Internet Exercises

Exercise 1

Collins and Makowsky point out that “by removing animistic entities the world becomes open to rational explanation. The door is opened to scientific investigation and explanation. This new-found rationalism can spill over into the social realm as well” (p. 123).

Go to http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/WEBERW9.HTML. Read the brief passage on “Rationalization and Disenchantment” and answer the following questions:

1. The passage states that modernity “has been deserted by the gods.” In Weber’s grand theory, what does this mean?



2. According to this passage, how did the rationalization of religious life affect magic?



3. According to this passage, what was the impact of rationalization in the sphere of law?



4. How did rationalization affect music?

Exercise 2

Collins and Makowsky observe: “Always a political man, Weber discovered organizational politics even in the supposedly neutral instrument of bureaucracy. As was noted with regard to his theory of stratification, Weber saw how individuals’ views and interests develop from the positions they hold, and he saw how rules and regulations could be used in the continual jockeying for authority and autonomy that human beings carry on” (p. 118).

Go to http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Weber/Whome.htm#Bureaucracy. After reading the passage on bureaucracy, answer the following questions:

1. According to this passage, what are the characteristics of bureaucracy?



2. According to this passage, what does bureaucracy make possible?



3. What is the serious misunderstanding of Weber that this passage addresses?



4. Why is it such a serious misunderstanding of Weber’s ideal-typical bureaucracy?