The Theory of Social and Economic Organization

2012 Reprint of Original 1947 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. (c)New Foreword Martino Publishing. This volume contains a full and representative statement of Max Weber's sociological theory, drawn from important publications never previously translated. The book opens with a discussion of the analytical methods of sociology and an application of these methodological conclusions to the broadest classification of social relationship and groups. Nearly half the volume is devoted to a further elaboration of this scheme in the field of economic activity. The typology is copiously illustrated with material from many periods of history and parts of the world. Chapters include:The Fundamental Concepts of SociologySociological Categories of Economic ActionThe Types of Authority and Imperative Co-ordinationThe Transformation of Charisma in an Anti-Authoritarian DirectionSocial Stratification and Class Structure

This bookis an introduction to Max Weber’s ambitious comparative study of the sociological and institutional foundations of the modern economic and social order. In this work originally published in German in 1920, Weber discusses the analytical methods of sociology and, at the same time, presents a devastating critique of prevailing sociological theory and of its universalist, determinist underpinnings. None of Weber’s other writings offers the reader such a grasp of his theories; none displays so clearly his erudition, the scope of his interests, and his analytical powers.