中國國族神學：中國與韋伯一百週年 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學亞太研究英語碩士學位學程 International Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies College of Social Sciences National Chengchi University 碩士論文 Master’s Thesis. 政治大. 立中國國族神學：. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 中國與韋伯一百週年 On China’s National Theology: Weber and China, 100 Years On. er. io. sit. y. Nat. n. al Student: Theo Powardi v n C h Professor Yuan U Advisor: I engchi 中華民國 108 年 12 月 December 2019. 1. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(2) 中國國族神學：中國與韋伯一百週年 On China’s National Theology: Weber and China, 100 Years On 研究生：指導教授：. Student: Theo Poward Advisor: Professor Yuan I 國立政治大學. 治. 政亞太研究英語碩士學位學程大. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 碩士論文. y. sit. Nat. A Thesis. er. io. Submitted to International Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies. al. n. v i n C hChengchi University National engchi U. In partial fulfillment of the Requirement For the degree of Master in China Studies. 中華民國 108 年 12 月 December 2019. 2. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(3) Acknowledgments Both while writing this Thesis, and more generally while I have been studying at National Chengchi University, Dr. Yuan I has met with me and engaged me in conversations and discussions that have helped me clarify what I wanted to say. I am deeply grateful for his guidance. The constructive and sophisticated feedback that I have received from my committee members, Dr. Lin Hsuan-Hsiang and Dr. Chen Chien-Kang, has also been integral to the work that I have accomplished, and I am subsequently in their debt. On a personal level I am forever grateful for the love and support of my fiancée Tzu-Hsuan Huang; especially her patience and. 政治大. care as this Thesis captured my attention for many hours of many days, weeks, and months.. 立. Additionally I would like to thank my family, both those in the U.K. who have given me. ‧ 國. 學. feedback and support where possible, and in Taiwan who have given me security, and a home to stay at while living in Taiwan. This Thesis also would not have been possible without all. ‧. those at NCCU who contributed to the IMAS course as teachers and administrators, as well as. Nat. sit. y. my fellow students. Lastly, to the government of Taiwan ROC which provided the scholarship. n. al. er. io. that supported me as I worked towards my degree in this beautiful country I offer my thanks.. i n U. v. This whole experience has been formative and unforgettable, and one that I hold dear going forward in life.. Ch. engchi. 3. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(4) Abstract Recent scholarship in Political Theology, especially in how it relates to nationalism and identity formation, has often not factored into the discussion and concerns of mainstream International Relations and Political theorists. Most work has focused on the problematic category of ‘religion’ and mainly focuses on the topic of religious freedom in China and how it relates to wider issues in International Relations. There is a large divide between the work of scholars who have been reassessing and challenging the dominant paradigm for engaging with theology in IR: Secularisation, and the mainstream scholars who continue to operate under this. 政治大. paradigm. This piece attempts to bridge this divide by using the work of Max Weber,. 立. particularly his work on Ideal Types for Social formation, and adapting them in such a way. ‧. ‧ 國. societies.. 學. that allows for an engagement with the Theological concepts that underpin contemporary. To demonstrate this methodology in action, contemporary Chinese Nationalism is. Nat. sit. y. analysed using this adapted framework of analysis. Max Weber is doubly useful here because. n. al. er. io. of his extensive engagement with China in his work ‘The Religion of China: Confucianism and. i n U. v. Taoism’ which was published in the years before his death in 1920. This Thesis, therefore,. Ch. engchi. updates both the methodology and analysis on the same subject, 100 years later.. Key Words: Chinese Nationalism, China, Nationalism, Theology, Political Theology, Sociology, Max Weber. 4. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(5) 摘要. 在國際關係理論和政治理論領域內，政治神學理論很少在此領域被討論，更別說在民族主義理論或是認定形成理論裡討論。國際關係理論一般把政治神學理論歸類於“宗教”，這個分類造成了國際關係研究裡極大問題，導致政治神學只局限在中國宗教自由以及與其他國際關係相關議題。國際關係理論學者對政治神學沒有一致的看法而形成了兩個學派，包括認同世俗化理論的主流國際關係學者，以及反對世俗化理論的非主流國際關係學者。此論文將採用韋伯. 治政大提出的理論來銜接雙方的歧異，並申論韋伯所提出的社會形成理念型理論，加以使用其理論來立洞察政治神學是如何潛移默化地形成當代社會。. ‧ 國. 學 ‧. 為了證明此方法可行，此論文將探討中國民族主義作為案例分析。韋伯曾在他 1920 去. sit. y. Nat. 世前出版“中國的宗教: 儒教及道教”一書申論中國宗教議題，本論文認為此理論對此研究論文. io. al. n. 究方法以及分析論述。. er. 具有相當大的實用性，本論文在韋伯去世 100 年後，針對了相同主題，同時也更新了原著的研. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 關鍵詞: 中國民族主義、民族主義、神學、政治神學、社會學、韋伯. 5. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(6) Table of Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... 3 Abstract ................................................................................................................................. 4 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... 6 1 Introduction........................................................................................................................ 8 1.1 Rationale ...................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Research Design and Analysis ..................................................................................... 11. 政治大. 1.4 Key Terms .................................................................................................................. 12 1.4.1 On the term ‘Religion’ .......................................................................................... 13. 立. 2 Max Weber in Review ....................................................................................................... 15. ‧ 國. 學. 2.1 Political Theology ....................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Weber’s Framework.................................................................................................. 15. ‧. 2.2.1 Weber’s basic assumptions .................................................................................... 16 2.2.2 A New Approach: Ideal Types as variables in Institutional development ................. 19. y. Nat. sit. 2.2.3 Religious Virtuoso, Prophecy and Breakthrough.................................................... 21. er. io. 2.2.4 Priest and Magician: Bureaucracy and Charisma .................................................. 26. al. 2.3 Problems with Weber .................................................................................................. 33. n. v i n 2.3.1 Disenchantment and the End 33 C hof History................................................................. U i e h n gc 2.3.2 Secularisation contradiction .................................................................................. 36. 3 Weber’s Methodology Adapted.......................................................................................... 41 3.1 A Theological System .................................................................................................. 