Essays in Economic Sociology

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Princeton University Press, 1999 M09 5 - 314 pages

The writings of Max Weber (1864-1920) contain one of the most fascinating and sophisticated attempts ever made to create an economic sociology. Economic sociologist and Weber scholar Richard Swedberg has selected the most important of Weber's enormous body of writings on the topic, making these available for the first time in a single volume. The central themes around which the anthology is organized are modern capitalism and its relationships to politics, to law, and to culture and religion; a special section is devoted to theoretical aspects of economic sociology. Swedberg provides a valuable introduction illuminating biographical and intellectual dimensions of Weber's work in economic sociology, as well as a glossary defining key concepts in Weber's work in the field and a bibliographical guide to this corpus.


Weber's substantive views on economic sociology are represented in this volume through crucial excerpts from works such as his General Economic History and The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, but the reader can follow his attempt to construct a conceptual foundation for economic sociology in Economy and Society as well. Also included is Weber's celebrated inaugural lecture, "The Freiburg Address," along with a number of central but hitherto inaccessible writings. Though written nearly a century ago, Weber's work has the quality of a true classic, and the reader will find many ideas in his writings on economic topics that remain applicable in today's world. These include Weber's discussion of what is now called social capital, his analysis of the institutions needed for a well-functioning capitalist economy, and his more general attempt to introduce social structure into economic analysis. As this volume demonstrates, what basically motivated Weber to work with economic sociology was a realization shared by many economists and sociologists today: that the analysis of economic phenomena must include an understanding of the social dimension. Guided by volume editor Swedberg, the reader of this anthology discovers the significance and the enduring relevance of Weber's contribution to economic sociology.

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Contents

Modern Capitalism Key Characteristics and Key Institutions
43
The Spirit of Capitalism
52
The Market
75
The Beginnings of the Firm
80
Class Status and Party
83
CAPITALISM LAW AND POLITICS
97
The Three Types of Legitimate Domination
99
The Bureaucratization of Politics and the Economy
109
The Evolution of the Capitalist Spirit
157
The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism
168
Kinship and Capitalism in China
179
The Caste System in India
185
Charity in Ancient Palestine
189
THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY
197
Sociological Categories of Economic Action
199
The Area of Economics Economic Theory and the Ideal Type
242

The Rational State and Its Legal System
116
The National State and Economic Policy Freiburg Address
120
The Social Causes of the Decay of Ancient Civilization
138
CAPITALISM CULTURE AND RELIGION
155
Key Concepts in Webers Economic Sociology
261
A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE TO WEBERS ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY
287
INDEX
303
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About the author (1999)

Max Weber, a German political economist, legal historian, and sociologist, had an impact on the social sciences that is difficult to overestimate. According to a widely held view, he was the founder of the modern way of conceptualizing society and thus the modern social sciences. His major interest was the process of rationalization, which characterizes Western civilization---what he called the "demystification of the world." This interest led him to examine the three types of domination or authority that characterize hierarchical relationships: charismatic, traditional, and legal. It also led him to the study of bureaucracy; all of the world's major religions; and capitalism, which he viewed as a productof the Protestant ethic. With his contemporary, the French sociologist Emile Durkheim---they seem not to have known each other's work---he created modern sociology.

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