This book brings together leading figures in history, sociology, political science, feminism and critical theory to interpret, evaluate, criticize and update Weber's legacy. In a collection of specially commissioned pieces and translated articles the Weberian scholarship recognizes Max Weber as the figure central to contemporary debates on the need for societal rationality, the limits of reason and the place of culture and conduct in the supposedly post-religious age. In Part 1, Wolfgang Mommsen, Wilhelm Hennis, Guenther Roth and Wolfgang Schluchter provide a full and varied account of the theme of rationalization in the world civilizations. In Part 2 Pierre Bourdieu and Barry Hindess critically examine Weber's social action model, and Johannes Weiss and Martin Albrow address the putative 'crisis' of Western rationality. In Part 3 Jeffrey Alexander, Ralph Schroeder, Bryan Turner, Roslyn Bologh and Sam Whimster scrutinize Weber's understanding of modernity with its characteristic plurality of 'gods and demons'; they focus on its implications for individuality and personality, the body and sexuality, feminism and aesthetic modernism. Part 4 turns to politics, law and the state in the contemporary world: Colin Gordon on liberalism, Luciano Cavalli on charismatic politics, Stephen Turner and Regis Factor on decisionism and power and Scott Lash on modernism, substantice rationality and law. This book was first published in 1987.

This book brings together leading figures in history, sociology, political science, feminism and critical theory to interpret, evaluate, criticize and update Weber's legacy. In a collection of specially commissioned pieces and translated articles the Weberian scholarship recognizes Max Weber as the figure central to contemporary debates on the need for societal rationality, the limits of reason and the place of culture and conduct in the supposedly post-religious age.

In Part 1, Wolfgang Mommsen, Wilhelm Hennis, Guenther Roth and Wolfgang Schluchter provide a full and varied account of the theme of rationalization in the world civilizations. In Part 2 Pierre Bourdieu and Barry Hindess critically examine Weber's social action model, and Johannes Weiss and Martin Albrow address the putative 'crisis' of Western rationality. In Part 3 Jeffrey Alexander, Ralph Schroeder, Bryan Turner, Roslyn Bologh and Sam Whimster scrutinize Weber's understanding of modernity with its characteristic plurality of 'gods and demons'; they focus on its implications for individuality and personality, the body and sexuality, feminism and aesthetic modernism. Part 4 turns to politics, law and the state in the contemporary world: Colin Gordon on liberalism, Luciano Cavalli on charismatic politics, Stephen Turner and Regis Factor on decisionism and power and Scott Lash on modernism, substantice rationality and law.

This book was first published in 1987.

Understanding Weber provides an accessible and comprehensive explanation of the central issues of Weber's work. Using the most recent scholarship and editions of Weber's writings, Sam Whimster establishes the full range, depth and development of Max Weber's approach to the social and cultural sciences. This ground-breaking book:

• locates the central issues in Weber's writings and relates them to the golden era of social and cultural sciences
• argues that Weber remains the major exponent of the classical tradition still relevant today
• offers a new interpretation of the dynamic of Weber's career as historian, social-economist, methodologist and sociologist.

Weber's sociology still stands as a successful and valid underwriting of the substantive fields of power, law, rulership, culture, religion, civilizational configurations, and economic sociology. At a time of the turning away from grand theory to empirical policy studies, this book asserts the authority of Weber's conception and calls for a critical engagement with his legacy in order to understand the dynamics of a globalizing modernity.

This is an indispensable guide to Weber's writings and will be an invaluable companion to The Essential Weber (2004). The book closely tracks the development of Weber's thinking, an exploration that will make it an obligatory choice for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as researchers in the fields of sociological theory, economic sociology and cultural studies.

The Essential Weber, selected by one of the world's leading Weber scholars will introduce the work of this key thinker to a new generation of readers. Central themes highlighted in the collection are:

* the developmental logic of world religions
* the rise of modern capitalism
* the multi-dimensionality of power in societies
* the dilemmas of modernity
* the theory of social action
* ideal types and the objectivity of knowledge

The majority of the readings have been specially translated for this collection both to improve accuracy and to make Weber speak anew in the idiom of the twenty-first century. Each part opens with a short introduction explaining the sequence of readings, the flow of ideas and their intellectual context, and concludes with a guide to further reading.

