Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes by Max Weber (German Sociologist)

Max Weber (1864–1920) was a German sociologist and political economist who became a founding father of modern sociology. He is particularly noted for associating religious ideas and economic systems, and reasoning that Protestantism had been a significant factor in the emergence of contemporary capitalism.

Born in Erfurt, Weber studied legal and economic history at several German universities. He accepted a chair of sociology in Vienna in 1918, and, in 1919, he took over the chair of sociology at Munich.

Weber is best known for his work Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus (1905; The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, 1930.) Weber’s essay connected the rise of modern capitalism to the religious ethics of Protestantism, especially the Calvinist persuasion, with its emphasis on work in a calling meant for the rational ascetic mastery of this world. For the Calvinists, discovering a vocation, working hard, and accomplishing material success was evidence that they were one of the chosen—the individuals God had saved from eternal damnation. Notwithstanding the criticism Weber received, Die Protestantische Ethik is still appreciated as one of the seminal texts of twentieth-century sociology.

Weber’s historical and comparative studies of the great civilizations are a milestone in the history of sociology. He helped create a methodology and a body of literature dealing with the sociology of religion, political parties, and the economy, in addition to studies of formal organization and the philosophy of history.

Weber produced major analyses of society in Israel, China, and India, showing the mutual dependence of culture and society. He wrote on both Hinduism and Buddhism from a theoretical perspective; among his works is The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism (1921.)

More: Wikipedia READ: Works by Max Weber

No sociologist should think himself too good, even in his old age, to make tens of thousands of quite trivial computations in his head and perhaps for months at a time. One cannot with impunity try to transfer this task entirely to mechanical assistants if one wishes to figure something, even though the final result is often small indeed.
Max Weber
Topics: People, Wishes

The nation is burdened with the heavy curse on those who come afterwards. The generation before us was inspired by an activism and a naive enthusiasm, which we cannot rekindle, because we confront tasks of a different kind from those which our fathers faced.
Max Weber

The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the “disenchantment of the world.” Precisely the ultimate and most sublime values have retreated from public life either into the transcendental realm of mystic life or into the brotherliness of direct and personal human relations. It is not accidental that our greatest art is intimate and not monumental.
Max Weber

One can say that three pre-eminent qualities are decisive for the politician: passion, a feeling of responsibility, and a sense of proportion.
Max Weber
Topics: Politicians, Politics

Man would not have attained the possible unless time and again he had reached out of the impossible.
Max Weber
Topics: Possibilities

Only by strict specialization can the scientific worker become fully conscious, for once and perhaps never again in his lifetime, that he has achieved something that will endure. A really definitive and good accomplishment is today always a specialized act.
Max Weber
Topics: Professionalism, Experts

I am under the impression that in nine out of ten cases I deal with windbags who do not fully realize what they take upon themselves, but who intoxicate themselves with romantic sensations. From a human point of view this is not very interesting to me, nor does it move me profoundly. However, it is immensely moving when a mature man
Max Weber
Topics: Politics

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