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Fleeing the Iron Cage: Politics and Culture in the Thought of Max Weber

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  • Scaff, Lawrence A.

Abstract

The problem of politics and culture emerged in European thought from Kierkegaard to Freud the encounter with modernity. In this paper I examine a major instance of that encounter in Weber's “science of culture†and his analysis of the cultural significance of capitalism. In Weber's work the most important and politically relevant responses to modern, subjectivist culture lie in attempts from within the ethical, aesthetic, erotic, and intellectualist life orders or value spheres to escape from the “iron cage†constructed by Western rationalism. I investigate the relative autonomy and paradoxical nature of these different attempts, and conclude with an explanation of Weber's choices with respect to the sphere of knowledge, or “science.â€

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  • Scaff, Lawrence A., 1987. "Fleeing the Iron Cage: Politics and Culture in the Thought of Max Weber," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(3), pages 737-755, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:81:y:1987:i:03:p:737-755_20
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    Cited by:

    1. Raelin, Joseph A., 2008. "Emancipatory Discourse and Liberation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 39(5), pages 519-540.
    2. Josef Hien, 2020. "Cultural Political Economy: An Alternative Approach to Understanding the Divergences between Italian and German Positions during the Euro Crisis," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 1056-1073, July.

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