The first part of this book builds a framework of analyzing the material consequences of global finance. Chapters are devoted to unravelling the byzantine relationship between deregulated and liberalized international finance and the effect on national economies. This relationship rests on the nature of new financial instruments, how optimal decisions are made about them and the legal and political regulatory regime that has ensued. The second part relates how the complexity of the new financial regime affects, shapes and interacts with communities, lifestyles, architecture and the development and form of urban economies. The book offers an authoritative account of the momentous changes in the organization of finance capital that occurred in the 1980s. But it never contents itself with a mere record of events. The changes in finance are related to changes in urban forms, notably metropolitan lifestyles and aesthetics. This book should be of interest to students of sociology, economics, and urban studies.

"Global Finance and Urban Living" provides an account of the momentous changes in the organization of finance capital that occurred in the 1980s. But it never contents itself with a mere record of events. The changes in finance are related to changes in urban forms, notably metropolitan lifestyles and aesthetics. The first part of the book builds a framework of analyzing the material consequences of global finance. Chapters are devoted to unravelling the byzantine relationship between de-regulated and liberalized international finance and the effect on national economies. This relationship, other chapters explain, rests on the nature of new financial instruments, how optimal decisions are made about them and the legal and political regulatory regime that has ensued. The second part relates how the complexity of the new financial regime affects, shapes and interacts with communities, lifestyles, architecture and the development and form of urban economies. The inter-disciplinary focus helps to provide a powerful account of metropolitan finance centre and what it feels like to live in it. This book should be of interest to students of urban studies, sociology, and economics.

Weber's methodological writings form the bedrock of key ideas across the social sciences. His discussion of value freedom and value commitment, causality, understanding and explanation, theory building and ideal types have been of fundamental importance, and their impact remains undiminished today. These ideas influence the current research practice of sociologists, historians, economists and political scientists and are central to debates in the philosophy of social science. But, until now, Weber's extensive writings on methodology have lacked a comprehensive publication. Edited by two of the world's leading Weber scholars, Collected Methodological Writings will provide a completely new, accurate and reliable translation of Weber's extensive output, including previously untranslated letters. Accompanying editorial commentary explains the context of, and interconnections between, all these writings, and additional useful features include a glossary of German terms and an English key, endnotes, bibliography, and person and subject indexes.

Weber 's methodological writings form the bedrock of key ideas across the social sciences. His discussion of value freedom and value commitment, causality, understanding and explanation, theory building and ideal types have been of fundamental importance, and their impact remains undiminished today. These ideas influence the current research practice of sociologists, historians, economists and political scientists and are central to debates in the philosophy of social science. But, until now, Weber's extensive writings on methodology have lacked a comprehensive publication.

Edited by two of the world's leading Weber scholars, Collected Methodological Writings will provide a completely new, accurate and reliable translation of Weber 's extensive output, including previously untranslated letters. Accompanying editorial commentary explains the context of, and interconnections between, all these writings, and additional useful features include a glossary of German terms and an English key, endnotes, bibliography, and person and subject indexes.

Understanding Weber provides an accessible and comprehensive explanation of the central issues of Weber's work. Using the most recent scholarship and editions of Weber's writings, Sam Whimster establishes the full range, depth and development of Max Weber's approach to the social and cultural sciences. This ground-breaking book:

• locates the central issues in Weber's writings and relates them to the golden era of social and cultural sciences
• argues that Weber remains the major exponent of the classical tradition still relevant today
• offers a new interpretation of the dynamic of Weber's career as historian, social-economist, methodologist and sociologist.

Weber's sociology still stands as a successful and valid underwriting of the substantive fields of power, law, rulership, culture, religion, civilizational configurations, and economic sociology. At a time of the turning away from grand theory to empirical policy studies, this book asserts the authority of Weber's conception and calls for a critical engagement with his legacy in order to understand the dynamics of a globalizing modernity.

This is an indispensable guide to Weber's writings and will be an invaluable companion to The Essential Weber (2004). The book closely tracks the development of Weber's thinking, an exploration that will make it an obligatory choice for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as researchers in the fields of sociological theory, economic sociology and cultural studies.

The Essential Weber, selected by one of the world's leading Weber scholars will introduce the work of this key thinker to a new generation of readers. Central themes highlighted in the collection are:

* the developmental logic of world religions
* the rise of modern capitalism
* the multi-dimensionality of power in societies
* the dilemmas of modernity
* the theory of social action
* ideal types and the objectivity of knowledge

The majority of the readings have been specially translated for this collection both to improve accuracy and to make Weber speak anew in the idiom of the twenty-first century. Each part opens with a short introduction explaining the sequence of readings, the flow of ideas and their intellectual context, and concludes with a guide to further reading.

Whimster brings together international experts and academics, financial sector decision-makers and bankers, policy-makers and politicians to give their answers and solutions to the growing crisis in the financial services sector in the U.K.