made by weighing means and ends to estimate outcomes
- Ex. comparing pros and cons of different actions to choose the best option
control
- reduces randomness and increases predictability in social action
- Ex. controlling behaviour or environment to achieve desired outcomes
logic
- actions are systematic, internally coherent, and efficient
- Ex. a group project divided into logical sections to avoid gaps or contradictions
universality
- abstract and formal rules that apply uniformly across different situations
- Ex. legal codes defining crimes without bias toward specific cases
systematic organization
- relates parts to the whole for maximizing efficiency in achieving results
- Ex. structuring a legal system to integrate relevant rules and ensure consistent application
domination
- the likelihood that commands will be obeyed by a group of people
- Can be legitimate or illegitimate
illegitimate domination
- Based on coercion (physical or psychological)
- People obey out of fear of punishment
- Seen as invalid or unjustified by subordinates
- Difficult to sustain over time
legitimate domination (authority)
- Commands are seen as valid or rightful
- Subordinates obey voluntarily out of a sense of duty
- Less need for coercion, making it more stable
Weber’s 3 types of authority
- Charismatic authority
- Traditional authority
- Rational-legal authority
charistmatic authority
- Based on the personal qualities or charisma of the leader
- Followers believe the leader has extraordinary qualities or a special mission
traditional authority
- Rooted in long-standing customs and traditions
- Subordinates obey because “this is how things have always been”
rational-legal authority
- Based on formal rules and legal procedures
- Leaders have authority because of their position within a system
- Weber calls this the “crowning achievement of Western civilization”
definition of charisma
- Extraordinary personal qualities that set a leader apart
- Seen as supernatural, superhuman, or divinely inspired
basis of charismatic authority
- Followers obey out of emotional devotion and belief in the leader’s extraordinary powers
- Legitimacy comes from faith in the leader’s mission fo qualities, not from laws or traditions
characteristics of charismatic authority
- Relies on emotional loyalty, not rational legal principles
- Decisions are subjective, often based on revelation, intuition, or personal judgment
- Lacks formal laws or universal rules
examples of charismatic leaders
- Religious figures like the Hebrew prophets (ex. Moses, Isaiah)
- Judges or kings using intuitive decision-making like King Solomon
impact of charismatic authority
- Often emerges during crises or societal tension
- Can be a revolutionary force, breaking traditional and rational norms
- Brings social change and renewal but it is inherently unstable
limitations of charismatic authority
- Highlight irrational and dependent on the leader’s personal qualities
- Difficult to maintain once the leader is gone
basis of traditional authority
- Based on the belief in the sanctity of long-standing traditions and customs
- Legitimacy stems from time-honoured rules, not the personal qualities of the leader
- Leadership is inherited or passed down through tradition
- Followers obey out of loyalty to the leader as a personal master
- Authority is rooted in customs rather than the rational or legal system
forms of traditional authority
- Gerontocracy
- Patriarchalism
- Patrimonialism
- Feudalism
Gerontocracy
- Rules by elders who are most familiar with sacred traditions
- No administrative staff; authority relies solely on respect for elders
Patriarchalism
- Authority of the father or the head of household
- Personal, respectful relationship between the ruler and dependents
- No need for coercion or administrative staff
Patrimonialism
- Expansion of the ruler’s household into an entire regime
- Requires administrative staff and military force to enforce authority
- The ruler is seen as the “good king” or “father of his people”
- Law is arbitrary, with decisions made at the ruler’s discretion
Feudalism
- Developed in medieval Europe and Japan
- Warriors pledge loyalty to a leader via a contractual oath
- Vassals are free and can end the contract, unlike subjects under patrimonialism
- Law is based on personal privileges and status rather than uniform procedures
basis of rational legal authority
based on the belief in the legality of formal rules and the right of those in authority to issue commands under these rules
characteristics of rational legal authority
- Rooted in a system of abstract, codified, and impersonal rules (e.g., statutory laws)
- Law justifies and validates itself through formal procedures
- Authority comes from legal rules, not personal faith (as in charismatic authority) or tradition (as in traditional authority)
- Superiors must also follow the impersonal legal system they enforce
significance of rational legal authority in modern society
- Prominent in modern Western societies
