Reframing Orientalism: Weber and Islam

In debates on the encounters of Middle Eastern societies with Western modernity, Max Weber's work is invariably seen as the classical statement of what may be called sociological Orientalism. Most 'Third Worldist' and other anti-Orientalist critics locate Weberian and neo-Weberian perspectives within Orientalism as a discourse of Western domination which has remained hegemonic since the mid-nineteenth century. In contrast, this paper argues that only with the victory of the Bolsheviks in 1917 and the subsequent consolidation of the Soviet bloc were conditions in place for the re-articulation of Orientalism as an ideological construct, a discourse of domination. Weber as well as Marx and other pre-Soviet thinkers are thus relocated outside the reach of the Orientalist/anti-Orientalist opposition, where they display significant differences from both. The essay then turns to reconsider W'eber's specific research programme and his views on Islam and shows their intrinsic limitations for the current debate over the rise and trajectory of militant Islamism. It concludes by outlining a still recognizably Weberian strategy for resolving this debate.     

Max Weber, Socialism, and the Space for Time

In Economy and Society Weber provides a detailed criticism of socialism emphasizing the dynamic nature of the formal rationality of economic action, thus indicating the limits of bureaucratic rationality. Unfortunately, Weber's critique has received scant attention, commentators concentrating instead on remarks in his political essays. Weber's main argument against socialism is that it would lead to a decrease in formal rationality. Drawing upon Austrian political economy, Weber attempts to secure a 'realm of freedom' within anarchical capitalist production through emphasizing the dynamic nature of economic decision making which necessarily precludes the possibility of a rational socialist planned economy.     

The Ethical Irrationality of the World: Weber and Hindu Ethics

Abstract

This paper argues that Weber ought to be read as a comparative ethicist who brings his German intellectual inheritance, especially Schopenauer and Nietzsche, to a dialogue with ethical traditions in India and China. It shows that Weber not only had a supple understanding of the tensions within Hindu ethics, his own account of value often closely corresponds to Hindu axiology and was enriched by an encounter with it.     

Max Weber, Religion, and the Disenchantment of the World

This article offers a re-evaluation of Max Weber’s analyses of both the disenchantment of the world and the origins of capitalism.     

继承与拓展:对舒茨和韦伯的社会学理论的比较

舒茨的现象学社会学和韦伯的理解社会学有着千丝万缕的联系,在一定程度上,舒茨的现象学社会学是对韦伯理解社会学的进一步完善。同时,它们在思想渊源、发展脉络、社会学理论的具体内容以及方法论等四个维度上存在差异。马克斯·韦伯构建了理解社会学的框架,舒茨则利用现象学将其扩展和拓宽、深入和具体。