Book Review: The Search for Thematic Orientations in a Fragmented Oeuvre: The Discussion of Max Weber in Recent German Sociological Literature

Abstract

It has become such a commonplace to consider Max Weber's oeuvre as a fragmented one without a trace of internal unity that any claim to the contrary is likely to be met with scepticism. Weber is generally pictured as a theorist endowed with an enormous capacity to classify, conceptualize and synthesize, and a desire to do so for itself. Such an explanation of his corpus provides the underlying legitimation for the common procedure of dissecting its separate chapters in reference to subsequent research and of conducting rigidly controlled studies to 'tesť a Weberian hypothesis. While allowing Sociologists to frequently invoke Weber as a prestigious authority to justify their own research, this mode of utilizing Weber's sociology leaves aside the issue of his overriding aims, interests and thematic orientations. Those few Weber scholars, such as Benjamin Nelson and Reinhard Bendix,1 who have argued in recent years that several themes lend an inner coherence to Weber's writings have remained voices in the dark. Admittedly, Weber himself is largely to blame: the sociologist who seeks to unmask the 'true' Weber confronts a maze set within a refined obstacle course. With luck, fortitude, patience and time, he may be able to intuit that a relationship of sorts exists between the methodological and comparative-historical sociological writings, yet its specification would require a re-reading of all the texts as well as repeated study of a comprehensive set of notes. Moreover, Weber's writings themselves often encourage us to avoid going beyond particular parts of his sociology. The chapters in Economy and Society (E&S ) on bureaucracy and stratification, for example, are well-suited to specialized research in these fields. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism also stands on its own as a classical analysis of a specific problem. Despite the enormity of the task, a concentrated effort has been underway in the last few years in West Germany to cast aside the common stereotype of Weber as a sociologist of unrivalled historical and comparative breadth as well as analytical rigor, yet one who unfortunately divided his energies to such an extent that he bequeathed nothing more than a series of unrelated fragments to modern Sociology. These 'fragments' are now being scrutinized under a different light, and more and more viewed as pieces within a mosaic. Though the mosaic as a whole remains not fully reconstructed, its boundaries have become visible.