Politics as a Vocation

Politics as a Vocation was the second lecture as part of a lecture series " Mental work as a profession ," Max Weber on January 28, 1919 Free Student in front of the "Bund. Bavarian Association " held in Munich bookstore Steinicke - the first was science as a profession, which he held on 7 November 1917. The greatly expanded text of this paper was published in July 1919. Politics as a Vocation has become a classic of political science.

Content

In this essay, Weber has set up one of the central definitions of the state, in which the state " as a community which the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force takes ( with success) to complete within a given territory ". Thus, the state may exist, the dominated people of the claimed authority itself must add. According to Weber, there are three for legitimacy reasons:

Weber differentiated between professional politicians and avocational politician ( confidence men and boards of party political associations ) which exert policy only when needed, but above all do not have a principal income from it. The professionalization but also the constraints of professional politicians are the core topic of the presentation.

Said he Dilettantenwirtschaft of Erbpolitikern and passionate politicians who make policy for the cause, he puts them in conflict with the civil service, which remains, even if a change of power and focuses solely on pragmatic contents of the policy. He pulled the professional version of " purely technical and political points " before.

According to Weber, are the three most important qualities of a politician:

The biggest weakness for a politician, however, is the vanity, these will make the politicians seem irrelevant and irresponsible.

In addition, Weber has coined the terms ethics of responsibility and ethic. According to Weber followed every good politician higher goals, ie a specific ethics. Weber asks in " Politics as a Vocation " at the end if a politician rather an ethics of responsibility ( the consequences of action in mind ) or an ethics of conviction ( the morally right thing to do ) is to follow. The question for him is ultimately not be answered clearly, because politics is contingent according to Weber, the head, but not just with his head. He concludes that of conviction and ethics of responsibility are not opposites, but complements that make all the right politicians together.

Terms and Definitions

Opportunity politicians

The opportunity politician describes Weber as all those who like to ballots or comment on other ways their political will, such as by a political speech or an act of influencing a political event.

In addition to professional politicians

Part-time politicians are again those which exert their political activities only when needed and neither material nor spiritual " life make it" her. Such persons may be directors of party political associations according to Weber, but also members of city councils or parliament that operate only during a session active politics.

Professional politicians

Weber derives first from the need for the professional politicians from different premises. He describes the need for this type on the basis of the Prince Regent as a community. So this indeed had stalls that served him (which the above described sideline politicians were similar ), but they were far from being to act politically and were only active when the Lord explicitly demanded this. However, the prince was not enough help such forces, and therefore were full-time assistants, so habit politicians needed to meet the daily tasks.

Weber divided while the concept of the professional politician in those. Policy for, and those who live by the policy However, this is to be noted that the modern politicians both of which combines in itself. With the life of the policy Weber said someone who " his life it" makes. Whether it is the naked possession of the power or the service of a cause. Weber says here but following something that certainly has important meaning: namely, that only someone can live for one thing, if he can live by it.

So he must be very wealthy on the one hand, to be independent with the income that yields him the policy. On the other hand it must also be economically dispensable, which means that his income must not depend on the use of its work force. Such can therefore neither destitute, workers, but also to be an entrepreneur, but only pensioners, which involve unearned income. However, this would have a plutocratic recruitment of political leadership result.

However, since the wealthy man can not be independent, by orienting himself in the true sense of the policy only in the matter, but also has the protection of his economic Sekurität in view, even this can not be a solution. However, a democratization makes an opening for other layers required, thus the activities in the policy must be remunerated. This may now be done on the fees for official acts or by the fixed terms of kind or salaries.