163-410: A warlord is a military leader. Warlord , War Lord or Warlords may also refer to: Warlord Warlords are groups of individuals who exercise military , economic , and political control over a region , often one without a strong central or national government , typically through informal control over local armed forces . Warlords have existed throughout much of history, albeit in
326-673: A 1973 coup , which resulted in the April Revolution of 1978 . Historically, power in Afghanistan has been decentralized and governance delegated locally to ethnic tribal leadership. Tribal leaders often act as local warlords, representing either a tribal confederacy, a tribal kinship group or a smaller tribal lineage grouping, and are expected to provide security , justice and social services to their respective "constituencies". There are four dominant ethnic tribes in Afghanistan ( Pashtuns , Tajiks , Hazaras , and Uzbeks ), as well as
489-499: A Protestant perspective to the political debate regarding the social question . In the same year, the Verein established a research program to examine the Ostflucht , which was the western migration of ethnically German agricultural labourers from eastern Germany and the corresponding influx of Polish farm workers into it. Weber was put in charge of the study and wrote a large part of
652-536: A sovereign state to the rest of the world. This opened up Georgia and Tajikistan as states eligible to receive international aid , which thereafter became a major source of " rent " for the warlords, providing them with resources to increase their power and influence over these societies. As Driscoll observed, the "warlords colluded to create a state". One political theory, pioneered by American economist Mancur Olson , posits that warlords can function as stationary bandits. In some African states, warlord politics can be
815-499: A biography of her late husband in 1926 which became one of the central historical accounts of his life. Weber's sociology treated social action as its central focus. He also interpreted it as having been an important part of the field's scientific nature. He divided social action into the four categories of affectional , traditional , instrumental, and value-rational action . In his methodology, he distinguished himself from Émile Durkheim and Karl Marx in that his primary focus
978-522: A breakdown after his father died following an argument. Weber ceased teaching and travelled until the early 1900s. He recovered and wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism . During the First World War , he initially supported Germany's war effort but became critical of it and supported democratisation. He also gave the lectures " Science as a Vocation " and " Politics as a Vocation ". After
1141-521: A central government that is unable to establish a monopoly over the use of force within its national territory. As political scientist Dr. Ariel Hernandez documented, one example is the Philippines , where successive presidential administrations—at least since Ferdinand Marcos secured power in 1965—have "franchised violence to regional warlords" to counter the inroads of communist insurgents , Islamic rebels and organized criminal gangs . This has led to
1304-518: A cold and needed to cancel classes. By 14 June 1920, the cold had turned into influenza and he died of pneumonia in Munich. He had likely contracted the Spanish flu during the post-war pandemic and been subjected to insufficient medical care. Else von Richthofen, who was present by his deathbed alongside his wife, thought that he could have survived his illness if he had been given better treatment. His body
1467-570: A combination of their basis in natural law and the rising kulak class manipulating them for their own gain. His general interpretation of the Russian Revolution was that it lacked a clear leader and was not based on the Russian intellectuals' goals. Instead, it was the result of the peasants' emotional passions. In 1909, having become increasingly dissatisfied with the political conservatism and perceived lack of methodological discipline of
1630-552: A highly critical essay on the aristocracy in England, "Piracy and war gave place to trade, politics and letters; the ' war-lords to the law-lord; the privilege was kept, whilst the means of obtaining it were changed." During the First World War , the term appeared in China as Junfa ( 軍閥 ), taken from the Japanese gunbatsu . It was not widely used until the 1920s, when it was used to describe
1793-647: A law student, later studying at the Royal Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin and the University of Göttingen . He practiced law and worked as a lecturer simultaneously with his studies. In 1886, Weber passed the Referendar examination, which was comparable to the bar association examination in the British and U.S. legal systems. Throughout the late 1880s, he continued to study law and history. Under
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#17328527170061956-661: A lecture titled " Politics as a Vocation ", which commented on the subject of politics. It was prompted by the early Weimar Republic 's political turmoil and was requested by the Free Student Youth. Shortly before he left to join the delegation in Versailles on 13 May 1919, Weber used his connections with the German National People's Party 's deputies to meet with Erich Ludendorff . He spent several hours unsuccessfully trying to convince Ludendorff to surrender himself to
2119-486: A means for war and state making. He argues that the monopoly of crime by the state—in this case being the warlords—is in order to receive protection from external rivals as well as internal political rivals. Political scientist Jesse Driscoll uses the term "redistribution politics" to classify the bargaining process between warlords and the regime in states where cooperative warlord politics prevails, and when that bargaining leads to accords or informal arrangements concerning
2282-532: A number of local warlords with infamous reputations, such as Zhang Zongchang . Although Chiang Kai-shek ascended with legitimacy into his role of leadership of the KMT by succeeding Sun Yat-sen and was recognized by foreign nations, Chiang was accused by some of being a warlord because of his rise by military campaign. The two-year Northern Expedition campaign (1926–28) not only defeated the Beiyang Army but also toppled
2445-553: A number of proportionally smaller tribes. The Pashtuns are the largest and most dominant ethnic tribe in the country, whose name translates to "Land of the Pashtuns". The Durand Line , which forms the border between modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, has proved a source of contention in Afghanistan and a source of challenge for the tribal authorities of Afghanistan. The line, which was negotiated between British diplomat and civil servant Mortimer Durand and Afghan Emir Abdur Khan ,
2608-645: A personal chronology that his widow later destroyed. Its destruction was possibly caused by Marianne's fear that his work would have been discredited by the Nazis if his experience with mental illness were widely known. After recovering from his illness, Weber accepted a position as an associate editor of the Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik ( Archive for Social Science and Social Policy ) in 1904, alongside his colleagues Edgar Jaffé and Werner Sombart. It facilitated his reintroduction to academia and became one of
2771-739: A plethora of businessmen—local and foreign—who were bent on making money in Liberia and disregarded UN disapproval. Taylor was detained by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2006 after a period of enforced exile in Nigeria. He was found guilty in April 2012 of all 11 charges levied by the Special Court, including terror, murder and rape. In May 2012 he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Local warlords with their own militias began to emerge in
2934-516: A previously vacant chair in political economy that he had been in consideration for since October 1917. Later, in Munich , he was appointed to Lujo Brentano 's chair in social science, economic history, and political economy. He accepted the appointment in order to be closer to his mistress, Else von Richthofen. Responding to student requests, he gave a series of lectures on economic history. The student transcriptions of it were later edited and published as
3097-502: A product of endowment-rich, extractable resources. Some nations, such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, have had stationary bandits who use extraction of resources such as diamonds, cobalt and timber (" conflict resources ") in order to increase their political power. They often enforce their right to these resources by claiming to be protecting the people. These warlords, or stationary bandits, often partner with compliant foreign firms and create symbiotic relationships to yield greater power for
3260-597: A professor. His condition forced him seek an exemption from his teaching obligations, which he was granted in 1899. He spent time in the Heilanstalt für Nervenkranke Konstanzer Hof in 1898 and in a different sanatorium in Bad Urach in 1900. Weber also travelled to Corsica and Italy between 1899 and 1903 in order to alleviate his illness. He fully withdrew from teaching in 1903 and did not return to it until 1918. Weber thoroughly described his ordeal with mental illness in