- Bureaucracy is the purest form of rational-legal authority, emphasizing efficiency and calculability
rational legal-authority and the modern political state
- Laws and orders can be changed by legislation
- Administrative staff follows organized, law-regulated duties
- Authority applies uniformly, and force is only legitimate when allowed by law
shift from traditional to rational legal authority
- Authority is tied to laws, not individuals or monarchies
democratic governance
- Officials hold temporary, limited power and must follow formal procedures
- Officials are also subject to the law
bureaucracy and equality
- Bureaucracy promotes equality before the law, opposing privilege and arbitrary power
- Recruitment is based on qualifications, not status
conneciton of rational legal authority to bureaucracy
Rational-legal authority is the foundation of modern law and bureaucracy
Weber’s vending machine analogy
Weber compares the modern judge to a vending machine because they mechanically apply the law based on codified rules
An order is considered law if
- It is externally guaranteed
- Compliance is enforced through physical or psychological coercion
- Coercion is carried out by specific staff of people
Weber’s working definition of law
- The law relies on the probability that coercion will be used to ensure compliance
- Enforcement on external enforcement rather than internal morality or belief
- The formal, institutional, and enforceable nature of law is a cornerstone of rational legal authority
social action
social action occurs when individuals attach subjective meaning to their behaviour
what makes an action social?
- It considers the behaviour of others
- It is oriented based on those behaviours within social relationships
four ideal types of social action
- rationally purposeful action
- value-rational action
- affectual action
- traditional action
rationally purposeful action
- Goal-oriented means and ends to achieve a specific purpose
- Ex. studying for an exam to get a good grade
value-rational action
- Pursues ethical, aesthetic, or religious values, regardless of practical consequences
- Ex. donating to a cause because you believe in it
affectual action
- Driven by emotions or feelings; often impulsive
- Ex. crying out in frustration or yelling in anger
traditional action
- Based on habits or customs; automatic and unreflexive
- Ex. saying “bless you” after someone sneezes
lawmaking
creating legal rules through legislation
lawfinding
applying existing rules of specific cases (ex. Through judicial decisions)
rational
guided by clear, general rules or principles. Predictable and consistent
irrational
focuses on the unique circumstances of each case, leading to varying outcomes
formal
applies internal legal rules and procedures
substantive
considers external factors (ex. Ethics, politics, and religion)
formal irrational thought
legal decisions are guided by fixed rules but rely on mysterious or supernatural techniques (ex. Magic, oracles, revelations)
substantive irrational thought
decisions are guided by individual rules that combine legal and non-legal factors, such as ethical, political, ideological, or emotional considerations
substantive rational thought
- Legal decisions are based on general rules derived from non-legal systems, such as religion, ethics, or political principles
- These general principles guide lawmakers and judges, making outcomes more predictable than in irrational systems
formal rational thought
- Guided by general rules derived from legal sources
- Universal rules are clearly written and applied uniformly to similar cases
- Criteria for decisions are internal to the legal system
- High degree of predictability in case outcomes
2 subtypes of formal rational thought
- extrinsically formal rational
- logically formal raitonal
Extrinsically formal rational
thought
- Focuses on concrete, tangible events that can be perceived by the senses
- Legal relevance is tied to observable facts like the actus reus (wrongful deed)
- Ex. emphasized in the common law tradition of England
Logically formal rational thought
- Focuses on the interpretation and analysis of meaning
- Considers motives, state of mind (mens rea), and psychological attitudes
Bordieu’s key ideas
- Law is not fully autonomous
- Formal rationality vs. symbolic power
- The role of rituals and social influence:
autonomy of law (Bourdieu)
- Bourdieu challenges Weber’s view of law as an autonomous system
- Legal interpretation is shaped by symbolic power struggles and social hierarchies within the juridical field
formal rationality vs. symbolic power
- Weber: law achieves legitimacy through formal rationality and neutral procedures
- Bourdieu: legitimacy arises from the symbolic rituals and power dynamics that mask the arbitrariness of decisions
The role of rituals and social influence
- Weber: rituals reinforce law’s neutrality
- Bourdieu: rituals conceal the influence of unequal power relations and make decisions seem inevitable