41 3.2 Priesthood and Prophecy............................................................................................. 43 3.3 Theology and Societal Makeup .................................................................................... 46 3.3.1 Monotheism and Polytheism.................................................................................. 47 3.3.2 Transcendentalism and Immanentism ................................................................... 51 3.4 Summary of Method ................................................................................................... 54 4 China’s National Theology: An Overview .......................................................................... 56 4.1 The Literati Priesthood and China’s Slow Unification .................................................. 56 4.1.1 Chinese Monotheism: ‘Tao’ Theology, Tien Xia, and the Middle Land ................... 58 6. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(7) 4.1.2 Internal Diversity but No External Dissent............................................................. 61 4.1.3 Balancing Transcendence and Immanence ............................................................. 64 4.2 Nationalism, Prophecy and Revolution ........................................................................ 70 4.2.1 Polytheism and Nationalism: The Copernican Theological Shift ............................. 71 4.2.2 New Conception of Time and Salvation: Salvation in the Future ............................. 74 4.2.3 Polytheism and Immanentism Reflected in the Composition of the Priesthood ........ 76 4.3 Communist Party Theology ......................................................................................... 80 5 Further Analysis of China’s National Theology .................................................................. 85 5.1 Balancing Immanentism and Transcendentalism ......................................................... 85 5.1.1 ‘Value Spheres’ and Communist Party dominance of society .................................. 86 5.1.2 Colonisation of Minorities in China ....................................................................... 88. 政治大 5.2 KMT Heresy ............................................................................................................... 90 立 5.1.3 Taking a Step Back ............................................................................................... 89. 5.3 The Protestant Work Ethic Thesis in China: An Economic Miracle .............................. 93. ‧ 國. 學. 6 Conclusion and Implications .............................................................................................. 97. ‧. References ......................................................................................................................... 100. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 7. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(8) 1 Introduction 1.1 Rationale This thesis will analyse the theological origins of Chinese Nationalism, especially in the form of the Communist Party of China. The rationale for such a project rests upon the following points. The secularisation thesis: that ‘religion’ and politics are separable spheres of human activity; that any modern political system must be predicated upon the expulsion of ‘religion’ from said system; and that religion will gradually die off as the world progresses deeper into modernity; has come under intense criticism and scrutiny from many angles. However, this. 政治大 the origins of modern nations and political systems in general and China in particular. 立. scrutiny has not been taken on board, or even recognised by most mainstream work looking at. ‧ 國. 學. The vast majority of scholarship written on the topic of theology and China is generally framed by discussion of a 'religious revival' in China, the fraught relations between the. ‧. Communist government and various minority groups that inevitably falls into human rights abuses, and the effect that this has on China's relations with other countries, principally the. Nat. sit. y. United States. (Kindopp 2004) (Yu 2005) The assumption is that 'religious freedom' will. io. er. forever be a sticking point in US-China relations. (Liu 2004, 149) In this context, the general arguments that are made are that China should adopt a more liberal/western approach to the. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. 'religions' within its borders. (Chan 2004, 72) The most common arguments for engaging with. engchi. theology are the positive role that so-called 'religious' groups can play in democratising, and the importance of understanding the threat of extremism. (Hamrin 2004, 175-176) Zhibin Xie offers a combined recommendation for China which he dubs 'liberal-constrained public religion'. (Xie 2006, 143) There is a huge disconnect between this discussion and the recent works done in the field of political theology. The secularisation thesis itself can be traced to Max Weber and his thoughts that the ‘increasing intellectualization and rationalization’ had not improved our knowledge of the world so much as it had disenchanted it. (Derman 2012, 55) The negative view that Weber has of modernity (Gane 2004, 2) is often overlooked. He argued that at the end of the process of disenchantment we were faced with the prospect of “many old gods, demystified and thus in the shape of impersonal forces... rising up from their graves. They 8. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(9) strive to gain power over our lives and again they resume their eternal struggle with one another.” (Mommsen 1989, 140) Weber was talking about a conflict between different spheres of life. I'm talking about conflict over which social grouping dominates by commanding the lethal loyalty of a people. This is an attempt to move the conversation on from the paradigm of secularisation. There is a paradigm shift underway in the field of Political Theology that so far has had little to no impact upon the scholarship in mainstream IR. The questions are changing from whether or not ‘religion’ is a factor, or whether or not people believe in a particular god. It is changing towards looking at how theology provides the concepts and ideas that help people in general make sense of the world around them, and what makes them willing to kill and die for those sense-making narratives. Weber believed that scholarship could not provide an answer to ‘the. 政治大. only question of importance for us: ‘What shall we do? How shall we live?’’ (Derman 2012,. 立. 56) Picking a side in this endless war between the societies that control the lethal loyalties of. ‧ 國. of the origin of one of these modern gods: China.. 