Max Weber and the New Century

Book excerpt: "The most profound and enduring social theorist of sociology's classical period, Max Weber speaks as cogently to concerns of the new century as he did to those of the past. Over the past seventy years, those special ideas that have become identified as ""Weberian"" have become especially pertinent to those who would analyze today's socioeconomic and cultural life. They offer the possibility of a more acute understanding of our immediate future than reliance on the ideas of any other social theorist in the pantheon. Alan Sica demonstrates Weber's preeminent position and lasting vitality within social theory by applying them to topics of contemporary concern. The result will appeal to experts and novices alike.Max Weber and the New Century documents the continuing usefulness of Weber's unrivalled social thought. Sica offers a series of linked studies that treat Weber's concept of rationalization as expressed in different cultural forms, the role of Weberian ideas in contemporary historiography, the uses of Weber's image in the popular imagination, the rhetorical structure of Economy and Society, and Weber's relationship to modern philosophical thought. Conceptually and practically, this volume is a companion piece to the author's forthcoming Max Weber: A Comprehensive Bibliography--a 3,600-item bibliography of works by and about Weber in English--which, for the first time, will allow scholars to explore the universe of Weberian analysis.Max Weber and the New Century is a valuable addition to the library of social scientists, historians, philosophers, economists, and students of intellectual history. It shows that Weber--the scholar as much as his ideas--continues to inspire fruitful social and cultural analyses."