Sociology
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Weber- The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism cont.
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Individualism
- Weber traced the rise of individualism to the late 16th century and the Protestant Reformation. We can relate this idea of individualism to Marx and Durkheim. We discussed how Durkheim viewed different types of solidarity. He saw modern world solidarity as being organic, people were different. They become more concerned with themselves, individualized. Weber also sees this trend– though he does not think about social solidarity in this way, he does see how the modern world focuses on the individual.
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Martin Luther
- Martin Luther (1483–1546) and the Protestant Reformers insisted that each individual must methodically strive to realize a moral and righteous life each and every day, constantly devoted to the glorification of God.
- Here is a short video on Martin Luther
- The duty of each individual, then, is to glorify God, not seek to appease Him. There is a specific emphasis on the individual. The Catholic Church placed most of the emphasis on the Church– Luther believes that this is not what God wants, and looks to reform the Church.
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The calling
- The calling - the idea that each individual has a calling or “life-task” has its roots in a religious quest for salvation.
- Again emphasis on the individual and what the individual can do to glorify god.
- The individual’s salvation was dependent on fulfilling the moral obligation to perform the duties of his labor to the best of his abilities.
- So Luther believed and touted the idea that individuals needed to prove themselves to God by working very hard.
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John Calvin and Richard Baxter
- http://www.history.com/topics/martin-luther-and-the-95-theses/videos/the-origins-of-calvinism?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false
- In the hands of these later Puritans leaders, the meaning of the calling was transformed. This is the doctrine that came to the new land (the United States).
- The calling was interpreted as God’s commandment to work for His divine glory. Protestants had to work hard, but their work alone would not grant them a place in heaven. This was pre-determined. However, the Protestants believed that if they worked hard and did well (through the fruits of their labor), this was a sign that perhaps they were chosen.
- Success and profit in worldly affairs was now taken as divinely granted proof of one’s state of grace.
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John Calvin and Richard Baxter cont.
- It was not success itself that offered proof, rather it was how success was achieved that marked a person as one of God’s elect.
- Wealth served as confirmation of one’s salvation only if it did not lead to idleness or the enjoyment of luxuries. This is an important point, as Protestants led an ascetic life, they did not spend in excess. Their work-ethic was extremely strong. Think about the life we read about in Colonial American, the Puritans. These are the Calvinists and the people that Weber has in mind when he thinks about how this religious doctrine leads to capitalism.
- Profitableness, moreover, was best guaranteed when economic pursuits were carried out on the basis of methodical and rational planning. So this is the opposite of making money on the stock market. Profit was something that came out of hard work and planning on where to invest the profit, not speculative investments. Ascetic restrictions on consumption were combined with the religiously derived compulsion to increase one’s wealth.
- The ethical imperative to save and invest one’s wealth would become the spiritual foundation for the spread of capitalism.
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Putting it all together
- So what does this religious doctrine have to do with the rise of capitalism?
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxf3BkVS7TA
- Weber makes the connection between these people, who work hard and save and re-invest and also value profit all for religious reasons (Calvinism- the calling) and the rise of capitalism. Here are a group of people in the United States and Europe who believe in the value of profit. They want to make more money so they can have a sign that they are predetermined for the afterlife. So they are ripe to succeed in a capitalist economic system which needs hard workers on both the laborers and the capitalist side. Capitalism also relies on the re-investment of profits. This means that the profits are re-invested in businesses, farms, etc - which also leads to the further rise of capitalism.
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Introduction to The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism cont.
- Iron Cage - The ascetic ideals lying at the heart of the Protestant ethic were carried into the practical affairs of economic activity and social life more generally. This unleashed the process of rationalization, disenchanting Western society and creating an “iron cage” from which the individual is left with little power to escape.
- The dominance of capitalism and impersonal, bureaucratic forms of organization was a collective force that determined the life-chances of the individual.
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Quotations from The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
- Now, all Franklin’s moral attitudes are coloured with utilitarianism. Honesty is useful, because it assures credit; so are punctuality, industry, frugality, and that is the reason they are virtues. (171)
- This quote illustrates another important point of Weber’s – that underlying the success of the Protestants was the importance they placed on honesty. This is important because they are now seen as trustworthy people to do business with – which leads to even more business for them (and more profit which is a signal that they may be predestined for the afterlife)
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Quotations from The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
- Labour must, on the contrary, be performed as if it were an absolute end in itself, a calling. But such an attitude is by no means a product of nature. It cannot be evoked by low wages or high ones alone, but can only be the product of a long and arduous process of education. Today, capitalism, once in the saddle, can recruit its labouring force in all industrial countries with comparative ease. In the past this was in every case an extremely difficult problem. And even to-day it could probably not get along without the support of a powerful ally along the way, which, as we shall see below, was at hand at the time of its development. (page 174)
- Think about how this quote contradicts what Marx says, yet has some things in common? Marx does not talk about the calling, but he does say something about labor (remember species being)? At the same time what does Marx say about wages?
