Max Weber

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Max Weber

• By James, Mary and Elizabeth

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Max Weber (1864-1920)

• Born April 21, 1864 in Thuringia, Germany
• Attended the Heidelberg University in Berlin
  where he studied law, history, economics and
  philosophy
• Became a professor at Heidelberg in Political
  Economy
• Worked as a Reserve officer in military hospitals
  during WWI
• Following his fathers death in 1897, he suffered
  from psychological depression which prolonged his
  teachings
• In 1904, he moved to U.S. which influenced his
  theories greatly
• His wife Marianne was an early womens rights
  activist
• Some of his books include Basic Concepts in
  Sociology, Sociological Writings andTheory of
  Social and Economic Organization
• Died June14, 1920 in Munich, Germany from
  pneumonia

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Theories Max Founded

• Rationalization is a process were the society
  tries to become reasonable and sensible
• Rationalization comes from the word rational
  which is having or exercising reason, sound
  judgment or good sense
• Bureaucracy is the body of officials and
  administrators
• He studied this because he wanted to know why
  society did what it did, which was usually
  because of rationalization.

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More Theories Max Founded

• Verstehen
• A systematic approach to relating to foreign
  cultures from those cultures points of view.
• Critics say that it is impossible to view another
  culture through an insiders view.

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Theories Today

• Max Weber theories are still around today.
• For example rationalization is in consumption,
  and Structures of authority
• Rationalization is in consumption because there
  is all this debate on what fast food restaurants
  should be selling for healthy foods
• Rationalization is in structures of authority
  because then we have someone to follow
  (President) and it maintains order in society.