Weber (P,A,S,D/S) Flashcards
Brief summary of ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’
- Protestantism removes the ability to repent and be forgiven for sin
- In a desire to confirm to oneself that you are a member of ‘the saved’ protestants turn to hard work in the belief that only those saved by God have the capacity to devote themselves to work in such the way that they believe God commands
- A focus on one’s own career and on the long-term implications of work such as the accumulation of wealth overtake in importance traditional family values
- Accumulation of wealth = greater demonstration of capacity to work and thus serves to display to oneself and others that one is ‘saved’
What does Weber say about Power?
Power - “the chance of a man or a number of men to realise their own will in a communal action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the communal action.”
The ability to possess power derives from the individual’s ability to control various “social resources”
Norman Uphoff combines work by himself and Ilchmann (1969) (considering power to be derived from political and social resources e.g. Economic resources, legitimacy, force, status) with French and Raven (1959) types of power, and what compliance this enacts (Etzioni 1969) e.g.
Economic resources —> Reward Power
Social Status —> Referent Power
= Utilitarian Compliance
What does Weber say about Authority?
Legitimate Authority - power whose use is considered just and appropriate by those over whom the power is exercised
Traditional Authority - power that is rooted in traditional, or long-standing, beliefs and practices of a society. It exists and is assigned to particular individuals because of that society’s customs and traditions
Rational-Legal Authority - power which is derived from law and is based on a belief in the legitimacy of a society’s laws and rules and in the right of leaders to act under these rules
Charismatic Authority - power stemming from an individual’s extraordinary personal qualities and from their hold over followers because of these qualities.
What does Weber say about Social Stratification?
Social stratification comes about due to the inequal distribution of power throughout society.
Three-component theory of stratification: A person’s power can be shown in the social order through their status, in the economic order through their class, and in the political order through their party.
- Class - class situation is defined by property or the lack of property, as well as what a person can make available to market
- Status - Status groups are determined by ‘honour’, a social presentation of power that is provided to someone in accordance with their “style of life.”
- Party - If one influences the process of law creation within modern social systems then they possess power, even though they may not directly exercise that power personally.
What does Weber say about Disenchantment/Secularisation?
Disenchantment = the process of increasing intellectualization of thought and rationalization
The advent of scientific methods and the use of enlightened reason means that the world is rendered transparent and demystified.
Science inadequately fills the vacuum left by the diminishment of religion: science may be able to clarify questions of values and morals, but it is ultimately incapable of answering them.