學. the world’s population is not the aim of this thesis. The more modest aim of providing clarity. ‧. In this way, this thesis seeks to address this gap in the literature by proceeding to study a modern nation, China, without reference or recognition to the assumed validity of the. y. Nat. sit. Secularisation Thesis. The choice of China as the subject of this thesis is no accident. Not only. er. io. did Weber write extensively on Chinese theology, and not only does China hold a position of. al. v i n government makes an analysis of their C underlying Uall the more useful when attempting h e n g ctheology i h to demonstrate the relevance of theological concepts in areas where they are assumed irrelevant. n. profound importance in contemporary global affairs, but the declared atheism of the Chinese. In this way, the labels that people and groups assign themselves in terms of theology can be placed under greater scrutiny. These terms are complex and contested, yet this complexity is lost when nobody questions how they are used. In many respects, the world in which he [Weber] came of age bears a striking resemblance to our own, perhaps more so than at any other point in the past halfcentury. The revolutionary consequences of economic globalization, the precarious nature of mass politics in an age of resurgent nationalism and geopolitical multipolarity, and the dwindling supply of natural resources trouble the imagination of scholars and policy-makers as they did 100 years ago. (Derman 2012, 226) 9. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(10) There is a tendency to naturalise the way the world is; to assume that the nations, identities, and power structures are somehow rooted in natural phenomena and are therefore ontological surds. One result of this type of thinking is that when problems occur, avenues towards potential solutions are blocked due to an entrenched lack of imagination. By taking something familiar, modern Chinese nationalism, and presenting it in light of constituent parts and influences that are not normally taken into consideration; by analysing it through a lens that is not normally used; a greater range and depth of understanding could be encouraged on the issues, opening up further avenues to pursue in the future. It is hoped that by taking such an approach with China’s national theology, this thesis could contribute to such a thing. This work is intended as a bridge. If this thesis can help in some way to open up the possibility for greater engagement on the topic being discussed between political theologians. 政治大. and more mainstream social scientists, then it will have achieved its rationale.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. 1.2 Research Questions This thesis will address the following questions:. ‧. er. io. sit. Nat. 2. What is the nature of China’s national theology?. y. 1. Can nations be understood and analysed as theological systems?. The first of these questions will be answered positively through an adapted version of. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. Max Weber’s framework, which he outlines in his work ‘The Sociology of Religion’ (Weber. engchi. 1965), more work will be done going over the specifics of those revisions in the Methodology that is the focus of chapter three. The main issues surrounding Weber are his lack of clarity in his framework. Deeper analysis of these issues will form part of the Literature Review in chapter two of this thesis. These issues need to be addressed before a framework can be offered which can be used to answer the second question driving the research of this thesis. The second question will be addressed through the application of the methodology to contemporary Chinese nationalism. The approach, like Weber’s, is one that analyses the evolution of ideas and institutions throughout history to see how they led to the specific configuration that we see in our subject. The assumption that underpins this work is a strengthened version of one found in Weber; that theological principles and ideas can be found influencing the development of modern, supposedly secular, societies. The task of this thesis 10. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(11) is to outline the specific theological concepts and ideas that have been most formative in the construction of contemporary Chinese nationalism. This task, plus further analysis of the findings will form chapters four and five of this thesis before the work is concluded in chapter six.. 1.3 Research Design and Analysis The thesis builds upon two interconnected methods that are adapted from Weber. The first is a framework for analysing societal changes that looks at the interaction between orthodoxies and their challengers. Weber often deployed a genealogical approach to his work, measuring change through the personification of the Prophet, a charismatic figure who pushes. 政治大. for reform and, if the reforms won are insufficient, revolution. The Second is an oppositional framework composed of the theological-ideological makeup upon which these forces, and. 立. therefore the societies that they represent, can be mapped. For Weber, this was represented by. ‧ 國. 學. the Priest and the Magician, and their related offices, roles and connected institutions. Here we have a method for tracing the development of the Chinese national theology by analysing key points in the history and measuring how they explain the development of contemporary China.. ‧. It is important to point out that this is an interpretive piece, aimed at offering analysis of China,. y. sit. io. er. Chinese leadership.. Nat. and maybe some hints towards predictions, rather than recommendations for the current. al. v i n theology. This will mean looking atC the background factors; h e n g c h i U especially the Confucian Literati priesthood and the theological system they formed an integral part of since before China was n. In Chapter four, the thesis will focus on the birth of the contemporary Chinese national. first unified under the Qin. Following that the focus will be on the chaotic and violent transitional period between the Opium Wars and the rise of the Chinese Communist Party, often referred to by the Chinese as the century of humiliation. As is evident, these are periods of chaotic change rather than specific events. By analysing which specific theological concepts rose to ascendency through these periods of turmoil we can trace the development of the theological system that is the contemporary Chinese nation. This will form the third section of this chapter. Chapter five will analyse the major implications of chapter four. This includes to what extent the issues facing the Communist party are inherited from the Imperial leadership; the. 11. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(12) theological reasons for the Communists winning dominance over the Nationalists, and the future and potential for reform in the Communist Party based on their theological configuration. Finally, Chapter six will conclude the study by looking at broader implications and directions for further research that can be developed from this work. Including any weaknesses in this approach.. 1.4 Key Terms To avoid confusion, certain key terms are defined here. These terms are most likely used in a variety of ways outside this thesis but will be used uniformly as defined below. -. 政治大. Theology – A theology is understood here broadly as belief that engenders action. This is done as belief takes the form of a narrative that gives shape to our experiences. 立. and allows us to interpret them into systems of thought that determine how we interact. ‧ 國. -. 