On Charisma and Institution Building

by Max Weber, Samuel N. Eisenstadt

This selection from Max Weber's writings presents his variegated work from one central focus, the relationship between charisma on the one hand, and the process of institution building in the major fields of the social order such as politics, law, economy, and culture and religion on the other. That the concept of charisma is crucially important for understanding the processes of institution building is implicit in Weber's own writings, and the explication of this relationship is perhaps the most important challenge which Weber's work poses for modern sociology.

Max Weber on Charisma and Institution Building is a volume in "The Heritage of Sociology," a series edited by Morris Janowitz. Other volumes deal with the writings of George Herbert Mead, William F. Ogburn, Louis Wirth, W. I. Thomas, Robert E. Park, and the Scottish Moralistsâ Adam Smith, David Hume, Adam Ferguson, and others.

Genres: Sociology, Philosophy, Politics, Nonfiction, Social Science

Paperback

First published December 1, 1968

About the author

(Arabic: ماكس فيبر)

Maximilian Carl Emil Weber was a German lawyer, politician, historian, sociologist and political economist, who profoundly influenced social theory and the remit of sociology itself. His major works dealt with the rationalization, bureaucratization and 'disenchantment' associated with the rise of capitalism. Weber was, along with his associate Georg Simmel, a central figure in the establishment of methodological antipositivism; presenting sociology as a non-empirical field which must study social action through resolutely subjective means.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Useful, obviously. But this collection is poorly edited. Eisenstadt's introduction is far less readable in the original English than Weber is in translation. Some of the essays in the collection are redundant. Inadequate source information is provided for them. The organizing principle of the collection is sound, however; I think we need someone to make a new attempt.

[Yalin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful selection of Weber's essays, in a wide variety of subjects but centered on social institutions and charismatic authority as overarching themes. If your aim is to further study Weber in these two areas, this is a satisfactory book to help put you on track.