Week 10 and 11 - Weber Flashcards
1
Q
Explain Weber’s concept of an ideal type.
A
- a methodological tool, a categorical model of something that is created by looking for commonalities in different ways that something is understood amongst individuals
- a description of an idea, ex. our ideas of sociology, capitalism, freedom
- there cab be variation within these definitions
- an ideal type is ideal in that it is the most accurate representation of what something is
- social ideas are located in history, and will differ over time, ex. the ideal type of marriage has changed with marriage equality movement
- scientific categories, not moral judgements
2
Q
How would Weber go about creating an ideal type?
A
- when we discover relationships between reality and abstract ideals we can then prove that these abstract ideals are concrete
- the accumulation/synthesis of many individual point of views into a uniform construct
- all while striving to be objective
- one must be inclusive and flexible in the way that they create concepts in order to capture the full picture of an ideal type, but they must also create smaller more detailed definitions of various macro concepts, each with their own ideal type, ex. family, nuclear, multigenerational, blended, single
3
Q
Define/explain; Vershten
A
- understandings of individuals’ subjective motivations
- the way individuals’ interpretations of the world around them and what they find meaningful guides their actions
- an accumulation of vershten’s provide the substance for ideal types
4
Q
Do true examples of ideal types exist?
A
-since ideal types are amalgamations of multiple cases, it is extremely unlikely that a true example of an ideal type will exist
5
Q
What is the purpose of an ideal type?
A
- without ideal types sociology could not perform research, things must be categorized for us to talk about and examine them
- ex. language enables us with symbols to understand physical world such that if we saw something we had never seen before we could indentify it based on words and symbols
6
Q
Define/explain: Weber’s 4 Types of Social Actions
A
- Instrumental-rational; social action that is determined by the behavior of other objects and human beings, and are then used for an individual’s rationally pursued and calculated ends, ex. Protestant Ethic
- Value-rational; social action determined by a conscious belief in value for its own sake, independent of its prospects of success
- Affectual; social action determined by the actor’s specific affects/mood and feeling states
- Traditional; social action determined by ingrained habituation, we still have an intent and are aware of this action, ex. traditional Christmas gatherings, kissing on cheeks in Columbia
7
Q
How does Weber define a social action? What influences our social actions?
A
- may be oriented toward the past, present, or future behaviour of others
- an action that takes other people into account and/or is influenced by others
- there is a feedback where individuals are influenced by ideal types and in turn their individual experiences influence ideal types
- we are influenced by external values, that have a powerful, decisive causal influence on the course of action of real individual
- individuals don’t always know that external influences are guiding their actions, a lot of our actions are second-nature to us, governed by impulse/habit, because external values have been imposed on us for so long
8
Q
Define and explain Weber’s concept of the Spirit of Capitalism.
A
- the duty of persons to increase their wealth
- all virtues become virtues only to the extent that they are useful, and will give you a personal payback/reward, very self-focused
- ex. honesty as useful because it leads to the availability of credit
- punctuality, industry, frugality, are also useful and therefore virtues
- we are socialized to focus on our work as our identity, view work as an end to itself, and focus on wages
9
Q
Define and explain Weber’s concept of the Protestant Ethic. Is the Protestant Ethic a natural drive?
A
- values hard work and wealth accumulation, but devalues spending money on hedonistic or self-serving things, therefore the pursuit of riches is stripped of all pleasurable/hedonistic aspects
- the need to accumulate wealth is not part of human nature and is therefore irrational and historically situated within capitalism
- during its foundation, capitalism struggled against traditionalism, which privileged traditional economic needs
- the drive to capitalism was a product of a long and continuous process of socialization
- over time the religious aspect of this ethic became less influential, though the spirit of capitalism and the protestant ethic remained strong, as demonstrated by Benjamin Franklin
10
Q
Define; Asceticism
A
- severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons
- related to Weber’s ideal type of the Protestant Ethic
11
Q
Explain the connection between Weber’s concepts: the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
A
-Protestant asceticism fought against the enjoyment of possessions, but it also told members that God wanted them to work for money while putting down the desires of the flesh, rational acquisitions as good, but irrational use of possessions as bad
12
Q
How does the Protestant Ethic work to keep wages low?
A
- originally, church members participated in the Protestant Ethic to feel included as ‘saved’, to prove to themselves and others that they are one of the chosen one’s, work their way into heaven
- it is linked to the idea of merit (if you don’t work hard, you don’t deserve something)
- therefore those in power can justify keeping wages low by saying they want to inspire people to work hard for a promotion, a better life, more luxury
13
Q
Weber says the distribution of power leads to power groups that try to get power in their own way. Define each group and explain
how each group gets power.
A
- Status groups; demonstrate honour by showing they are superior
- Parties; use social connections and networks
- Classes; come together for a cause (then disperse)
14
Q
Define/explain: Power (Weber)
A
- the chance of a man or number of men to realize their own will in a social action, even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action
- the ability to exert your own will even against resistance, ex. teacher imposes quiz on students
15
Q
Define/explain: Classes (power group)
A
- a number of people who share a specific causal component of their life chances caused by sharing the same economic interests
- aren’t communities, but represent possible/frequent bases for social action
- in order for class based social action to occur, individuals in a class must be able to recognize their class and recognize that their class comes from the distribution of property or the structure of the concrete economic order
- classes don’t constitute a group (having some sort of cohesion) that is an assumption, due to vershten people in a class may not respond in the same way to economic or other situations, ex. anarchist vs. libertarian in the same class, (unlike Marx’s proletariat)