3423-546: A psychological justification for it in the form of the cycle of reincarnation . A person's position in the caste order was thought to have been determined by one's actions in their past life. As a result, advancement of the soul and obeying the predetermined order were more important than seeking advancement in the material world, including economic advancement. Weber ended his research of society and religion in India by bringing in insights from his previous work on China to discuss
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#17328527170063586-497: A relationship and semi-engagement with Emmy Baumgarten, the daughter of Hermann Baumgarten. Afterwards, he began a relationship with his distant cousin Marianne Schnitger in 1893 and married her on 20 September of that year. The marriage gave Weber financial independence, allowing him to leave his parents' household. They had no children. Marianne was a feminist activist and an author in her own right. Academically, between
3749-522: A result of its creation of a worldly perspective. As a result, the inheritors of that system were entrapped in a socioeconomic iron cage. Weber's work in the field of sociology of religion began with the book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism . It continued with the book series The Economic Ethics of the World Religions , which contained The Religion of China , The Religion of India , and Ancient Judaism . However, his work
3912-641: A result of the collapse of empires . Warlord states are disproportionately concentrated within two regions—the former European colonies of Africa and the former Soviet republics of Eurasia. While warlords are commonly viewed as regional leaders who threaten the sovereignty of a state, there are a number of states where the central government functions in collusion with warlords to achieve its goal of exercising its sovereignty over regions that would otherwise fall outside its control. In such decentralized states, particularly those where armed groups challenge national sovereignty , warlords can serve as useful allies of
4075-585: A scholar. Weber also began a sadomasochistic affair with Else von Richthofen the next year. Meanwhile, she was simultaneously conducting an affair with his brother, Alfred . Max Weber's affairs with Richtofen and Mina Tobler lasted until his death in 1920. After the war ended, Weber unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Weimar National Assembly in January 1919 as a member of the liberal German Democratic Party , which he had co-founded. He also advised
4238-456: A seminar that contained a discussion of Oswald Spengler 's The Decline of the West . Weber respected him and privately described him as having been "a very brilliant and scholarly dilettante". That seminar provoked some of his students, who knew Spengler personally, to suggest that he debate Spengler alongside other scholars. They met in the Munich town hall and debated for two days. The audience
4401-475: A sign of salvation were representative of ascetic Protestantism. Ascetic Protestants practiced inner-worldly asceticism and sought to change the world to better reflect their beliefs. The notion of a religious calling, when combined with predestination , meant that each individual had to take action to prove their salvation to themselves. However, the success that these religious principles created ultimately removed them as an influence on modern capitalism as
4564-909: A situation when the recognized central power had collapsed, such as in the Great Interregnum in Germany (1254–78), in France during the Hundred Years' War after the Battle of Poitiers , or in the Kingdom of Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence . Free company mercenary captains, such as Sir John Hawkwood , Roger de Flor of Catalan Company or Hugh Calveley , could be considered warlords. Several condottieri in Italy can also be classified as warlords. Ygo Gales Galama
4727-424: A theological or ethical lens, he interpreted it through a social one. Furthermore, he incorporated Friedrich Nietzsche 's concept of Ressentiment into his discussion of the topic. However, Weber disagreed with Nietzsche's emotional discussion of the topic and his interpretation of it as having been a Jewish-derived expression of slave morality . Weber divided theodicy into three main types: Weber defined
4890-552: A universal God became more popular and desirable. In The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism , Weber focused on those aspects of Chinese society that were different from those of Western Europe, especially those aspects that contrasted with Puritanism . As part of that, he questioned why capitalism had not developed in China. He focused on the issues of Chinese urban development, Chinese patrimonialism and officialdom and Chinese religion and philosophy – primarily Confucianism and Taoism – as
5053-467: A value-free organisation. Ultimately, that prompted his resignation from it. Rationalisation was a central theme in Weber's scholarship. This theme was situated in the larger context of the relationship between psychological motivations, cultural values, cultural beliefs, and the structure of the society. Weber understood rationalisation as having resulted in increasing knowledge, growing impersonality, and
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5216-539: A variety of different capacities within the political, economic, and social structure of states or ungoverned territories . The term is often applied in the context of China around the end of the Qing dynasty , especially during the Warlord Era . The term may also be used for a supreme military leader . The first appearance of the word "warlord" dates to 1856, when used by American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson in
5379-480: A variety of other contributions to economic sociology , political sociology , and the sociology of religion . After his death, the rise of Weberian scholarship was slowed by the Weimar Republic 's political instability and the rise of Nazi Germany . In the post-war era, organised scholarship began to appear, led by Talcott Parsons . Other American and British scholars were also involved in its development. Over
5542-415: Is a schematic that represents a social action and considers the role of meaning in it. By its nature, it was an exaggeration of an empirical situation through its assumption that the involved individuals were rational, had complete situational knowledge, were completely aware of the situation, were completely aware of their actions, and made no errors. This was then contrasted with empirical reality, allowing
5705-560: Is common in periphery regions of countries which do not have a strong central government. Modern-day Afghanistan is a multiethnic, multilingual country inhabited by distinct and often competing tribal societies, its national borders defined only following the Treaty of Rawalpindi of 1919 between the United Kingdom and the Emirate of Afghanistan . Afghanistan was briefly a democratic state until
5868-463: Is through the lens of history. Warlordism was a widespread, dominant political framework that ordered many of the world's societies until the modern state became globally ubiquitous. Often warlord governance in pre-modern state history was constructed along tribal or kinship lines and was congruent with early perception of " nation ". In colonial empires warlords served in both cooperative political capacities and as leaders of rebellions. In modern states
6031-528: Is viewed by Pashtun leaders as a threat to their dominance within Afghanistan, emboldening rival ethnic tribes, and has provoked cross-border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. While having significant political, economic and social impact on Afghanistan, the intervention of the Soviet Union (1979–89), Afghan Civil War (1989–96), Taliban regime (1996–2001, 2021–present) and United States invasion and occupation (2001–2021) have not noticeably disrupted
6194-487: The Methodenstreit . In the first chapter of Economy and Society , he argued that only individuals "can be treated as agents in a course of subjectively understandable action". Despite the term's usage of "individualism", Weber did not interpret the individual as being the true source for sociological explanations. Instead, while only individuals could engage in intentional action, they were not necessarily separate from
6357-585: The Verein , he co-founded the German Sociological Association ( Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie ) and served as its first treasurer. Weber associated the society with the Verein and viewed the two organisations as not having been competitors. He unsuccessfully tried to steer the direction of the association. As part of that, Weber tried to make the Archiv its official journal. He resigned from his position as treasurer in 1912. That
6520-548: The General Economic History by Siegmund Hellmann [ de ] and Melchior Palyi [ de ] in 1923. In terms of politics, he opposed the pardoning of the Bavarian Minister-President Kurt Eisner 's murderer, Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley . In response to that, right-wing students disrupted his classes and protested in front of his home. In early 1920, Weber gave
