Although Weber's path-breaking work on the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism has received much attention ever since it first appeared in 1904-5, recent research has uncovered important new aspects. This volume, the result of an international, interdisciplinary effort, throws new light on the intellectual and cultural background of Weber's work, debates recent criticism of Weber's thesis, and confronts new historical insight on the seventeenth century with Weber's interpretation. Revisiting Weber's thesis serves to deepen our understanding of Weber as much as it will stimulate further research.

The historical relationship between Protestantism, capitalism, and democracy remains one of the most controversial intellectual themes of out time. Max Weber's famous thesis about the link between the 'Protestant ethic' and the 'spirit of capitalism' and its dissolution in his own era has been both widely acclaimed and heatedly disputed since its publication in 1904-5. This volume, the result of an international, interdisciplinary effort, throws new light on the intellectual and cultural background of Weber's work, debates recent criticism of Weber's thesis, and confronts new historical insight on the 17th century with Weber's interpretation.

Published posthumously in the early 1920's, Max Weber's Economy and Society has since become recognized as one of the greatest sociological treatises of the 20th century, as well as a foundational text of the modern sociological imagination. The first strictly empirical comparison of social structures and normative orders conducted in world-historical depth, this two volume set of Economy and Society--now with new introductory material contextualizing Weber's work for 21st century audiences--looks at social action, religion, law, bureaucracy, charisma, the city, and the political community. Meant as a broad introduction for an educated general public, in its own way Economy and Society is the most demanding textbook yet written by a sociologist. The precision of its definitions, the complexity of its typologies, and the wealth of its historical content make the work an important challenge to our sociological thought: for the advanced undergraduate who gropes for her sense of society, for the graduate student who must develop his own analytical skills, and for the scholar who must match wits with Weber.

"Where others have restricted themselves to brief interpretations of analyses of specific aspects of Weber's work, Bendix has attempted the full scale study that has long been needed. As such, it unquestionably fulfills the minimum requirements. It is admirably clear, well organized, inclusive, and based on long and conscientious research. For the student who wants an introductory guide to Weber, it will be a godsend, providing as it does the over all structure that the theoretician himself did not live to complete....Bendix's book proves not to be an 'intellectual portrait' at all: its subtitle is a misnomer. It is rather an expert and extremely useful key to his work. A really exciting and original book on Weber."--"American Historical Review"

Today, Max Weber appears to many younger academic rebels as the patron sait of "value neutral" social science, yet he too engaged in a furious generational rebellion of his own, and in the end chose science as a vocation. These essays deal with Weber's substantive and methodological contribution and the relation of his life to his place in intellectual and political history. They examine the influences on Weber, as well as his similarities to and differences from Marx, Burckhardt, Nietzsche, Durkheim, and others. The authors also give attention to the ideological background of the modern attack upon the university, and to comparative study of values, authority, and legitimation. Bendix's Presidential Address to the 1970 meeting of the American Sociological Association is included. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1971.

Today, Max Weber appears to many younger academic rebels as the patron sait of "value neutral" social science, yet he too engaged in a furious generational rebellion of his own, and in the end chose science as a vocation. These essays deal with Weber's substantive and methodological contribution and the relation of his life to his place in intellectual and political history. They examine the influences on Weber, as well as his similarities to and differences from Marx, Burckhardt, Nietzsche, Durkheim, and others. The authors also give attention to the ideological background of the modern attack upon the university, and to comparative study of values, authority, and legitimation. Bendix's Presidential Address to the 1970 meeting of the American Sociological Association is included. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1971.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.