Max Weber’s Theory of the Modern State: Origins, Structure and Significance

262 Pages·2014·1.818 MB·English

by  Andreas Anter (auth.)

Max Weber’s
Theory of the Modern State
Origins, Structure and Significance

Andreas Anter
Max Weber’s Theory of the Modern State
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Max Weber’s Theory of the
Modern State
Origins, Structure and Significance
Andreas Anter
Professor, Staatswissenschaften, University of Erfurt
Translated from the German by Keith Tribe
Palgrave
macmillan
© Andreas Anter 2014
English translation © Keith Tribe 2014
German edition © Duncker and Humblot Gmbh, Berlin 1996
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-36489-0
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First published 2014 by
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To my parents
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Contents
Preface to the English Edition ix
Translator’s Preface xi
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction 1
1 Aspects of the Concept of the State 9
1 The ideal-typical character of the concept of the state 12
2 A state without qualities? The question of the state’s purpose 15
3 The monopoly of force 25
4 The state as institution 36
5 The criterion of the political 39
2 State and Rulership 46
1 State and legitimacy 52
2 S taring into the depths with a clear head:
the legitimacy of legality 58
3 Charismatic rule in the modern state? 62
4 F rom personal to impersonal rule:
East Elbia as a precursor of the modern state 67
5 Democracy and bureaucracy in the modern state 71
3 Hermeneutics of the State 80
1 The Action-oriented conception of the state 80
2 The concept of chance 88
3 Knowledge of the state 95
4 Theory of the State and Value Judgements 102
1 The “perspective of reason of state” 105
2 The nation as value 111
3 The Machtstaat 124
4 The state and ethics 133
5 The state and the struggle over values 139
6 Max Weber’s ambivalence 146
vii
viii Contents
5 The Archaeology of the Modern State 149
1 The emergence of the modern state 152
2 The history of the state as the history of bureaucracy 158
3 Max Weber’s questions 170
4 State and law 173
5 The rationalisation of the state 189
6 The State as Machine 195
1 The metaphor of the state as machine 196
2 The state as enterprise 202
3 Max Weber’s ambivalence 206
Conclusion 216
Bibliography 219
Index 244
Preface to the English Edition
In the history of political thought, fragmentary thinkers are of particular
interest. Unfinished work makes subsequent interpretation necessary. Max
Weber is, in many ways, a fragmentary thinker. So it may be no coincidence
that the “sociology of the state” he envisaged in his late years remained
unwritten. This book does not seek a retrospective completion of plans about
which Weber had written. Only nineteenth-century architects considered
themselves capable of completing medieval cathedrals. This book, however,
provides a systematic account of Weber’s theory of the modern state, its ori-
gins, structure and significance, placing it in its historical context and with
respect to contemporary theoretical discussion. In Weber’s treatment of the
state, the ambivalence of his political thought becomes especially evident,
shifting between an etatist stance and an individualistic attitude.
The era during which Weber developed his conception seems infinitely remote
from today’s “negotiating state” and “multi-level governance.” Nonetheless,
his positions have lost little of their appeal and validity. His definition of the
state as the monopoly of legitimate force is widely accepted in contemporary
political science, sociology and legal theory. Today, these disciplines, and even
the theory of the state itself, are searching for their real object. For this reason
it seems even more worthwhile to consider the positions adopted by Weber.
The first edition of this book was the printed version of my thesis, which
I wrote while a member of the Department of Political Science at the
University of Hamburg. My study was generally well-received.1 While the
second German edition remained almost unchanged, the present English
1 See among the reviews Furio Ferraresi, “Max Weber nella critica recente”, Filosofia
Politica 9 (1995) pp. 489–90; Stefan Breuer, “Halb preußisch, halb englisch”, Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung, 16 May 1995 p. 43; Giuseppe Balistreri, “Nuovi studi su Max
Weber”, Informazione Filosofica 26 (1995) p. 50; Constans Seyfarth, Soziologische Revue
18 (1995) p. 605; Claas Thomsen, “Gewaltmonopol als Maßstab”, Bonner General-
Anzeiger, 27 September 1995 p. 23; Martin Gralher, “Suche nach dem Politischen”,
Das Parlament, 2 February 1996 p. 14; Gregor Schöllgen, Historische Zeitschrift 262
(1996) p. 141; Dietmar Willoweit, Zeitschrift für Neuere Rechtsgeschichte 18 (1996)
pp. 333–5; Wolfgang Reinhard, Der Staat 35 (1996) pp. 482–3; Otfried Höffe, Zeitschrift
für philosophische Forschung 1996 p. 522; A. Braeckman, Tijdschrift voor Filosofie 58
(1996) pp. 770–1; E. Bolsinger, “Max Weber’s Sociology of the State”, Telos 109
(1996) pp. 182–5; Reinhard Mehring, Jahrbuch Politisches Denken (1997) pp. 181–4;
Claus Leggewie, “Im Gehäuse der Hörigkeit”, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 1 March 1997 p. VI
(suppl.); Friedhelm Kröll, Das Argument 39 (1997) pp. 432–3; Stephan Ganglbauer,
“Über die politische Wissenschaft eines homo politicus”, SWS-Rundschau 37 (1997)
pp. 489–91; Jörg Luther, Archiv des öffentlichen Rechts 122 (1997) pp. 658–9; Pier Paolo
ix