The Young Max Weber and German Social Democracy The ‘Labour Question’ and the Genesis of Social Theory in Imperial Germany (1884-1899)

353 Pages·2022·1.415 MB·English

by  Victor Strazzeri

TheYoungMaxWeberandGermanSocialDemocracy
Historical Materialism
Book Series
EditorialBoard
LorenBalhorn(Berlin)
DavidBroder(Rome)
SebastianBudgen(Paris)
SteveEdwards(London)
JuanGrigera(London)
MarcelvanderLinden(Amsterdam)
PeterThomas(London)
volume 259
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
part 1
TheYoungMaxWeberandImperialGermanPolitics:
BetweentheCrisisof LiberalismandtheChallengeof German
SocialDemocracy(1884–1891/2)
1 TheYoungWeber’sDiagnosisofthePoliticalSituationinImperial
Germany(1884–5) 21
Introduction 21
1 GermanLiberalismafter1878:Betweenthe‘GreekGift’of
UniversalSuffrageandAnti-SocialistRepression 23
2 The1884ReichstagElectionsandtheEmergingRoleofGerman
SocialDemocracy 29
3 TheCrisisoftheLiberalPartiesandthe‘Right-WingTurn’of
NationalLiberalsin1884 34
2 HermannBaumgartenandtheYoungMaxWeber:TheAmbiguous
LegacyofNationalLiberalism 42
1 ADirectConduittotheDilemmasoftheGermanLiberal
Bourgeoisie 42
2 GermanLiberalism,aSelf-Critique:NationalLiberalism’s
FoundationalManifestoof1866 44
3 ‘Realpolitik’andPositivism 50
4 ‘Realpolitik’asIdeology 55
3 TheWebersandthe‘SocialQuestion’:TheGermanBourgeoisie’s
‘Patriarchal’andGenderedEngagementwiththeContradictions
ofModernClassSociety 62
1 ContextualisingHeleneWeber’sInfluenceinMaxWeber’s
Development 62
2 TheReignoftheBourgeois:LocalAdministrationandthe‘Social
Question’intheGermanLandsuntilthe1880s 66
vi contents
3 MaxWeberSr.’sPatriarchalEngagementwiththe‘SocialQuestion’
intheBerlinMetropolis 70
4 MonarchicalConvictionsandChristianPhilanthropy:Helene
Weber’sSocialEngagement 74
5 The‘SocialQuestion’andNationalLiberalLegacy 77
4 OutgrowingNationalLiberalism(1887) 81
1 FromPoliticalCommentatortoHistoricalActor 81
2 ABalanceSheetofLiberal‘Realpolitik’:ReflectingOnthe
Kulturkampf amidstaRampUpofRepressionagainst
Socialists 83
5 WitnesstotheEndofanEra:The‘Three-KaiserYear’,MassStrikes
andBismarck’sFall(1888–1891/2) 94
1 Introduction 94
2 TakingStockofBismarck’sLegacyamongsttheBerlinMasses 95
3 Weber’sGenerationConfrontsaLiberalCampDividedbetween
OpportunistsandFundamentalists 97
4 TheResurgentWorkingClass:TheRuhrMiners’Strikeof1889and
theExpansionOfStateSocialPolicy 102
5 AftertheSozialistengesetz:The1890ElectionsandtheFall
ofBismarck 108
6 1891:AssessingaNewPoliticalReality 111
7 ConclusionofPart1:‘TheExistenceOfSocialDemocracy…
IsTrulyaBliss’ 113
part 2
MaxWeber’sLaboratory:The‘RuralLabourQuestion’
andtheGenesisofWeberianSocialThought(1892–4)
6 ContextualisingMaxWeber’sDialoguewithGermanSocial
Democracy:TheDebateontheWorkerasaPoliticalActor
fromthePre-1848Periodto1890sImperialGermany 119
7 SocialScienceTakesOnSocialConflict:TheStakesbehindthe
Surveysonthe‘RuralLabourQuestion’in1890sImperial
Germany 130
1 Introduction 130
2 TwoSurveysonthe‘RuralLabourQuestion’:Establishing
aManageableBasisforComparison 134
contents vii
3 TheDebateontheNeedtoInvolveWorkersDirectlyinthe
Surveys 136
4 SubjectivityandSocialChange:Weber’sCallToEngageWorkers’
Standpoint(…Indirectly) 144
5 InSearchOfWorkers’‘Ethical-IdealDrivers’ 146