學. with the world around us.. Priesthood – A Priesthood is a social grouping that have power over the narrative. ‧. backbone of a theology. As a result, this is a group in society that is widely recognised. y. Nat. in that society as having answers to questions; specifically, questions to do with. sit. existential matters and matters concerning the interpretation of experience. This is. -. al. n. two and three.. er. io. adapted from the work of Max Weber and will be explored in more detail in chapters. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Prophecy – Prophecy, and its medium the Prophet, is a force for change in a theological system. It is through this role, and its interaction with the priesthood, that socio-theological systems are shaped over time. This is another term adapted from Max Weber, and will also be explored in more detail in chapters two and three.. -. Theological System – A Theological System can be understood in its most basic form as a Theology with a Priesthood and followers. It is argued in this thesis that any society can be seen as a theological system as all consist of lived narratives with leaders who maintain the health of belief in that narrative.. -. Lethal Loyalty – The lethal loyalty of a person is the thing that said person is willing or compelled to kill or die for. In the context of theology and this thesis, it is akin to. 12. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(13) true worship and devotion of a god.. 1.4.1 On the term ‘Religion’ The term ‘religion’ is almost always poorly defined. Writers who use the term ‘religion’ and its relation to social sciences, often do not give definitions. This is true of Huntington, and it is true of Weber. Weber starts his work ‘The Sociology of Religion’ with a refusal to define it mixed with a hope that over the course of the work it will become clear what he is talking about. (Weber 1965, 1) Alternatively, writers may offer circular definitions. Zhibin Xie defines religion as ‘a system of religious doctrines, religious believers, and religious organizations.’ (Xie 2006, 3). 治政 definition is not just because it is a difficult and contested 大 term, like nationalism for example; 立 but that there is little in the way of consistent and adequate conceptual grounding for the term There is reason to believe that this inability or unwillingness to offer a concrete. ‧ 國. 學. to be useful. Furthermore, as William T. Cavanaugh argued in his important book ‘The Myth of Religious Violence’ (Cavanaugh 2009) there is good evidence that the term is routinely used. ‧. to cement power structures that allow for the persecution and discrimination of minority groups.. y. Nat. Talal Asad points out that the modern concept of ‘religion’ is an imposition that usually. io. sit. comes alongside colonial ‘modernisation’ efforts. (Asad 2003) Asad traces the concept of. n. al. er. ‘religion’ to Western Christian theology, arguing that there is no possible transhistorical,. i n U. v. universal definition of religion. (Asad 1993) This idea is backed up by William Cavanaugh.. Ch. engchi. The fact that the term ‘religion’ is a western invention that sparked various neologisms in East Asia, (Yu 2005, 5) (Ashiwa 2009, 43) therefore comes as no surprise. The recognition that defining ‘religion’ is an ongoing and often, though not always, voluntary negotiation informs Ashiwa and Wank’s contribution to the topic. (Ashiwa 2009). Cheng-tien Kuo goes one step further and talks about how the Communist government can be seen as instigating a ‘religion’ of their own. (Kuo 2017, 13-14) This is much closer to the truth, but not the approach taken in this thesis. Instead, the approach here is that the CCP is not ‘like a religion’ but that it is the priesthood of a theological system, China, and secondly that it is not unique in this way. The term ‘religion’ confuses this point, so it has been dropped. This leads directly into the widely held assumptions that this thesis is aimed at questioning. A principal one is the assumption that the distinction between 'religion' and 13. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(14) 'politics' is a useful one to make. Using the term 'religion' often requires an implicit acceptance of this secularisation assumption. Seeing as this assumption is rejected in this thesis, so is the use of the term 'religion' in anything except the necessity of quoting or paraphrasing its use in other writers' work. Another, related reason for not using the term, is the clarity that it then forces upon the author. 'Religion' can and is used as a placeholder for anything from charitable giving to irrational violence. It is therefore useful when writing to use terms that more accurately and relate to the meaning that is intended and are less open for misinterpretation.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 14. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(15) 2 Max Weber in Review 2.1 Political Theology The mainstream assumption is that modern nations are predicated on the separation of ‘politics’ and ‘religion’. That theology is irrelevant to political theory, and useless as far as analysing political institutions and forces. This can generally be described as the Secularisation thesis. The strongest version of the secularisation thesis erects an insurmountable barrier between the public/rational/neutral and private/religious/subjective. A softer Habermasian theory of translation argues simply that theological concepts must be translated into secular. 政治大. terms in order to be relevant to the lives of the wider population. There have been multiple writers who have criticised such a position. Some have highlighted issues with how certain. 立. terms, like 'religion' (Asad 1993) (Cavanaugh 2009) and 'secularity' (Taylor 2007), are used.. ‧ 國. 學. Others (Milbank 2013) question and sometimes explicitly reject the very foundations of the ‘modern’ paradigm of thought, arguing that all the secularisation thesis does is block us from. ‧. analysing the theological foundations of our societies.. y. Nat. In this thesis, almost the opposite will be taking place. Political institutions, movements. sit. and parties will be translated into a theological framework to emphasize how pointless and. er. io. backwards secularisation efforts are. A point of irony about this thesis is that the secularisation. al. v i n C hwhich is then improved to use Weber to provide a framework, by the inclusion of more recent engchi U n. thesis can in part be traced back to the work of Weber and Disenchantment. This thesis seeks. work in political theology, to analyse modern China as a theological unit; complete with a. priesthood and theological position driving its composition and action. The analysis of Weber offered in this Chapter draws primarily from Weber’s work The Sociology of Religion (Weber 1965), but also is indebted to the interpretations offered by Joshua Derman (Derman 2012) and Wolfgang J. Mommsen (Mommsen 1989).. 