Weber, Max

Max Weber (1864–1920), a prominent German economics scholar, was a founding theorist in the field of sociology. His Verstehen doctrine, controversial and widely debated, presupposed that to understand a particular economic or social phenomenon, a person must be capable of interpreting actions and not be satisfied to merely describe a situation based on actions. As part of the “interpreting” process, he specified four behavioral “Ideal Types”: rational means to rational ends, rational means to irrational ends, guided by emotion, and guided by custom or habit. Weber's other economic research included studies of capitalism in the context of idealism and materialism, Economy and Society, and his best-known writing, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, where he posited that seeds of capitalism are germinated in the Protestant work ethic and that advanced capitalism creates a new middle class whose livelihood is based on human capital rather than labor.

Weber, one of the first to observe and write on bureaucracies, posited that bureaucracies function according to six principles: Jurisdictional areas are ordered by rules (administrative regulations and [Page 1067]laws); lower offices are supervised by higher offices; official documents (files) are the basis for management; officials must be trained and educated to do the job; management requires a full-time official, and management follows rules. While compared to today's theories of leadership, these six principles seem rudimentary, Weber posited these concepts in an era when existing management practices dated back to the Middle Ages and management precepts were based on loyalty to kings and to the church. As a part of distinguishing between charismatic, traditional, and legal forms of authority, Weber encouraged economists and sociologists to evaluate (people and situations) based on facts rather than values.

Born in Erfurt, Prussia (Germany), Weber was raised in a home where the Calvinist beliefs of his mother and the political aspirations of his father frequently conflicted. In 1882, Weber enrolled in the University of Heidelberg. Two years later, he left the university to fulfill his military obligation. During his military service, Weber strengthened bonds with Hermann and Ida Baumgarten (his maternal aunt and uncle), whose influence on Weber's intellectual development was substantial. At the conclusion of his military service and at the behest of his father, Weber returned to his father's home, where he lived until 1893, when he married. During the time he resided with his father, Weber completed his studies at the University of Berlin, served as a legal apprentice, and also served as a university assistant.

After his father's death in 1897, Weber began experiencing increased nervousness, and in 1898, he suffered a nervous breakdown. During the next 5 years of his illness, Weber suffered sudden relapses and was institutionalized intermittently. By 1903, Weber was able to work as a private scholar but did not return to university teaching until after World War I. In the 17 years from the onset of his mental illness until his death, Weber studied the relationship between Calvinist morality and compulsive processes. Weber's work remains significant in educational leadership as the cornerstone of examining bureaucracy and its many facets, which remain controversial today. He was the first sociologist to understand that the universe has no true meaning. In this sense, he was postmodern before postmodernism.

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