6 TheMethodological(andPolitical)ImplicationsofProtestant
MinistersasSources 149
7 TheVereinQuestionnairesunderSocialDemocratScrutiny 152
8 SocialResearch,AgrarianChange,andtheQuestionofWorkers’
VantagePoint:TheGenesisofMaxWeber’sSocialTheoryinHis
Engagementwiththe‘RuralLabourQuestion’ 156
1 MaxWeberandPaulGöhre:TheIssueofWorkers’‘Rightful’Claim
toRecognitionandtheSpectreofSocialDemocracy 156
2 TheBreakdownof‘PatriarchalRelations’intheGerman
CountrysideandtheChangingMakeupofItsRuralWorking
Class 167
3 ‘TheHeavensandtheWorldMarket’:AgrarianCapitalismandthe
GrowingSocialDivisionsintheGermanEast 171
4 The‘PsychologicalFactor’:MaxWeber’sEarlyConceptualisationof
theImmanentLogicofSocialProcesses 175
5 Conclusion:Workers’StandpointandtheGenesisofWeber’sSocial
Theory 185
9 TheStandpointof‘StateReason’vs.theStandpointoftheWorking
Class:MaxWeber’sSquaresOffwithSocialDemocratsonthe‘Rural
LabourQuestion’ 188
1 Introduction 188
2 TwoGenerationsofPoliticalEconomistsTakeOnthe‘Labour
Question’ 189
3 MaxWeberDebatesKarlKaergerOntheRoleofWorker
Subjectivityinthe‘RuralLabourQuestion’ 198
4 ‘Let’sLeaveThatforWorkersThemselvestoSortOut!’:Social
Democrats’CriticalApproachtothe‘RuralLabourQuestion’ 205
5 The‘StandpointofStateReason’astheYoungMaxWeber’s
CompromisebetweenPartisanshipandObjectivity 211
6 Conclusion:TheImperativetoDefendGermanKultur:MaxWeber
betweenWorkerSelf-ConsciousnessandtheLegacyof
‘Prussianism’ 215
viii contents
part 3
ImperialismandtheNexusof Class,RaceandCulture
inMaxWeber’sEarlyThought(1894–8)
10 BetweenaGlobalStandpointandaNormativeConceptofCulture:
MaxWeberonLabour,‘CulturalDifference’andtheWorld
Market 231
1 TheWorldMarketasanInescapableReality 231
2 MaxWeber’sGlobalStandpointonSocialConflictand
Two-ProngedUnderstandingofCultureinthe1890s 235
3 TheLabour-CultureNexusinMaxWeber’sEarlyThought 244
4 Culture,RaceandLabour:TheGenesisofWeber’sCultural
ApproachtoEconomicActivityandItsContradictions 248
5 ClassandCulturalDifferenceinWeber’sEngagementwith
Workers’Standpoint 254
6 Conclusion:XenophobiaasLegitimateClassConsciousness?
Weber’sCritiqueOfSocialDemocrats’‘DreamofRacialand
CulturalEquality’ 262
11 Breakingthe‘SolidarityofAlltheRuled’:CultureandImperialism
inMaxWeber’sSolutiontothe‘LabourQuestion’ 266
1 Introduction:MaxWeberbetweentheLiberalBrentanoandthe
SocialistEngels 266
2 ImperialismandtheLabourAristocracy:LookingTowardsBritain
withEngelsasMediator 270
3 FordismasFate?Weber’sTwo-StagedUnderstandingofSocial
Conflictinthe‘FactorySystem’ 279
4 Conclusion:AMatterof(Worker)Conscience:TheRoleofIdeals
andKulturinFacingtheChallengeofSocialDemocracy 290
Epilogue:TheLateMaxWeberandtheProblemoftheNon-existing
AlternativetoCapitalism 309
BibliographyandSources 327
Index 339
Acknowledgements
ThisbookisaheavilyeditedversionofthePhDthesisIsubmittedtothePolit-
icalSciencedepartmentoftheFreeUniversityofBerlininmid-2017.Mysincere
thanksgo,firstof all,tomyadvisors,Wolf-DieterNarr(inmemoriam),Klaus
RothandJanRehmann,whohappentobeamongthekindest,mostgenerous
(andpatient)scholarsImetinGermany.Wolf-Dieter’shealthdidnotallowhim
tocontinueasfirstadvisor–thoughhisfingerprintsarefoundthroughoutmy
work–andJanRehmannagreedtostepinatanadvancedstageoftheresearch.