6683-540: The Allies . This debate also shifted to other subjects, such as who was culpable for Germany's defeat in the war. Weber thought that the German high command had failed, while Ludendorff regarded Weber as a democrat who was partially responsible for the revolution. Weber tried to disabuse him of that notion by expressing support for a democratic system with a strong executive. Since he held Ludendorff responsible for Germany's defeat in
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6846-607: The Ancien Régime , the French Revolution and democratization in Europe, that commitment was contingent upon a bargaining process in which the king or queen had to guarantee additional territory, revenue, status or other privileges, meaning that these early European states were weak and the relationship between the crown and feudal lords constituted the form of interdependent warlordism known as cooperative warlord politics. Under
7009-689: The Beiyang government . Chiang also conquered and conscripted the forces of rival warlords in the Central Plains War of 1930. This war essentially ended the Warlord Era, albeit with the continuing autonomy of several provinces. After the fall of the Mongol Empire , Mongolia was divided between the Eastern and Western Mongols . At the time of disintegration, many warlords tried to enthrone themselves or rule
7172-723: The Middle Ages and up into the Early Modern period ; such examples include Brian Boru of Ireland and Guthrum of the Danelaw , who was the commander of the Great Heathen Army and nearly conquered all of England, Alfred of Anglo-Saxon England , first man to unify the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Europe, although it would not be completed until Edward the Elder 's reign, in which he conquered
7335-542: The National-Social Association , which was a Christian socialist and nationalist political organisation. Weber was pessimistic regarding the association's ability to succeed, and it dissolved after winning a single seat in the Reichstag during the 1903 German federal election . In 1896, he accepted an appointment to a chair in economics and finance at Heidelberg University . There, Weber and his wife became
7498-467: The Near East , with the exemplary prophecies found in mainland Asia that focused more on reaching to the educated elites and enlightening them on the proper ways to live one's life, usually with little emphasis on hard work and the material world. It was those differences that prevented Western countries from following the paths of the earlier Chinese and Indian civilisations. His next work, Ancient Judaism ,
7661-560: The Warlord Era lasted until the Kuomintang (KMT; Chinese Nationalist Party) consolidated its rule over much of the country under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in 1928. Among the prominent leaders called warlords were Yan Xishan in Shanxi province, Feng Yuxiang , and Wu Peifu , who had reputations as reformers; Zhang Zuolin , who ruled in Manchuria until the Japanese invasion of 1931; and
7824-669: The khanate jointly; however, there had been powerful de facto leaders in all parts of the Mongol Empire before. The empire and the states that emerged from it were born and shaped in part from the heavy influence of roving bandits. These warlords, such as Genghis Khan and his immediate successors, conquered nearly all of Asia and European Russia. Roving bandits, contrary to the concept of stationary bandits offered by Mancur Olson , extract from region to region and stay mobile. Warlords in Mongolia could be characterized by this title because of
7987-704: The textile industry . Over time, Weber was affected by the marital and personality tensions between his father, who enjoyed material pleasures while overlooking religious and philanthropic causes, and his mother, a devout Calvinist and philanthropist. Weber entered the Doebbelinsche Privatschule in Charlottenburg in 1870, before attending the Kaiserin-Augusta-Gymnasium between 1872 and 1882. While in class, bored and unimpressed with his teachers, Weber secretly read all forty volumes by
8150-425: The 1990s. Liberia's former president Charles Taylor was indicted as a diamond -embezzling warlord who aided and abetted African rebels who committed heinous atrocities against millions of African people. After seizing power from President Samuel Doe in a rebellion, Taylor won elections in 1997 . His critics say that he bullied and bought his way to power, and once he obtained it he established himself as one of
8313-854: The Congress of Arts and Sciences that was held in connection with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis alongside his wife, Werner Sombart, Ernst Troeltsch, and other German scholars. Taking advantage of the fair, the Webers embarked on a trip that began and ended in New York City and lasted for almost three months. They travelled throughout the country, from New England to the Deep South . Different communities were visited, including German immigrant towns and African American communities. North Carolina
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#17328527170068476-887: The Emperor and the Pope" and "About the Roman Imperial Period from Constantine to the Migration Period". Two years later, also during Christmastime, he wrote another historical essay, "Observations on the Ethnic Character, Development, and History of the Indo-European Nations". These three essays were non-derivative contributions to the philosophy of history and were derived from Weber's reading of "numerous sources". In 1882, Weber enrolled in Heidelberg University as
8639-409: The Jewish people as having been a pariah people, which meant that they were separated from the society that contained them. He examined the ancient Jewish people's origins and social structures. In his view, the Israelites maintained order through a covenant with the war god Yahweh and the practice of warrior asceticism. Under Solomon , that changed into a more organised and law-based society than
8802-474: The Middle Ages, Based on Southern European Documents , which he published in the same year. Two years later, Weber worked with the statistician August Meitzen to complete his habilitation , a post-doctoral thesis, titled Roman Agrarian History and Its Significance for Public and Private Law . Having thus become a Privatdozent , Weber joined the faculty of the Royal Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin, lecturing, conducting research, and consulting for
8965-431: The Mongol Empire's lack of definitive borders and consistent expansion and conquest during the 13th and 14th centuries. The Twelve Warlords War was a period ranging from 966–968 characterized by chaos and civil war. The reason this period received the title of "Twelve Warlords War", or Anarchy of the 12 Warlords , is because of the struggle for power after the illegitimate succession to the throne by Dương Tam Kha after
9128-415: The National Assembly in its drafting of the Weimar Constitution . While he was campaigning for his party, Weber critiqued the left and complained about Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg who led the leftist Spartacus League . He regarded the German Revolution of 1918–1919 as having been responsible for Germany's inability to fight against Poland 's claims on its eastern territories. His opposition to
9291-450: The Puritans' religious calling to work caused them to systematically obtain wealth. They wished to prove that they were members of the elect who were destined to go to Heaven. Weber used Benjamin Franklin 's personal ethic, as described in his " Advice to a Young Tradesman ", as an example of the Protestant sects' economic ethic. Both rationalisation and the ideal type , concepts that later became central to his scholarship, appeared in
9454-428: The Spirit of Capitalism is Weber's most famous work. It was his first work on how religions affected economic systems' development. In the book, he put forward the thesis that the Protestant work ethic , which was derived from the theological ideas of the Reformation , influenced the development of capitalism. Weber was looking for elective affinities between the Protestant work ethic and capitalism. He argued that
9617-422: The Transbaikalia region, and the 'Bloody Baron' Ungern von Sternberg was the dictator of Mongolia for a short time. Meanwhile, generals such as Kolchak or Denikin are typically not considered warlords as they created more stable military and governing structures that claimed legitimacy from the prewar Tsarist state. The term "warlord" was frequently used when Russian and Chechen conflicts were reignited in
9780-549: The areas in which Chinese development significantly differed from the European route. According to Weber, Confucianism and Puritanism were superficially similar, but were actually largely different from one another. Instead, they were mutually exclusive types of rational thought , each attempting to prescribe a way of life based on religious dogma. Notably, they both valued self-control and restraint and did not oppose accumulation of wealth. However, both of those qualities were simply means to different final goals. Confucianism's goal