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Quotations from The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
- When the limitation of consumption is combined with this release of acquisitive activity, the inevitable practical result is obvious: accumulation of capital through ascetic compulsion to save. The restraints which were imposed upon the consumption of wealth naturally served to increase it by making possible the productive investment of capital. . . . (178)
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Introduction to Class, Status, Party
- Weber argued that distinct interests and forms of power were connected to economic classes, status groups, and political parties.
- Today sociologists often use Weber’s definitions of these groups in their analysis. In fact, even though Marx concentrated on economic classes, it is Weber’s understanding that has taken the strongest hold.
- Power - “the chance of a man or of a number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others . . .” (1925a/1978:926).
- This means in essence, that power is about exerting your influence even if others are against it. It does not mean there is violence involved, or coercion, there are a variety of ways people can exert power against other’s wills. Some are the threat of violence, some are the holding things back (like money or job).
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Introduction to Class, Status, Party
- Class - they are people who share “life chances” or possibilities that are determined by “economic interests in the possession of goods and opportunities for income.”
- We use the word life chances all the time in sociology. We mean how does what you have (born with and acquire) affect the opportunity to get more. This is different from Marx as it is not just about your class as it relates to the economy, it is about opportunities. In contemporary sociology we think about this all the time. Middle class families for example might make less money than a working class family but their education provides them with opportunities for future growth.
- Status – determined by “a specific, positive or negative, social estimation of honor”
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Introduction to Class, Status, Party
- Party - characterized by the strategic pursuit of goals and the maintenance of a staff capable of implementing their objectives. “parties reside in the sphere of power” inside the “legal order.”
- This is how we think about political parties today also.
- Aimed at “influencing a communal action no matter what its content may be” (ibid.).
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Quotations from Class, Status, Party
- With some over-simplification, one might thus say that classes are stratified according to their relations to the production and acquisition of goods; whereas status groups are stratified according to the principles of their consumption of goods as represented by special styles of life. (200)
- Weber is in a sense agreeing with Marx by saying that classes are your relationship to the means of production (capitalist vs laborer) but that there is much more to Social Class than just economic class and that is about status. Status is what you choose to consume, your lifestyle. Think about how different classes (especially the upper classes) have their own tastes and style and how that sets them apart in social status. Also think about the difference statuses associated with attending different events, for example the opera versus the bleachers at the baseball game.
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Introduction to “The Types of Legitimate Domination”
- Weber defines three “ideal types” of legitimate domination: rational or legal authority, traditional authority, and charismatic authority.
- Remember what Weber means by ideal types. These are pure categories to use to view the world with. They are analytical tools, in reality real people are some sort of combination of these ideal types.
- Public authority is based on some mixture of the three types.
- Nevertheless, social systems generally exhibit a predominance of one form or another of domination.
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Introduction to “The Types of Legitimate Domination” cont.
- “Legitimacy” - the publicly invoked reasons for obeying or complying with the commands issuing from an authority. In order for rulers to rule and for people to obey them – they must be somehow legitimate.
- Thus, the principles on which legitimacy rests are more the expression of a particular political ideology than the expression of individuals’ underlying motives for obeying authority.
- This means that we (as subjects) grant legitimacy often because we believe in the system and the ruler is seen as the holder in a sense of that system.
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Introduction to “The Types of Legitimate Domination” cont.
- Rational-legal authority - This form of domination is based on the rule of law. Legitimacy thus rests “on a belief in the legality of enacted rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands” (Weber 1925b/1978:215).
- This “system” is for example-a type of liberal democracy
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Rational –Legal Authority
- The legitimacy of the person who has rational-legal authority comes from the belief we have in the system of government.
- For example in the United States, the president is seen as legitimate because he was elected. We the citizens of the United States place a lot of legitimacy in the democratic system because we believe in the rational and legal aspects of it (as well as the democratic nature of the it). The president has mostly rational-legal authority.
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Traditional authority
- Traditional authority - is the authority of “eternal yesterday.” It rests on an “established belief in the sanctity of immemorial traditions” (ibid.:215). This is the rule of kings and tribal chieftains.
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Traditional authority
- When Kings and Queens or the Pope has legitimate authority it is because people believe in the tradition of bloodlines (royalty) or the election of the Pope as God’s will. This is how things have always been done and they are not questioned.
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Charismatic authority
- Charismatic - demands for obedience are legitimated by the leader’s “gift of grace,” which is demonstrated through extraordinary feats, acts of heroism, or revelations—in short, miracles. Like traditional authority, loyalty is owed to the person and not to an office or bureaucratic position.
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Charismatic Legitimacy
- Charismatic leaders are obeyed due to their character, not the system they uphold. In fact many of the great leaders came to power because people believed that they had special powers. Many dictators are seem as charismatic leaders, this is how they got the support of the people to begin with.
- Fidel Castro or Hitler are examples of charismatic leaders.
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A little bit of all three types of legitimacy
In reality we know that people get to and maintain power through all of these types legitimate authority.
For example, even though Obama is the upholder of a democratic system and his power rests on a legal-rational authority, it was his charisma that got him elected in the first place and what allows him to effect change.
Here is a great synopsis