Thediscussionof anearlymanuscriptathisNewYorkhomeremainsoneof
themostexhilaratingintellectualexchangesIhaveexperiencedandIcontinue
toprofitfromourcollaborationintheeditorialworkfortheHistorical-Critical
DictionaryofMarxism.MysincerethanksalsogoestoWolfgangFritzHaug,the
hcdm’sfounder,whorespondedtoanemailofminein2012askingforadvisor
suggestions;hispromptreferraltoNarr,RehmannandWolfgangKüttlersetthis
wholeadventureinmotionandopenedupaworldofcriticalknowledge(and
friendship) in the circle of gifted people that help make the dictionary pro-
jectareality.StefanBergeralsoansweredthatemailandhasbeenavaluable
Gesprächspartnereversince.TheexchangeswithDarkoSuvinovertheyears,in
turn,havebeeneye-openingandinspiring.MythanksalsogotoSaraFarrisfor
theadvice,insightandsupport.Finally,itishardtoputintowordshowmuch
IlearnedfromJoséPauloNetto,withoutwhosesupportandencouragement–
alongsideLeilaEscorsim–thiswork(andthejourneythatledtoit)wouldnot
havebeenpossible.
Theresearchforthisbookbenefitedimmenselyfromthedecadesof pain-
stakingworkthatresultedintherecently-concluded MaxWeber-Gesamtaus-
gabe;evenmoreso,fromthegenerosityandopennessofmanyofthescholars
associated with the project; above all, I would like to thank Rita Aldenhoff-
Hübinger,GangolfHübingerandEdithHanke.SamWhimster,JoshuaDerman,
ÁlvaroMorcillo-LaizandSérgiodaMatahaveinspiredmewiththeircommit-
menttoandknowledgeofWeber’swork.TheresearchersoftheWeberScholars
Networkhavealsolefttheirmarkinthisbook.
MyresearchinBerlinwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutadoctoralfel-
lowship from the daad, which also enriched my time in Germany with the
various activities it organises and the support from my contact Maria Sal-
gado, to whom my heartfelt thanks goes. In my final year I also benefited
from an FUBright grant for a six-week stay at the History department of the
GeorgeWashington University, and from a semester as a guest researcher at
theInstituteof SociologyattheAlbert-Ludwigs-UniversitätFreiburg.Angela
x acknowledgements
ZimmermanandManuelaBoatcă,myhostsinWashington,DCandFreiburg
i.B.,respectively,havebeenincrediblygenerousandinspiringinfluencesonmy
workeversince.
I attended many conferences in these years, but both the yearly InkriT-
Tagung in Berlin and the Historical Materialism meetings in London (and
Athens) have been the absolute highlights. Though I changed topics, period
anddisciplineaftermovingtoSwitzerlandinSeptember2017,thereworking
ofthethesisprofitedmuchfromallIhavelearnedfrommyhostinBerne,Bri-
gitteStuder.ThomasBarfusshasbroughtfriendshipandperspective.Wolfram
Adolphi, defiance and critical insight (with much humanity and kindness
mixedin).
IwouldalsoliketothankSebastianBudgenandtheeditorialteamatHis-
torical Materialism for the opportunity to publish my dissertation alongside
so many fantastic authors in the hm series and for their support during the
manuscriptpreparation.
Iamluckytohavemadesomanyvaluableacquaintancessincemovingto
EuropeinApril2014thatIwillnameonlythecitieswheremostofthesedear
friendsare:Berlin,Barcelona,TampereandAthens;Ialsomissmyfriendsin
Brazil,whohavemanagedtobepresentthroughouttheseyears,despitethat
Atlanticinbetween;Jéssica,JoãoVictoreRodrigo,vocêsrepresentamtodosesses
fazedoresdesaudades.Iwouldalsoliketothankwithallmyheartmyfather
Eduardo, mother Luciana and brother Filipe, por inspirar, amar e acolher. E
AnaCarolina,queéparteinsuprimíveldessa(edaminha)história.