Weber-Bureaucratic+Society

Weber gives a complex way of breaking down how the bureaucracy influences our lives and society and how stratification of a society is explained in more than two categories. Both influence people and are involved in the process of social change. He saw that culture and structure are related. He saw that in the West there was a different form of capitalism which became known as a rational capitalism. In order for this to influence it's culture we need to have rationalization and legitimacy. Rational capitalism is a practice to seeing and actioning in certain ways that are moral because it makes sense for its final product which is to make money (p.50). For example, if being honest and organized will benefit the process of making your work efficient than it is rational to be have those qualities. Enjoying money is left aside in order to continue making money. The whole idea is to make more and more money. Along with this idea, people have a "calling" or vocational calling. Duty to a particular job also goes hand and hand. A person must feel a sense of duty to work to have motivation to continue their work. The duty of work extends to being efficient in the work that we do. All of these bring about the spirit of capitalism. For a culture to accomplish this spirit of capitalism, people need to believe in the system's authority or validity. The process is known as legitmacy. People will work and be efficient as long as they see their culture system as correct. This is how bureacracies and organizations get a lot of support. It is ideal to go to college after high school. Not that you were forced to apply and get accepted to a particular school is the reason why you made that decision, but that is society thinks it is right and good to. You can see now how most freshman students come straight after highschool and are usually 18 or 19 years old. Legitimacy also influences culture to act in unision together. Authority on the other hand is the ability to make people believe in legitimacy. Weber breaks it down in three types of authority: charismatic, traditional, and rational-legal authority (p.60). Charismatic authority is based on what people see an individuals' vocations be such as certain activists and religious founders. Traditional authority is authority based on way of life and time. Rational-legal is an authority that the has the credentials to be in authority such as a doctor or nurse. Marx had described society very simply with just owners and workers, Weber described it is a more comlex way consisting of class, status, and party. Weber divided class into different categories:negatively and postively privilege, and middle class(p.55). Class is based on how you are able to acquire goods and services. So, if you were a owner of an apartment complex and were profitting from your tenants than you would be labeled as positively privilege. If you were the tenant who has been behind on rent than you would be negatively privileged. Anyone who doesn't necessary make a lot of money to be called rich or wealthy, but don't have any acumulated debt is middle class. Status is another way we define each other. It is based on how people see each other in regards to culture (p.58). It can be constructed in several ways such as a particular interests, education, and popularity or birth right. For example, listening to classical and hiphop. Each of these choices in music has a culture around it and is seen in positive and negative light. Party is not as explained as power by Weber. Party is the groups or people who influences an action such as the liberal and conservative parties and lobbists. Weber explained that when people begin to question the authority and organizations lose their legitimacy than social change will occur (p.61). It is based on legitmacy of any groups stratification.