9943-403: The behavior of citizens within a particular geographical space". Driscoll termed this warlordism "militia coalition politics". A truce was reached without any disarmament of militias; instead, the warlord coalitions reached a non-violent "order producing equilibrium", and eventually agreed upon a warlord-friendly civilian figurehead to assume head-of-state duties to demonstrate the legitimacy as
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#173285271700610106-576: The belief in supernatural interference in the material world. Due to disenchantment, this gave way to rational and scientific explanations for events. According to the Sociology of Religion religious activity began with actions in the material world that people associated with vague spirits and gave magical meanings to. Over time, these magical beliefs became increasingly systemised and the spirits became gods that were represented by symbols. This increasing theological systemisation resulted in polytheism and organised religion . Increasing rationality caused
10269-426: The calling quickly gave to the modern entrepreneur a fabulously clear conscience – and also industrious workers; he gave to his employees as the wages of their ascetic devotion to the calling and of co-operation in his ruthless exploitation of them through capitalism the prospect of eternal salvation. —Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism , 1905. The Protestant Ethic and
10432-492: The case needed to be dealt with by bourgeois reformers who were not "derailed". A year later, also in spring, he again holidayed in Ascona. The community contained several different expressions of the then-contemporaneous radical political and lifestyle reform movements. They included naturism , free love , and Western esotericism , among others. Weber was critical of the anarchist and erotic movements in Ascona, as he viewed their fusion as having been politically absurd. After
10595-438: The case, as that is determined by those value ideas in the light of which we look at "culture" in each individual case. —Max Weber in "The 'Objectivity' of Knowledge in Social Science and Social Policy", 1904. In terms of methodology, Weber was primarily concerned with the question of objectivity and subjectivity , distinguishing social action from social behavior and noting that social action must be understood through
10758-474: The central figures in the eponymous Weber Circle , which included Georg Jellinek , Ernst Troeltsch , and Werner Sombart . Younger scholars, such as György Lukács and Robert Michels , also joined it. In 1897, Weber had a severe quarrel with his father. Weber Sr. died two months later, leaving the argument unresolved. Afterwards, Weber became increasingly prone to depression, nervousness, and insomnia , which made it difficult for him to fulfill his duties as
10921-408: The central government is unable to extend political, military or bureaucratic control over large swaths of territories outside the capital—functions cooperatively within the framework of the state, at times. The warlords, with their established militias, are able to maintain a monopoly of violence within certain territories. They form coalitions with competing warlords and local tribal leaders to present
11084-502: The central government with a challenge, and often the state will bargain to gain access to resources or " rent ", loyalty from the warlord and peace in the region. In exchange for peaceful coexistence, the warlord coalitions are granted special status and privileges, including the right to maintain de facto political rule within the agreed-upon territory, exert force to retain their monopoly over violence and extract rent and resources. "By limiting access to these privileges, members of
11247-407: The chaos after 1918, when provincial military leaders took local control and launched the period that would come to be known in China as the Warlord Era . In China, Junfa is applied retroactively to describe the leaders of regional armies who threatened or used violence to expand their rule, including those who rose to lead and unify kingdoms. The other major consideration in categorizing warlords
11410-426: The children in Heidelberg or move closer to Geheeb's Odenwaldschule ("Odenwald School") so that he could be alone in Munich with his mistress, Else von Richthofen . He left the decision to Marianne, but she said that only he could make the decision to leave for himself. While this was occurring, Weber began to believe that own life had reached its end. On 4 June 1920, Weber's students were informed that he had
11573-423: The choosing of values. With regards to economics, he argued that productivity was not a useful scientific concept, as it could impede the proper evaluation of economic phenomena. The principle of methodological individualism, which holds that social scientists should seek to understand collectivities solely as the result of individual people's actions, can be traced to Weber. The term "methodological individualism"
11736-486: The classification of legitimate authority into three ideal types – rational-legal , traditional , and charismatic – of which rational-legal was the dominant one in the modern world. In these works, Weber described what he saw as society's movement towards rationalisation. Bureaucratic states justified themselves through their own rationality and were supported by expert knowledge which made them rational. Rationalisation could also be seen in
11899-488: The classroom. He first articulated it in his writings on scientific philosophy, including "The 'Objectivity' of Knowledge in Social Science and Social Policy" and "Science as a Vocation". Weber was influenced by Heinrich Rickert 's concept of value-relevance. Rickert used it to relate historical objects to values while maintaining objectivity through explicitly defined conceptual distinctions. However, Weber disagreed with
12062-504: The collective group. He interpreted methodological individualism as having had close proximity to verstehende ("interpretive") sociology, as actions could be interpreted subjectively. Similarly, it was also related to ideal types in that it involved discussions of abstract and rational models of human behaviour. The ideal type was a central concept in Weber's methodology. He interpreted them as having been indispensable for it. Due their taking of meaning into account, they are unique to
12225-508: The completion of his dissertation and habilitation, Weber took an interest in contemporary social policy . He joined the Verein für Socialpolitik ("Association for Social Policy") in 1888. The Verein was an organisation of reformist thinkers who were generally members of the historical school of economics . He also involved himself in politics, participating in the founding of the left-leaning Evangelical Social Congress in 1890. It applied
12388-479: The context of wider debates about social scientific methodology. The first of which was the Methodenstreit ("method dispute"). His position in it was close to historicism , as he thought that social actions were heavily tied to particular historical contexts. Furthermore, analysing social actions required an understanding of the relevant individuals' subjective motivations. Therefore, his methodology emphasised
12551-463: The country outside of Kabul. While most warlords have power vested in them through traditional tribal customs, some hold formal regional government positions, but in both cases cooperation with the central government remains voluntary and reliant on incentives. Beginning in 2008, as it became increasingly evident that the central government in Kabul was incapable of extending its power and control to much of
12714-934: The country, the US military and diplomatic corps began exploring the option of engaging ethnic tribal warlords in negotiations, a strategy that continued through the Obama administration. Warlordism was widespread in Civil War-era Russia (1918–22). Many territories were not under the control of either the Red government in Petrograd (later in Moscow) or the White governments in Omsk and Rostov . These territories were controlled by warlords of various political colors. The Cossack ataman Semyonov held territories in
12877-414: The course of the twentieth century, Weber's reputation rose due to the publication of translations of his works and scholarly interpretations of his life and works. As a result of these works, he began to be regarded as a founding father of sociology, alongside Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim , and one of the central figures in the development of the social sciences more generally. Maximilian Carl Emil Weber
13040-414: The creation of capitalism became unnecessary and it became able to propagate itself without them. What Weber depicted was not only the secularisation of Western culture , but also and especially the development of modern societies from the viewpoint of rationalisation. The new structures of society were marked by the differentiation of the two functionally intermeshing systems that had taken shape around
13203-507: The death of Ngô Quyền . The ensuing two years were marked by local warlords rebelling in order to seize power within their local governments and challenging the Dương court. As a result, the country fractured into 12 regions, each led by a warlord. Warlordism in Europe is usually connected to various mercenary companies and their chieftains, which often were de facto powerholders in the areas where they resided. Such free companies would arise in
