Abstract
Weber’s critique of modernity centred on how it shaped the habitus – life-conduct and motivations – of the modern individual. I explicate six habitus-types that appear in Weber’s work: the early-modern Puritan Berufsmensch, the modern specialist, the modern industrial worker, the politician, the civil servant and the citizen voter. In doing so, I identify the main characteristics of each type and the causal mechanisms through which Western modernity’s core features – capitalism and bureaucracy – brought them into being. Further, I discuss two habitus-related problems that concerned Weber: the general failure of the modern habitus to achieve ‘personality’; and the mismatch between habitus and occupational role in the Wilhelmine political sphere. I then explain the practical reforms through which Weber hoped to address these problems. Finally, I show how this analysis helps resolve two apparent contradictions which have long perplexed Weber scholars.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 19-52 |
Number of pages | 34 |
Journal | Journal of Classical Sociology |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2024 |
Keywords
- Habitus
- Max Weber
- labour unions
- life-conduct
- personality
- voluntary associations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science