2.2 Weber’s Framework Weber is foundational to social science theory, and his work can be seen as a significant bridging point between work done in political theology and work done in social science. However, his work on political theology is often overlooked both by social scientists and political theologians, albeit for different reasons. The important thing to note for the purposes 15. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(16) of this thesis is the sheer difficulty of drawing only one coherent framework from Weber. Eric Voegelin wrote the following to Talcott Parsons on Weber’s Method: The prerequisite for having a school in science seems to me the development of a “method,” of an “approach” on the part of the man who functions as the “head” of the school … Weber’s work is grandiose in its results, but the “approach” is precisely its weak point. Anybody who wishes to follow on the path of Weber, has first of all to create a new instrument for dealing with his materials. And the man who can do that is no “disciple” but inevitably a “head” in his own right.’ (Derman 2012, 167) I have no interest in setting myself up as the head of a new school on Weber. Instead, this thesis. 政治大 misinterpretations"' of Weber's thought. (Derman 2012, 216) 立. is probably better seen as the latest in what Guenther Roth described as 'a series of "creative. ‧ 國. 學. Weber’s framework of analysis shifted to fit whatever he was analysing. His study of ‘religion’ deployed ‘ideal types to model the macro-causal effect of differences in religious. ‧. ethics on economic development.’ (Derman 2012, 157) It was for this reason that critics like Dietrich Bonheoffer argued Weber’s work on the topic should be seen as a work of history, as. Nat. sit. y. it traced developments within groups over time. (Derman 2012, 158-159) This seems to miss. io. er. the plethora of causal connections that Weber drew between theological conceptions and sociological configurations. This thesis will build on this work in particular and turn it into. n. al. i n U. v. another ‘creative misinterpretation’ that can help with the analysis of modern China as a theological system.. Ch. engchi. 2.2.1 Weber’s basic assumptions In his analysis of Max Weber’s work ‘on Chinese Religions’, Su-Jen Huang rightly points out that Weber’s work is focused and built around answering the question of why modern capitalism developed in Europe and not in China. (Huang 1994) C.K. Yang confirms this in the introduction to the 1968 edition of Weber’s ‘Religions of China.’ He argues that the biggest question of the day concerned the ‘causation of this mighty [industrial] revolution and the destiny of human society under its inexorable controlling influence.’ (Yang 1964, xiv) A keen concern of Weber was that the historical materialism of Marxism had become the dominant paradigm for answering these questions. The Protestant Work Ethic Thesis was meant as a counter to this Marxist outlook. ‘The Religion of China volume was intended as a 16. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(17) part of the substantiation for this thesis.’ (Yang 1964, xv) Huang and Yang both point to the structure of Weber’s book; the first half of which looks at socio-political reasons and the second at theological reasons. (Yang 1964, xix) Huang’s criticism lies here; he points out a contradiction between ‘[Weber’s] official conclusion that the ultimate reason for the absence of rational capitalism in China (and, inversely, its rise in the West) was to be found in religion,’ (Huang 1994, 4) and the political analysis which ‘indicates that politico-legal conditions alone were sufficient to prevent the rise of rational capitalism in China.’ (Huang 1994, 4) This makes Weber’s further discussion of the theology of China interesting, but largely irrelevant. Huang writes that ‘This inconsistency mirrors the tension between Weber’s institutional and religious explanations for the rise of rational capitalism in the West that has long confused Weber scholars.’ (Huang 1994, 4). 政治大 Huang describes this as a ‘tension between his [Weber’s] political insight and his 立 religious passion.’ (Huang 1994, 14) He notes that ‘abandoning the primacy of a religious. ‧ 國. 學. argument in the Chinese case would not only have devastated his Economic Ethic of World Religions, but also jeopardized his Protestant ethic thesis.’ (Huang 1994, 14) Yang disagrees,. ‧. for him Weber’s argument is that the material conditions do not favour either China or the West. So the differentiating factor is the ‘passive and traditionalist character of Confucian and Taoist. y. Nat. er. io. sit. values explaining why capitalism developed in the West but not in China.’ (Yang 1964, xix) For Yang, the material and theological factors cannot be so clearly disassociated.. n. al. i n U. v. Indeed, this is indicative of Weber’s thought ‘especially regarding his theory of religious values. Ch. engchi. as independent voluntaristic influences on the nature of socioeconomic development.’ (Yang 1964, xiv) He notes the peculiarity of separating ‘Weber’s discussion on literati as a status group in the first chapter on Part II’ away from the other structural factors in Part I. (Yang 1964, xx) On this point Huang notes with interest that ‘Weber presents a historical insight concerning the causal relation between political and religious development – one which is usually overlooked by Weber scholars.’ (Huang 1994, 11). Both authors seem to be hinting at a key basic assumption of Weber’s: the nature of this overlap between the socio-political and the theological. A key point of Weber is that people are proactive in how they understand reality, not reactive. This imaginative, theological, activity continues to shape socio-economic activity in direct ways. This was the point that made Weber’s thesis about the Protestant Work ethic so provocative. 17. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(18) The “inner affinity between the old Protestant spirit and modern capitalist culture” was to be found “not in its more or less materialistic or at least anti-ascetic enjoyments of life (as it is called), but rather in its purely religious features.” Seen from this perspective, the argument of The Protestant Ethic would have appeared entirely counterintuitive to Weber’s contemporaries. The sociologist Othmar Spann likely spoke for many when he declared that Weber’s thesis was as paradoxical as trying to “explain coldness from fire.” (Derman 2012, 88-89) The point to make is that the causal chain does not flow from ideal to material or from material to ideal. It runs both ways with these factors co-influencing and combining to shape society in ways that are often impossible to separate. Weber’s separation of the socio-political and the theological should not be seen as him trying to identify independent strands of causation.. 政治大. For Weber, these things are separable in the same way that the proverbial chicken and the egg. 立. are separable. It is no surprise to Weber, as it seems to be for Huang, that we see great overlap. ‧ 國. 