13366-402: The development of Western monotheism, which resulted in groups focusing on specific gods for political and economic purposes, creating a universal religion. According to Weber, Protestantism encouraged an increased pursuit of rationality that led to the devaluing of itself. In turn, this devaluation led to nihilism through its destruction of unifying values. The development of the concept of
13529-402: The development of capitalism in the West and the absence of it in China. In The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism , Weber dealt with the structure of Indian society, with the orthodox doctrines of Hinduism and the heterodox doctrines of Buddhism , with modifications brought by the influence of popular religiosity and finally with the impact of religious beliefs on
13692-420: The dominant warlord coalition create credible incentives to cooperate rather than fight among themselves." In the case of Afghanistan, state–warlord bargaining sometimes extends beyond these informal accords and elevates to the status of political clientelism , in which the warlords are appointed to formal government positions, such as regional governor; a title which provides them political legitimacy . During
13855-430: The economy, with the development of a highly rational and calculating capitalism. Capitalism's rationality related to its basis in calculation, which separated it from alternative forms of economic organisation. State bureaucracy and capitalism served as the twin pillars of the developing rational society. These changes eliminated the preexisting traditions that relied on the trades. Weber also saw rationalisation as one of
14018-571: The effort to defeat the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s as the Manchu bannerman armies faltered and the central authorities lost much of their control. The Republic of China was led by Yuan Shikai , a dictator. The modern Warlord Era began in 1916 upon his death. The national government existed and handled foreign affairs, but it had little internal control until the late 1920s. A period of provincial and local rule under military strongmen known as
14181-439: The enhanced control of social and material life. He was ambivalent towards rationalisation. Weber admitted that it was responsible for many advances, particularly freeing humans from traditional, restrictive, and illogical social guidelines. However, he also criticised it for dehumanising individuals as "cogs in the machine" and curtailing their freedom, trapping them in the iron cage of rationality and bureaucracy. His studies of
14344-402: The event's romantic atmosphere. After he spoke at the first one, he became involved in the planning for the second one, as Diederichs thought that the conferences needed someone who could serve as an oppositional figure. In this capacity, he argued against the political romanticism that Max Maurenbrecher , a former theologian, espoused. Weber also opposed what he saw as the excessive rhetoric of
14507-579: The extraction of rent—which can refer to natural resources, territory, labor, revenue or privilege. In his study of warlordism in Georgia and Tajikistan, Driscoll cites " land reform , property ownership and transfers, privatization in non-transparent closed-bid settings, complex credit swaps cemented via marriages, money laundering , price-fixing schemes , and bribery", as principal sources of exchange in redistribution politics. Noted theorist Max Weber suggested that classic feudalism in pre-modern-state Europe
14670-435: The feudal system of Europe, nobility—whether feudal lords, knights, princes or barons—were warlords in that they served as regional leaders who exercised military, economic and political control over subnational territories and maintained private armies to maintain that status. While their political power to exercise social order, welfare and regional defense within their territory was derived from hereditary rights or edicts from
14833-600: The final report, which generated considerable attention and controversy, marking the beginning of his renown as a social scientist. From 1893 to 1899, Weber was a member of the Pan-German League ( Alldeutscher Verband ), an organisation that campaigned against the influx of Polish workers. The degree of his support for the Germanisation of Poles and similar nationalist policies continues to be debated by scholars. Weber and his wife moved to Freiburg in 1894, where he
14996-531: The formation of at least 93 "Partisan Armed Groups", armed militias loyal to regional warlords who, in exchange for their loyalty and willingness to use their private armies to quell the threats from these opposition groups, are granted a degree of autonomy within designated regions, the exclusive right to use violence and the right "to profit from the 'economy of violence' that they establish in their own areas". Warlordism in Afghanistan—another state where
15159-537: The government. Weber's years as a university student were dotted with several periods of military service, the longest of which lasted between October 1883 and September 1884. During this time, he was in Strasbourg and attended classes at the University of Strasbourg that his uncle, the historian Hermann Baumgarten , taught. Weber befriended Baumgarten and he influenced Weber's growing liberalism and criticism of Otto von Bismarck 's domination of German politics. He
15322-567: The human mind would, "objectively" speaking, be less law-like, but for the following two reasons: (1) knowledge of social laws does not constitute knowledge of social reality, but is only one of the various tools that our intellect needs for that [latter] purpose; (2) knowledge of cultural occurrences is only conceivable if it takes as its point of departure the significance that the reality of life, with its always individual character, has for us in certain particular respects. No law can reveal to us in what sense and in what respects this will be
15485-473: The idea that a scholar could maintain objectivity while ascribing to a hierarchy of values in the way that Rickert did, however. His argument regarding value-freedom was connected to his involvement in the Werturteilsstreit . As part of it, he argued in favour of the idea that the social sciences needed to be value-free. During it, he unsuccessfully tried to turn the German Sociological Association into
15648-430: The importance of societal class within religion by examining the difference between the theodicies of fortune and misfortune and to what class structures they apply. The theodicy of fortune related to the desire of those who were successful to prove that they deserved it. They were also prone to not being satisfied with what they already had and wished to avoid the notion that they were illegitimate or sinful. Those without
15811-412: The importance of subjectivity in the social sciences made the creation of fool-proof, universal laws much more difficult than in the natural sciences and that the amount of objective knowledge that social sciences were able to create was limited. Overall, he supported objective science as a goal worth striving for but noted that it was ultimately an unreachable goal. Weber's methodology was developed in
15974-407: The intermediatory steps of polytheism , pantheism , and monotheism . According to him, this was the result of growing economic stability, which allowed for professionalisation and the evolution of an increasingly sophisticated priesthood. As societies grew more complex and encompassed different groups, a hierarchy of gods developed. Meanwhile, as their power became more centralised, the concept of
16137-679: The last remnants of the Danelaw. Other countries and territories with warlords include, Iraq, Myanmar ( Wa State ), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan ( Pashtun Tribal Areas ), Syria and Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshan). Other areas include the eastern part of Ukraine, Lebanon, South Sudan, Mexico, Colombia, and Haiti. Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber ( / ˈ v eɪ b ər / ; German: [maks ˈveːbɐ] ; 21 April 1864 – 14 June 1920)
16300-437: The main factors that set the West apart from the rest of the world. He also applied rationalisation to music in his The Rational and Social Foundations of Music . In writing it, he was influenced by his affair with the pianist Mina Tobler [ de ] and a sense that Western music was the only type that had become harmonic, while other cultures' music was more intense and focused on hearing. Weber argued that music
16463-500: The monarch, their military strength afforded them independence and strength to negotiate for privileges. Should the feudal lord or other noble withdraw his support from the king , either in rebellion or to form an alliance with a rival kingdom , that feudal lord or noble was now ascribing to the political order of ungoverned warlordism. Within political science there is a growing body of research and analysis on warlordism that has emerged within weak states that have gained independence as
16626-578: The most brutal and murderous warlords in Africa. During his term of office Taylor was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a result of his involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002). His close friends included the late Col. Muammar Gaddafi of Libya; the conservative former ruler of Ivory Coast, Félix Houphouët-Boigny ; the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré ; and
