Linkage between Bureaucratic Structure and Human Agency - Assignment Example

Order 112427 Max Weber - linkage between bureaucratic structure and human agency One of Max Weber's most renowned and famous works was written inthe year 1904 to 1905, and was entitled 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'. Max Weber is known to have put forth the argument, in this work that 'Capitalism' as such must have developed historically, as a result of a so called 'religious movement', known as 'Protestantism', also known as Calvinism'. Calvinism, as Weber stated, believed in the doctrine of 'predestination', that is, in other words, in the notion that it was in fact God who decreed and decided on the eternal damnation of some persons, and the eternal salvation of some others, and these major decisions would not be based on their basic goodness or badness, but on the fact that since God had 'willed it' to happen, then it would happen inevitably. (Kilcullen, 1996) This important belief is said to have made the Calvinists quite anxious about their Salvation, and this led to the fact that they attempted to console themselves and get rid of their anxiety by making concerted attempts to succeed in all their economic and other undertakings. The widespread belief may have been that God would quite naturally demonstrate his favor by bestowing prosperity and wealth on the various enterprises and undertakings of the elect. In addition, no Calvinist believed in self indulgence, and this meant that all the finances generated and raised by their present undertakings would perforce be put back into future undertakings, or 'callings' as they were referred to, both by the employer as well as by the employee. The small reward that they expected was a mere earthly one, but this was sufficient for the Calvinist. (Kilcullen, 1996) It was also Max Weber's opinion that Protestant doctrines believed in the fact that men must accept a humbler sort of station in their lives, and that they must devote their energies into performing mundane tasks and duties. Weber also believed that since there was no hierarchical Church structure present, it meant that there would be no episodes of upward mobility and a need for acquisition. however, it was because of the 'work and save' ethic that was being followed by these people that the phenomenon of 'Capitalism' was brought into the picture, and since there is absolutely no doubt that a dedication and a devotion and a deep commitment towards one's work would inevitably bring forth the desired productivity, especially on the part of the Calvinists, who believed in the dedication to one's own 'beruf', or duty, or calling. (Max Weber, 1864 to 1920) It is widely acknowledged everywhere that Max Weber had an ingrained concept of 'rationality and rationalism' in all his works, and according to Rogers Brubaker, it was veritably a 'great unifying theme' in his work, even though it has been stated by some others that the concept was at times 'evasive'. It was Weber's opinion that the very history of 'rationalism' has revealed that it does not follow any type of parallel lines in life in general, and also that the very idea of rationality is both multi directional and multi dimensional. Rationality was, for Weber, the manifestation of individual freedoms, and also another meaning for conceptual lucidity, among various other meanings. (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) According to Max Weber, sociology as such meant that it was nothing but a 'comprehensive science of social action', and it must be also noted that most of Max Weber's ideals stem from the idea that human beings attach a great many subjective meanings to all their manifold actions and interactions within any specific social context. Therefore, in this context, rationality means that most human beings restlessly strive for a goal, which in itself may not be rational, but for which most people strive through rational means. As most people have diverse numbers of motivational factors, it would mean that most human behavior as such is caused by a mixture of all these motivations. This was in fact the main reason why Max Weber was able to concentrate all his energies on the operation and also on the expansion of all his manifold enterprises, in the public as well as in the private sectors of modern society. (The Sociology of Max Weber, by Dr. Frank W Elwell) Today, according to the current trends all around the world, and the ongoing 'war on terrorism', there is a growing phenomenon of insecure national identities, and also a fear of imperialism in many parts of the world. There is today an Islamic Diaspora, and also a decline in the numbers of people who believe in the hitherto popular mainstream religions of the world. There is also a lot of tension between existing political institutions, and religious ideals. The most important question being raised everywhere is: can democratic societies actually allow religiously motivated behavior to dominate and permeate today's societies, even though it may be true that it may well be against today's societal welfare Religious pluralism is most definitely on the rise, but in some countries, repression is also increasing. It must be noted that where there is religious repression, it also means that the basic freedom and rights of people all over the world are being stolen from them. (Lucas; Robbins, 2004) For example, according to the rising trend of Christian Fundamentalism, the current Imperialistic invasion of Iraq by the United States of America and the resultant slaughter of more than thousands of innocent citizens of that country is a small part of the Grand Divine Plan that would eventually result in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. By establishing an empire that would probably extend all the way across the globe, Christ would rule over believers, and dispatch of non-believers, while at the same time criticizing the so called Muslim Fundamentalists. Reports reveal that more than a substantial one third of all American citizens are today deeply involved in some form of Christian Fundamentalism or the other, while some others are involved in Muslim Fundamentalism, and some others in Jewish. (Sikand, 2005) Within all these various religions, the term Fundamentalism is used to refer to the most conservative divisions of that religion. (Religious Fundamentalism and Peace) Since this trend seems to be increasing, and more and more people are becoming more and more involved in the fundamentalist beliefs of their own religions, I believe that if Max Weber had been alive today, he would have stated that there will be a significant decrease in religious tolerance, and since the result will inevitably be an increase in greed and a driving need for 'acquisition', in the words of Max Weber, there will be lesser degree of commitment on the part of both the employer and the employee, in direct conflict with the globalization that is taking place everywhere in the world today. Instead of bringing people closer to each other and bridging the existing gaps between the people of the world, religious fundamentalism would only have the result of increasing them, and creating a society of intolerant and bigoted and narrow minded and prejudiced people. What would happen to the world References Kilcullen, John. (1996) "Max Weber, on Capitalism" Retrieved From http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y64l10.html Accessed 11 February, 2006 Lucas, Phillip; Robbins, Tom. (2004) "New Religious Movements in the Twenty First Century, Legal, Political and Social Challenges" Routledge (UK). "Max Weber, 1864 to 1920" Retrieved From http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/weber.htm Accessed 11 February, 2006 "Religious Fundamentalism and Peace" Retrieved From http://www.lpj.org/Activities/Religious.htm Accessed 11 February, 2006 Sikand, Yoginder. (17 November, 2005) "American Christian Fundamentalist Leader calls for Global War" Retrieved from http://www.countercurrents.org/us-sikand171105.htm Accessed 11 February, 2006 "The Sociology of Max Weber, by Dr. Frank W Elwell" Retrieved From http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/felwell/Theorists/Four/Presentations/Weber/Weber.ppt Accessed 11 February, 2006 "The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill" Retrieved From http://www.unc.edu/elliott/docs/weber.pdf Accessed 11 February, 2006 Read More