Max Weber in Politics and social thought Max Weber is widely regarded as one of the foundational thinkers of the twentieth century. but how did this reclusive german scholar manage to leave such an indelible mark on modern political and social thought? Max Weber in Politics and Social Thought is the first comprehensive account of Weber’s impact on both german and american intellectuals. drawing on a wide range of sources, Joshua derman illuminates what Weber meant to contemporaries in the Weimar republic and nazi germany, and analyzes why they reached for his concepts to articulate such widely divergent under­ standings of modern life. The book also accounts for the transfor­ mations that Weber’s concepts underwent at the hands of émigré and american scholars, and, in doing so, elucidates one of the major intellectual movements of the mid­twentieth century: the transat­ lantic migration of german thought. joshua derman is assistant Professor of World history at the hong Kong university of science and technology. he was a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow at the european university institute in Florence, italy, and has received fellowships from the german academic exchange service and the Josephine de Karman Fellowship trust. ideas in context 102 Max Weber in Politics and social thought From Charisma to Canonization ideas in context edited by daVid arMitage, JenniFer Pitts, Quentin sKinner and JaMes tullY The books in this series will discuss the emergence of intellectual traditions and of related new disciplines. The procedures, aims, and vocabularies that were gen­ erated will be set in the context of the alternatives available within the contem­ porary frameworks of ideas and institutions. Through detailed studies of the evolution of such traditions, and their modification by different audiences, it is hoped that a new picture will form of the development of ideas in their concrete contexts. by this means, artificial distinctions between the history of philoso­ phy, of the various sciences, of society and politics, and of literature may be seen to dissolve. The series is published with the support of the exxon Foundation. A list of books in the series can be found at the end of the volume. Ma x Weber in Politics and social thought From Charisma to Canonization Joshua derMan Hong Kong University of Science and Technology cambridge university press cambridge, new York, Melbourne, Madrid, cape town, singapore, são Paulo, delhi, Mexico city cambridge university Press The edinburgh building, cambridge cb2 8ru, uK Published in the united states of america by cambridge university Press, new York www.cambridge.org information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107025882 © cambridge university Press 2012 This publication is in copyright. subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of cambridge university Press. First published 2012 Printed in the united Kingdom at the university Press, cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data derman, Joshua, 1977– Max Weber in politics and social thought : from charisma to canonization / Joshua derman. p. cm. – (ideas in context) includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978­1­107­02588­2 (hardback) 1. Political science–Philosophy–history–20th century. 2. Political science–united states– Philosophy–history–20th century. 3. Political science–germany–Philosophy–history– 20th century. 4. Weber, Max, 1864–1920–Political and social views. 5. Weber, Max, 1864–1920–influence. i. title. ja83.d455 2012 320.01–dc23 2012016072 isbn 978­1­107­02588­2 hardback cambridge university Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third­party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. For my mother and father