16789-405: The most prominent social science journals as a result of his efforts. Weber published some of his most seminal works in this journal, including his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism , which became his most famous work and laid the foundations for his later research on the impact of religion on the development of economic systems. Also in 1904, he was invited to participate in
16952-424: The old confederation was. Religiously, the priests replaced the previous charismatic religious leaders. Weber thought that Elijah was the first prophet to have risen from the shepherds. Elijah promulgated political prophecies and opposed the monarchy . Weber used the concept of theodicy in his interpretation of theology and religion throughout his corpus. This involved both his scholarly and personal interests in
17115-418: The oppositional gesinnungsethik and verantwortungsethik [ de ] (the "ethic of ultimate ends" and the "ethic of responsibility"). An adherent of the verantwortungsethik justified their actions based on their consequences. Meanwhile, an adherent of the gesinnungsethik justified their actions based on their ideals. While Weber thought that both of them would ideally be present in
17278-745: The organisational cores of the capitalist enterprise and the bureaucratic state apparatus. Weber understood this process as the institutionalisation of purposive-rational economic and administrative action. To the degree that everyday life was affected by this cultural and societal rationalisation, traditional forms of life – which in the early modern period were differentiated primarily according to one's trade – were dissolved. — Jürgen Habermas in The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity: Twelve Lectures , 1990. Weber continued his investigation into this matter in later works, notably in his studies on bureaucracy and on
17441-459: The origin of modern capitalism was in the religious ideas of the Reformation. According to him, certain types of Protestantism – notably Calvinism – were supportive of the rational pursuit of economic gain and the worldly activities that were dedicated to it, seeing those activities as having been endowed with moral and spiritual significance. The spirit of capitalism
17604-509: The outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Weber volunteered for service and was appointed as a reserve officer in charge of organising the army hospitals in Heidelberg, a role he fulfilled until the end of 1915. His views on the war and the expansion of the German Empire changed over the course of the conflict. Early on, he supported the German war effort , with some hesitation, viewing
17767-518: The pedagogue Paul Geheeb ended his affair with her. Weber thought positively of it, as he thought that her suicide was justified and that suicide in general could be an honourable act. Weber and his wife took in Lili's four children and planned to raise them. He was uncomfortable with his newfound role as a father figure, but he thought that Marianne was fulfilled as a woman by this event. She later formally adopted them in 1928. Weber wished for her to stay with
17930-531: The philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey , the jurist Levin Goldschmidt , and the historian Theodor Mommsen . The young Weber and his brother Alfred , who also became a sociologist, passed their formative years in this intellectual atmosphere. Meanwhile, Fallenstein was partly descended from the French Huguenot Souchay family [ de ] , which had obtained wealth through international commerce and
18093-530: The pianist Mina Tobler [ de ] . After a failed attempt to court Richthofen, Weber began an affair with Tobler in 1911. Later, during the spring of 1913, Weber holidayed in the Monte Verità community in Ascona , Switzerland . While holidaying, he was advising Frieda Gross in her custody battle for her children. He opposed Erich Mühsam 's involvement because Mühsam was an anarchist . Weber argued that
18256-437: The presence of warlords is often seen as an indicator of state weakness or failure. American historian David G. Herrmann noted, "Warlordism is the default condition of humanity." Economist Stergios Skaperdas views warlordism as a default—albeit inefficient—competitive economic model that emerges in states where state capacity is low, but that innately evolves into an institution governing political order that uses violence or
18419-547: The primacy of ethnic tribal authority, and thus the power and influence of warlords, in ordering Afghan society. Although the United States and its coalition allies have expended a considerable amount of time, effort and resources attempting to foment the centralization of government and consolidation of power in the state with its seat of power in Kabul , tribal warlords continue to maintain political influence and power throughout
18582-538: The property or resources from the people and land and redistribute the riches in exchange for monetary value . When people live in a particular region dominated by a warlord, they can choose to flee or live within the political structure the warlords have created. If the warlords provide protection against external threats of violence, the people will be likely to stay and continue living and working in that region, even though they are being extorted . The trade-off becomes protection for extraction, and this political framework
18745-447: The religions of China , India , and ancient Judaism . In terms of government, Weber argued that states were defined by their monopoly on violence and categorised social authority into three distinct forms : charismatic , traditional , and rational-legal . He was also a key proponent of methodological antipositivism , arguing for the study of social action through interpretive rather than purely empiricist methods. Weber made
18908-775: The researcher to better understand it. However, ideal types are not direct representations of reality and Weber warned against interpreting them as such. He placed no limits on what could be analysed through the use of ideal types. Since, for him, rational methodology and science were synonymous with one another, ideal types were constructed rationally. Weber believed that social scientists needed to avoid making value-judgements. Instead, he wanted social scientific research to be value-free. This would give them objectivity, but it needed to be combined with an acknowledgement that their research connected with values in different ways. As part of his support for value-freedom, Weber opposed both instructors and students promoting their political views in
19071-495: The revolution may have prevented Friedrich Ebert , the new president of Germany and a member of the Social Democratic Party , from appointing him as a minister or ambassador. Weber was also critical of the Treaty of Versailles , which he believed unjustly assigned war guilt to Germany . Instead, he believed that many countries were guilty of starting it, not just Germany. In making this case, Weber argued that Russia
19234-510: The revolution's ability to succeed, Weber supported the establishment of a liberal democracy in Russia. He wrote two essays on it that were published in the Archiv . Weber interpreted the revolution as having been the result of the peasants' desire for land. He discussed the role of the obshchina , rural peasant communities, in Russian political debates. According to Weber, they were difficult for liberal agrarian reformers to abolish due to
19397-705: The rise of militant, independence-seeking nationalist movements within the republics —particularly within the Central Asian and Caucasus regions—resulting in armed conflict and civil war. Many strongmen warlords had served in the Soviet military , police units or intelligence services and had experience operating within highly organized bureaucracies. These warlords formed well-structured militias that not only established political and economic control over territories, but institutionalized bureaucracies to establish and maintain their monopolies over violence and rent and "incentivizing
19560-472: The sacraments or actions that proved their right to possess greater wealth. In political sociology , one of Weber's most influential contributions is his lecture " Politics as a Vocation ", in which he defined the state as an entity that was " based on the legitimate use of force ". Accordingly, Weber proposed that politics is the sharing of state power between various groups, whereas political leaders were those who wielded this power. He divided action into
19723-534: The secular ethic of Indian society. In Weber's view, Hinduism in India, like Confucianism in China, was a barrier for capitalism. The Indian caste system , which developed in post-Classical India and served as the source for legitimate social interactions, served as a key part of that. Both Hinduism and the Brahmins ' high status upheld the caste system. The Brahmins used their monopoly on education and theological authority to maintain their position, while Hinduism created
