Max Weber and German Politics, 1890-1920

by Wolfgang J. Mommsen

A major work of German historiography, this comprehensive account of Weber's political views and activities reveals that, paradoxically, Weber was at once an ardent liberal and a determined German nationalist and imperialist. Wolfgang J. Mommsen shows the important links between these seemingly conflicting positions and provides a critique of Weber's sociology of power and his concept of democratic rule.

First published in German in 1959, Max Weber and German Politics appeared in a revised edition in 1974 and became available in an English translation only in 1984. In writing this work, Mommsen drew extensively on Weber's published and unpublished essays, newspaper articles, memoranda, and correspondence.

Genres: History, Germany, Sociology, Politics

520 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Wolfgang Justin Mommsen was a German historian best known for his influential work on Max Weber and his studies of modern German and British history. Educated in Marburg, Cologne, and Leeds, he taught at the University of Cologne before holding a professorship at the University of Düsseldorf, where he remained for nearly three decades, and also directed the German Historical Institute in London. His early biography of Weber and subsequent dissertation challenged prevailing interpretations, situating Weber as a liberal nationalist and imperialist and reshaping understanding of his political thought. Mommsen was a central figure in editing the Max Weber-Gesamtausgabe, the comprehensive edition of Weber’s works. His scholarship explored the “Sonderweg” thesis, arguing that Germany’s incomplete modernization and the persistence of authoritarian elites shaped the country’s trajectory toward the First World War and the rise of Nazism. Widely respected for his comparative perspective, he was also active in the Historikerstreit, affirming the Holocaust’s singularity.

Reviews

[Outlook · Rating 5 out of 5]

马克斯韦伯不是书斋里的学者，他积极的投身德国政治活动。通过比较英美法等国的政体，他指出当下德国的立宪君主制和官僚体制，存在两个重大问题：一个是最高统治权威的合法性与其权力的不匹配，另一个是官僚统治会导致社会长期僵化，缺乏活力。结合德国政治现实，他提出以总统普选获得“全体国民”的最高权威，以议会制问责官僚消解官僚统治的弊端。

[风花 · Rating 5 out of 5]

说实话，汉译本没怎么读懂，感觉是翻译问题，当然德语原著翻成汉语本身就不容易，同时也不容易读……作者只在几处梳理了一下韦伯的思想，但是并没有太具体的介绍，导致我读的总有些似懂非懂。
我就我感兴趣的几个地方说一下好了。首先是韦伯讲德国东部农业部分的“波兰化”，有点像中国模式颠覆美国模式的感觉。再一个就是韦伯对德国“资产阶级”的分析，把俾斯麦换成共产党，很容易让人联想到改革后的中国“资产阶级”。
读这本也让我知道自己的不足，要读懂“第三帝国”，还是要有一些德国史的基础，准备从这方面多读读。