Max Weber Studies

Abstract:

Max Weber's concept of Beruf is manifested in his view on politics both as a profession and vocation. The democratization of suffrage led to the rise of new types of politicians living off politics, who were fiercely criticized in the early-twentieth century. Werner Sombart's series of articles in 1907 offers us a 'representative anecdote' of this criticism. He combines idealistic, positivistic and syndicalistic disgust for the parliamentary and electoral politics and condemns the professional politicians. Weber never refers to Sombart's articles, but at least one passage in Politik als Beruf offers a direct allusion to Sombart. With his idealization of experts and contempt for the daily practices of politicians, Sombart serves as a good example of those academics and literati, whom Weber criticized for not understanding the distinctive demands that a politician must face. The distinctive point in Weber's defence of professional politicians concerns their chance to act as counterweights to bureaucratization.