19886-580: The similarities of the Asian belief systems. He noted that these religions' believers used otherworldly mystical experiences to interpret the meaning of life. The social world was fundamentally divided between the educated elite who followed the guidance of a prophet or wise man and the uneducated masses whose beliefs are centered on magic. In Asia, there were no messianic prophecies to give both educated and uneducated followers meaning in their regular lives. Weber juxtaposed such Messianic prophecies, notably from
20049-442: The social sciences. The term "ideal type" was derived from Georg Jellinek 's use of it. Weber outlined it in " The 'Objectivity' of Knowledge in Social Science and Social Policy " and the first chapter of Economy and Society . The ideal types' three functions are the formulation of terminology, classifications, and hypotheses. The latter task was of the greatest importance of the three. In terms of their construction, an ideal type
20212-416: The social sciences. It originated with a debate in the Verein für Socialpolitik between the supporters of the idea that ethics was an important consideration in the field of economics and those who opposed it. Weber's position was that the social sciences should strive to be value-free . In his view, scholars and students needed to avoid promoting political values in the classroom. Science had no part in
20375-459: The state–warlord bargaining phase, warlords in Afghanistan have a high motivation to prolong war to create political instability, expose weakness of the central state, prompt regional criticism against the government and continue economic extraction. In his study of warlordism in Georgia and Tajikistan , political scientist Jesse Driscoll emphasizes how the collapse of the Soviet Union precipitated
20538-444: The subject began with The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism . In it, he argued that Protestantism 's – particularly Calvinism 's – redefinition of the connection between work and piety caused a shift towards rational efforts that were aimed at achieving economic gain. In Protestantism, piety towards God was expressed through one's secular vocation. The religious principles that influenced
20701-415: The subject. It was central to his conception of humanity, which he interpreted as having been connected with finding meaning. Theodicy was a popular subject of study amongst German scholars who sought to determine how a world created by an omnibenevolent and omnipotent being can contain suffering. As part of this tradition, Weber was careful in his study of the subject. Rather than interpreting it through
20864-417: The subjective relationships between individuals. According to him, the study of social action through interpretive means or verstehen ("to understand") needed to be based upon understanding the subjective meaning and purpose that individuals attached to their actions. Determining an individual's interpretation of their actions required either empathically or rationally derived evidence. Weber noted that
21027-501: The then-recent Russian Revolution of 1905 . He learned the Russian language in a few months, subscribed to Russian newspapers, and discussed Russian political and social affairs with the Russian émigré community in Heidelberg . He was personally popular in that community and twice entertained the idea of a trip to Russia . His schedule prevented it, however. While he was sceptical of
21190-418: The thesis. Rationalisation caused the West to be trapped in the stahlhartes Gehäuse ("iron cage" or "steel-hard casing") that was the modern capitalist economic order. Meanwhile, ideal types were representative figures, or case studies, that represented concepts. Christian religious devotion was historically accompanied by the rejection of mundane affairs, including economic pursuit. Weber argued that
21353-510: The threat of it to secure its access to " rent "-producing resources. It may actually have a stabilizing effect on a region. In both cases there is an inherent inefficiency in the model, as "resources are wasted on unproductive arming and fighting." However, the functionality is often sustainable because it presents citizens with no choice but to accept rent levies in exchange for protection. Charles Tilly , an American political scientist and sociologist, theorized that organized crime can function as
21516-688: The tutelage of Levin Goldschmidt and Rudolf von Gneist , Weber earned his law doctorate in 1889 by writing a dissertation on legal history titled Development of the Principle of Joint Liability and a Separate Fund of the General Partnership out of the Household Communities and Commercial Associations in Italian Cities . It was a part of a longer work, On the History of Commercial Partnerships in
21679-488: The use of comparative historical analysis . As such, he was more interested in explaining how a certain outcome was the result of various historical processes than in predicting those processes' outcome in the future. The second debate that shaped Weber's perspective on methodology was the Werturteilsstreit ("value-judgement dispute"). This debate was held between 1909 and 1914 on the subject of value-judgements in
21842-496: The war and having sent many young Germans to die on the battlefield, Weber thought that he should surrender himself and become a political martyr. However, Ludendorff was not willing to do so and instead wanted to live off of his pension. Frustrated with politics, Weber resumed teaching, first at the University of Vienna in 1918, then at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 1919. In Vienna , Weber filled
22005-500: The war as having been necessary to fulfill Germany's duty as a leading state power. In time, however, Weber became one of the most prominent critics of both German expansionism and the Kaiser's war policies . He publicly criticised Germany's potential annexation of Belgium and unrestricted submarine warfare , later supporting calls for constitutional reform, democratisation, and universal suffrage . His younger brother Karl, an architect,
22168-605: The war, Weber co-founded the German Democratic Party , unsuccessfully ran for office, and advised the drafting of the Weimar Constitution . Becoming frustrated with politics, he resumed teaching in Vienna and Munich . He died of pneumonia in 1920 at the age of 56, possibly as a result of the post-war Spanish flu pandemic. A book, Economy and Society , was left unfinished. One of Weber's main intellectual concerns
22331-475: The warlords and a source of wealth for external firms. The result is a political system in which a dominant coalition of warlords' strips and distributes valuable assets in exchange for bureaucratic services and security from foreign firms. Stationary bandits can amass power because of their economic connections with foreign firms. Oftentimes warlords will exert violence on a particular region in order to gain control. Once in control, these warlords can expropriate
22494-400: The work ethic believed in the theodicy of misfortune, believing wealth and happiness were granted in the afterlife. Another example of how this belief of religious theodicy influenced class was that those of lower economic status tended towards deep religiousness and faith as a way to comfort themselves and provide hope for a more prosperous future, while those of higher economic status preferred
22657-516: The writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . Goethe later exerted an important influence on his thought and methodology. Before entering university, he read many other classical works, including those by the philosopher Immanuel Kant . For Christmas in 1877, a thirteen-year-old Weber gifted his parents two historical essays, entitled "About the Course of German History, with Special Reference to the Positions of
22820-503: The youth groups and nationalists at Lauenstein, instead supporting German democratisation. For Weber and the younger participants, the conferences' romantic intent was irrelevant to the determination of Germany's future. In November, shortly after the second conference, Weber was invited by the Free Student Youth, a student organisation, to give a lecture in Munich, resulting in " Science as a Vocation ". In it, he argued that an inner calling and specialisation were necessary for one to become
22983-479: Was "a cultured status position", while Puritanism's goal was to create individuals who were "tools of God". According to Weber, the Puritans sought rational control of the world and rejected its irrationality while Confucians sought rational acceptance of that state of affairs. Therefore, he stated that it was the difference in social attitudes and mentality, shaped by the respective dominant religions, that contributed to
23146-690: Was a German sociologist , historian, jurist , and political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sciences more generally. His ideas continue to influence social theory and research . Born in Erfurt in 1864, Weber studied law and history in Berlin , Göttingen , and Heidelberg . After earning his doctorate in law in 1889 and habilitation in 1891, he taught in Berlin, Freiburg , and Heidelberg. He married his cousin Marianne Schnitger two years later. In 1897, he had
23309-590: Was a famous Frisian warlord, and so was his cousin Pier Gerlofs Donia , who was the leader of the Arumer Zwarte Hoop . The Imperial commanders-in-chief during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I did hold the title Kriegsherr , of which the direct translation was "warlord", but they were not warlords in the sense of the word today. Other warlords could be found in the British Isles during
23472-759: Was a member of the Burschenschaft Allemannia Heidelberg [ de ] , a Studentenverbindung ("student association"), and heavily drank beer and engaged in academic fencing during his first few years in university. As a result of the latter, he obtained several duelling scars on the left side of his face. His mother was displeased by his behaviour and slapped him after he came home when his third semester ended in 1883. However, Weber matured, increasingly supported his mother in family arguments, and grew estranged from his father. From 1887 until her declining mental health caused him to break off their relationship five years later, Weber had
23635-515: Was a political boundary drawn in 1893 which clearly defined and demarcated the border between Afghanistan and the British Raj . Afghanistan unilaterally disputes the legitimacy of the border. Pashtuns are the prominent ethnic group in eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, and the Durand Line served to split their traditional homeland between two nation states. The partitioning of their tribal lands
23798-467: Was also visited, as some of Weber's relatives in the Fallenstein family had settled there. Weber used the trip to learn more about America's social, economic, and theological conditions and how they related to his thesis. Afterwards, he felt that he was unable to resume regular teaching and remained a private scholar, helped by an inheritance in 1907. Shortly after returning, Weber's attention shifted to
23961-572: Was an attempt to prove this theory. In Ancient Judaism , Weber attempted to explain the factors that resulted in the early differences between Eastern and Western religiosity . He contrasted the innerworldly asceticism developed by Western Christianity with the mystical contemplation that developed in India. Weber noted that some aspects of Christianity sought to conquer and change the world, rather than withdraw from its imperfections. This fundamental characteristic of Christianity originally stemmed from ancient Jewish prophecy . Weber classified
24124-452: Was an example of warlordism, as the state regime was unable to "exercise a monopoly on the use of force within its territory" and the monarch relied on the commitment of loyal knights and other nobility to mobilize their private armies in support of the crown for specific military campaigns. As noted French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville and political scientists such as E. J. Hobsbawm and Theda Skocpol observed in their analyses of
24287-512: Was appointed professor of economics at the University of Freiburg . During his tenure there, in 1895, he gave a provocative lecture titled "The Nation State and Economic Policy". In it, he criticised Polish immigration and argued that the Junkers were encouraging Slavic immigration to serve their economic interests over those of the German nation. It influenced the politician Friedrich Naumann to create
24450-505: Was becoming increasingly rational. In his view, that resulted from new developments in musical instrument construction and simultaneous socio-economic shifts of the different instruments' players. The process of disenchantment caused the world to become more explained and less mystical, moving from polytheistic religions to monotheistic ones and finally to the Godless science of modernity . Older explanations of why events occurred relied on
24613-642: Was born on 21 April 1864 in Erfurt , Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, but his family moved to Berlin in 1869. He was the oldest of Max Weber Sr. and Helene Fallenstein's eight children. Over the course of his life, Weber Sr. held posts as a lawyer, civil servant, and parliamentarian for the National Liberal Party in the Prussian Landtag and German Reichstag . His involvement in public life immersed his home in both politics and academia, as his salon welcomed scholars and public figures such as
24776-417: Was caused by his support for value-freedom in the social sciences, as that was a controversial position in the association. Weber – alongside Simmel, Sombart, and Tönnies – placed an abbreviated form of it into the association's statutes, prompting criticism from its other members. In the same year, Weber and his wife befriended a former student of his, Else von Richthofen , and
24939-514: Was coined in 1908 by the Austrian-American economist Joseph Schumpeter as a way of referring to Weber's views on how to explain social phenomena. While his research interests placed a strong emphasis on interpreting economic history , Weber's support of methodological individualism represented a break with the historical school and an agreement with the Austrian school's founder, Carl Menger, in
25102-705: Was cremated in the Munich Ostfriedhof after a secular ceremony, and the urn that contained his ashes was later buried in the Heidelberg Bergfriedhof [ de ] in 1921. The funeral service was attended by his students, including Eduard Baumgarten [ de ] and Karl Loewenstein , and fellow scholars, such as Lujo Brentano. At the time of his death, Weber had not finished writing Economy and Society , his magnum opus on sociological theory. His widow, Marianne, helped prepare it for its publication in 1922. She later published
25265-459: Was found in the desire to work hard in a way that pleased the worker and signified their worth and originally had a basis in theology. In particular, the Protestant work ethic motivated the believers to work hard, be successful in business, and reinvest their profits in further development rather than frivolous pleasures. Weber thought that self-restraint, hard work, and a belief that wealth could be
25428-552: Was in understanding the processes of rationalisation , secularisation , and disenchantment . He formulated a thesis arguing that such processes were associated with the rise of capitalism and modernity. Weber also argued that the Protestant work ethic influenced the creation of capitalism in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism . It was followed by The Economic Ethics of the World Religions , where he examined
25591-705: Was killed near Brest-Litovsk in 1915 while fighting in the war. Weber had previously viewed him negatively but his death made him feel more connected to him. He and his wife also participated in the 1917 Lauenstein Conferences that were held at Lauenstein Castle [ de ] in Bavaria . These conferences were planned by the publisher Eugen Diederichs and brought together intellectuals, including Theodor Heuss , Ernst Toller , and Werner Sombart. Weber's presence elevated his profile in Germany and served to dispel some of
25754-400: Was left incomplete as a result of his sudden death in 1920, which prevented him from following Ancient Judaism with studies of early Christianity and Islam. The three main themes within the books were: religious ideas' effect on economic activities, the relationship between social stratification and religious ideas, and the distinguishable characteristics of Western civilisation . His goal
25917-401: Was on individuals and culture. Whereas Durkheim focused on society, Weber concentrated on the individual and their actions. Meanwhile, compared to Marx's support for the primacy of the material world over the world of ideas, Weber valued ideas as motivating individuals' actions. He had a different perspective from the two of them regarding structure and action and macrostructure in that he
26080-503: Was open to the idea that social phenomena could have several different causes and placed importance on social actors ' interpretations of their actions. The result of what has been said so far is that an "objective" treatment of cultural occurrences, in the sense that the ideal aim of scientific work would be to reduce the empirical [reality] to "laws", is absurd. Not because – as it has often been claimed – the course of cultural processes or, say, processes in
26243-461: Was primarily young Germans with different political perspectives, including communists . While neither of them were able to convince the other of their points, Weber was more cautious and careful in his arguments against Spengler than the other debaters were. Afterwards, the students did not feel that the question of how to resolve Germany's post-war issues had been answered. Lili Schäfer, one of Weber's sisters, committed suicide on 7 April 1920 after
26406-431: Was the only great power that actually desired the war. He also regarded Germany as not having been culpable for its invasion of Belgium , viewing Belgian neutrality as having obscured an alliance with France . Overall, Weber's political efforts were largely unsuccessful, with the exception of his support for a democratically elected and strong presidency. On 28 January 1919, after his electoral defeat, Weber delivered
26569-465: Was to find reasons for the different developmental paths of the cultures of the Western world and the Eastern world , without making value-judgements, unlike the contemporaneous social Darwinists . Weber simply wanted to explain the distinctive elements of Western civilisation. Weber also proposed a socio-evolutionary model of religious change where societies moved from magic to ethical monotheism , with
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