學. both conceptual and institutional analysis of both the socio-political and the theological because for Weber these things endlessly feed into each other. A core principle for Weber was that you cannot have one without the other. (Parsons 1965, xxvii) In this way Weber’s broader. ‧. project is more than offering a sociological methodology, it was an attempt to ‘explore one of. y. Nat. the central problematics in the European tradition of moral and political thought: die. io. sit. entwicklung des menschentums (the development of the “human”), or how values and social. er. orders shape individual personalities and capacities.’ (Derman 2012, 223). al. n. v i n Weber starts The Sociology C hof Religion by Uemphasising that the theological e n g towards c h i this world and should be seen as considerations he is focusing on are oriented fundamentally rational behaviour. (Weber 1965, 1) The question that Weber laboured over was not this, but rather how to analyse the connection between the theological and the sociopolitical. As Talcott Parsons tells us: The central problem was whether men’s conceptions of the cosmic universe, including those of Divinity and men’s religious interests within such a conceptual framework could influence or shape their concrete actions and social relationships, particularly in the very mundane field of economic action… But Weber early became acutely aware, as many participants in the discussion still are not, that the problem of causation involved an analytical problem, one of the isolation of variables and the testing of their significance in situations where they could be 18. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(19) shown to vary independently of each other. (Parsons 1965, xxi) In The Sociology of Religion, Weber does offer a starting point for what these variables that allow for such an analysis might be; it is to these considerations that we now turn.. 2.2.2 A New Approach: Ideal Types as variables in Institutional development Based upon the assumption that our theology influences and shapes our actions; specifically, the institutions we build to govern ourselves. Weber left himself the task of tracing the development of governing institutions. Such a project needed a new approach than the ones that were on offer. Weber’s work can, to some extent, best be understood as a reaction against the German Idealism of his intellectual background ‘which distinguished different or opposed. 政治大. methods as appropriate to the natural sciences and to humanistic studies.’ (Parsons 1965, xxii) Weber’s ‘famous dictum that “not ideas, but material and ideal interests, directly govern men’s. 立. social conduct”’ (Mommsen 1989, 147) stands in stark contrast to this.. ‧ 國. 學. Weber was famously against the materialism that would come to dominate the field of social sciences under the influence of Marx as ‘he was convinced that the social action of. ‧. particular groups is never determined solely by economic interests.’ (Mommsen 1989, 62). y. Nat. However, he also ‘repeatedly repudiated any imputation of an intent to “explain” all social. sit. developments as emanations and consequences of “idealistic” elements. His general position. er. io. was as far removed from idealistic “emanationism” as it could possibly be.’ (Parsons 1965,. al. n. v i n C h (Mommsen 1989, but that it is a factor that cannot be ignored. e n g c h i U 57) In Weber’s mind, relying on materialistic or ideational explanations alone was too weak a position to maintain the xxii) His protestant work ethic thesis was not trying to show that theology alone shapes society,. complexity of the process of social development. This is paralleled by Weber’s insistence that although ‘values and scientific deductions were to be examined for their validity on a separate basis’ it does not make sense to think of science as ‘value-free’ or even in the radical sense as ‘value-judgement-free’, that is, removed from politics or values.’ (Mommsen 1989, 8) This basic principle for Weber is tied to his rejection of ‘approaches that claimed to discover objective historical laws or even an inner meaning to history’ which he labelled “charlatanism.” (Mommsen 1989, 55) His position was that interpreting reality was essentially impossible for the average person to do without a conceptual framework to rely on. ‘Only when specific concepts and categories, formulated from the perspective of ultimate cultural values,. 19. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(20) are applied to a limited segment of reality (which in itself is limitless), does it [reality] become meaningful.’ (Mommsen 1989, 55) The methodological concept of ideal types should be interpreted in this context: ultimate values that can be used in analysis to notice patterns of change, not based on material or ideological factors alone, but how reality is constructed by the observer in relation to these fundamental, theological, constructions of reality. Through them we are thus able not to uncover objective laws of sociology, but law-like patterns of social development. (Mommsen 1989, 55) These ideal types are ‘nomological’ in nature, (Mommsen 1989, 123) meaning they. do not have real form, they are useful interpretative constructions. Used for showing differences and trends in social development. And to do so without making ‘value-judgements.’ (Mommsen 1989, 123). 政治大 This accentuation is seen as value-neutral because ideal types are considered no 立 more than instrumental in achieving the clearest possible conceptual understanding. ‧ 國. 學. of given circumstances in the light of ‘ultimate’ viewpoints (Mommsen 1989, 124). ‧. Mommsen tells us that ‘two categories of ideal types can be distinguished in Weber’s methodological writings.’ (Mommsen 1989, 124) The first he identifies as ‘Structural types’;. Nat. sit. y. i.e. constructs which represent structures, either ideal or material, that give shape to how reality is interpreted. To flesh out a framework, this set of ideal types are often presented as antinomies,. io. n. al. er. ‘insoluble contradictions’, (Mommsen 1989, 66) between which lie spectrums that specific. i n U. v. concepts and realities can be plotted. The second type of ideal types are ‘Types of social. Ch. engchi. change’; i.e. constructs which represent historical processes in time, most specifically for our purposes social development. (Mommsen 1989, 124) Both of these can be identified in Weber’s The Sociology of Religion. In this work, Weber attempts to develop his methodology by focusing on the process of change and how institutional changes are influenced and shaped by theological concepts and considerations. (Parsons 1965, xxii) In the distinction between different ideal types, we see the basis for the two parts of his methodology. One looking at the institutional process of change, which follows generally the same pattern regardless of the context; and the other looking at the theological concepts that inform the composition and direction of that change. This general structure informs the next two sub-sections of this analysis of his methodology.. 20. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(21) 2.2.3 Religious Virtuoso, Prophecy and Breakthrough Weber’s methodology focuses on the process of dominance, change and breakthrough. Put simply, the religious virtuoso is an office that represents the establishment and the prophet is a figure of change for Weber. The established order of a society inevitably involves some form of dominance of the general population under that order. The reason for this being tied to the ‘religious virtuoso’ is because it is theological constructions, produced by the ‘religious virtuoso,’ that give a society shape, people consent to their domination because of the sensemaking work of the ‘religious virtuoso’. Prophecy refers to strands of thought that rise up to challenge that order, and breakthrough refers to reform or revolution that comes as a result of more successful prophetic movements. This subsection will focus on outlining the relationship. 政治大. between them and therefore the basis of institutional dynamics that are present in every human society.. 立. Domination and the Religious Virtuoso. ‧ 國. 學. For Weber, it seems that social formation begins with the search for questions.1 In an imagined pre-history, Weber talks about those people who are able to answer questions and. ‧. offer solutions to the wider society. An implicit assumption here is that such a role is necessary;. y. Nat. that no society could do without answers to these fundamental questions. The one who provides. sit. answers, in Weber's imagined pre-historical society, is the one who is seen as able to channel. er. io. 'extraordinary powers that have been designated by such special terms as "mana," "orenda,". al. n. v i n employ the term "charisma" for suchCextraordinary (Weber 1965, 2) We will return in h e n g cpowers.' hi U more detail to the concept of 'charisma' later, for now, it is sufficient to say that these powers and the Iranian "maga" (the term from which our word "magic" is derived). We shall henceforth. are the equivalent of being able to interpret and even shape the very fabric of reality; to channel divinity. This person is the 'Religious Virtuoso'. This figure takes on a role of leadership over the process of interpretation of reality. They are theological leaders as they offer the primary means through which the wider society is able to interpret its existence and purpose in relation to reality. This is the nature of ‘charisma’ the ability to interpret and in some cases influence the nature of reality and draw information and lessons that are useful for the wider society. In this context, consent to the structure of reality as it is presented by a ‘religious virtuoso’ is the best way of interpreting what Weber. 1. I use the word ‘seems’ here because this is not explicitly stated by Weber, but can be easily inferred.. 21. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(22) calls ‘legitimate domination.’ Within this Weber differentiated three separate types of legitimate domination: ‘legal domination [submission to the legal system and procedures] ...; traditional domination [submission to a custom or precedent] ...; and finally charismatic domination [submission to an individual leader.]’ (Mommsen 1989, 21) These types will be the subject of greater focus in the section that discusses the antinomies charisma and bureaucracy. It should be pointed out that in building up patterns of thought, action, and imagination within these systems, the 'religious virtuoso' is building up the society itself. The idea that Weber is playing with here is not the modern assumption that the 'religious virtuoso' is a selfserving parasite telling (at best noble) lies to ensure their own survival and position of power, dominance, within the society. Instead, the imaginative, theological, constructive work that the. 政治大. 'religious virtuoso' does; trying to bring meaning to the lives of those around them is seen to be. 立. a prerequisite for the society itself. Theology is not an aspect of the life of a society that has. ‧ 國. first place.. 學. already been formed, it is the foundation that makes the existence of the society possible in the. ‧. As Mommsen writes: ‘There is… the insight that all social relations are ultimately relations of domination and that even the different types of democracy do not basically. y. Nat. sit. overcome domination, that is, the external determination of individuals by other individuals.’. er. io. (Mommsen 1989, 32) This point might be easier to make if Weber had not framed it in terms. al. v i n implicit or explicit, of a certain viewCof reality. As Parsons writes: hengchi U n. of domination; the point is that every society is hierarchical and entails the acceptance either. The ideas in question imply, not only social and behavioral patterns, but kinds and levels of motivational commitment required for the implementation of these implied patterns. The motivational commitments include both “belief,” in the sense of seriousness of commitment to the cognitive validity of the ideas, and practical commitment, in the sense of readiness to put one’s own interests at stake in the service of the ideas. (Parsons 1965, xxxiii) This is what Weber means when he talks of democratic domination, (Mommsen 1989, 41) that is ‘legitimate domination primarily in terms of acceptance of effective leadership’ (Mommsen 1989, viii). 22. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(23) The specific insight that seems to cause the most problems here is the necessity of such domination. It is necessary to have some rudimentary ‘systematisation of a pattern or program for life as a whole, which is given meaning by an existential conception of the universe, and within it the human condition in which this action can be carried out.’ (Parsons 1965, xxxiii) Implied here is that without such theological systematisation, we would be unable to function, not because we would fall into some form of existentialist crisis, but because the raw information that we collect by our senses would be overwhelming and we would not be able to cope. In other words, theologising in this way is built into humans, it is part of our existence. In this, we see the basis of drawing people into acts of devotion and dedication that we would call worship. The 'Religious Virtuoso' provides the foundation for the society; including all the actions that are done in its name. This finds its parallel in Durkheim’s idea that ‘worship. 政治大. of a god is the symbolic means by which people worship their own society, their mutual. 立. dependency.’ (Kertzer 1991, 86). ‧ 國. 學. As is probably clear this presents a fundamental challenge to the liberal enlightenment vision of freedom. On the fundamental question of identity, there is no neutral frictionless. ‧. ground where we are sovereign and able to choose our allegiances, there is no Archimedean point. The question is not if we choose to devote ourselves to something, but what we choose. y. Nat. sit. to devote ourselves to. It is a mistake to think that we are capable of believing in nothing, of. er. al. n. worship.. io. worshipping nothing. The only capacity we retain is deciding what to believe in, what to. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Such a conception has led to fierce debates over Weber himself; from looking at his life and works it seems variously accurate to describe him as a nationalist and as a liberal. There is a lot of debate around which one is a better description. (Mommsen 1989, 24-25) Following this strand of through, however, it seems correct to follow Mommsen and say that Weber was both a Liberal and a Nationalist. (Mommsen 1989, 25) Unlike Mommsen, we do not need to see this as a contradiction. That there is no neutral place to stand, and no way of objectively determining a 'correct' place to stand, does not absolve us of the necessity of standing somewhere. In other words, nothing could tell us or compel us to stand in a specific place, to believe in a specific god. On this point, Weber could be described as a liberal.2 In fact, the increased knowledge of other 2. On this point, we can see huge similarities with Charles Taylors re-conception of the meaning of ‘Secularism’. 23. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(24) societies and theological systems gave us greater leverage when forming our choices. 'Weber ultimately appealed to what he called the “polytheism” of modern life - the notion that the highest values capable of guiding human action were locked in a conflict so fundamental that no scholarship was capable of mediating among them.’ (Derman 2012, 10) However this increased level of choice did not permit us to avoid choosing an altar, or multiple altars, to worship at. Weber is quoted as saying the following: We live as did the ancients when their world was not yet disenchanted of its gods and demons, only we live in a different sense. As Hellenic man at times sacrificed to Aphrodite and at other times to Apollo, and, above all, as everybody sacrificed to the gods of his city, so do we still nowadays, only the bearing of man has been disenchanted and denuded of its mystical but inwardly genuine plasticity. (Gane 2004, 28). 立. 政治大. If you have to choose your god, then Weber chose Germany. He was a nationalist in. ‧ 國. 學. that he wanted Germany to be strong, to defeat its enemies in wars if it came to that. He was also a liberal in that he saw the importance of maintaining free competition between different. ‧. groups in order to make that society stronger. In this way, he thought that competition between different theological systems, societies and sub-societies maintained the health of a society.. y. Nat. er. io. sit. This will be explored in more detail as part of the discussion on bureaucracy and charisma. In all this, we can see that this role of 'religious virtuoso' is used by Weber to personify. n. al. i n U. v. the sense-making activity of any theological system. And how such paradigms for operating. Ch. engchi. within reality come to dominate people's minds, either through unquestioned obedience or a wilful submission. In this way, the figure is related to the established or orthodox position of a society. It is within this framework that the place of Weber’s key concept of prophecy is to be understood. The prophet is above all the agent of the process of breakthrough to a higher, in the sense of more rationalised and systematised, cultural order, an order at the level of religious ethics, which in turn has implications for the nature of the society in which it has become institutionalised. (Parsons 1965, xxxiii) It is to this process that we now turn our attention.. 24. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(25) Prophecy and Breakthrough Weber asks the question 'What is a prophet, from the perspective of sociology?' (Weber 1965, 46) In the context of an established socio-theological system a prophet, for Weber, is an agent that seeks to bring change to that system. This could either be a figure that wants to engender a radical break with the orthodox establishment or one who wants to return to a purer, older interpretation of it. As opposed to the 'religious virtuoso' 'the enterprise of the prophet is closer to that of the popular orator (demagogue) or political publicist than to that of a teacher.' (Weber 1965, 53) Weber outlines different types of prophet, (Weber 1965, 54-55) what unites them all is leadership. This is one way Weber distinguishes them from the 'religious virtuoso' who are. 政治大. normally 'organized into guilds or official hierarchies.' (Weber 1965, 60) If successful then the followers of the prophet form a permanent community 'helpers, who are active co-workers with. 立. the prophet in his mission and who generally also possess some special charismatic. ‧ 國. 學. qualifications.' (Weber 1965, 60) Weber dedicates a lot of time to analyse the reasons that such prophetic breakthroughs might take place, what circumstances might result in them being successful, and what might the possible responses be from the establishment. These questions. ‧. will all be engaged with when we encounter the more practical examples in China's history in. sit. y. Nat. chapter four.. er. io. For now, a basic point can be made. As has been explored above, Weber was 'firmly. al. convinced that individuals are consciously guided by ultimate values of whatever sort.’. n. v i n Cvalues (Mommsen 1989, 58) These ultimate are systematised into a theology that seeks to make U hen i h c background it seems clear that ‘the more sense of reality that surround the person. Withgthis these values stand in opposition to everyday reality, the more far-reaching their effects.’ (Mommsen 1989, 58) In other words the greater the disconnection between the theology that underpins the society and the material reality that people experience, then the greater the call for prophecy. This fits perfectly with the idea that society is shaped not by either ideas or materiality alone, but an interplay of the two based on a theological grounding that helps people to make sense of their reality. Prophets and their followers present a challenge to those ‘religious virtuoso’ by presenting or representing an experience that does not fit with the narrative that is offered to make sense of everything. The ‘religious virtuoso’ in response must ‘assume the obligation of. 25. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(26) codifying either the victorious new doctrine or the old doctrine which had maintained itself despite the attack of the prophets.’ (Weber 1965, 67) What is important to note here is that ‘at each primary decision point… the alternative is between a direction which makes for a source of evolutionary change in the “established” order, and another direction which tends either to reinforce the established order or at least not to change it drastically.’ (Parsons 1965, xxix) The theology at the heart of the society is constantly systematised based upon ‘the power of prophetic charisma and the enduring habits of the masses.’ (Weber 1965, 79) We can see that the evolutionary nature of this method is not intended to be read progressively. Weber does believe in the inevitable progress of history and leaves the option open for regressive as well as progressive change. This leads us to an oppositional that runs throughout Weber’s work.. 政治大 2.2.4 Priest and Magician: 立 Bureaucracy and Charisma. ‧ 國. 學. The above can be seen as an exploration of the principle ideal types of social change that will be central to this thesis. Alongside it, there needs to be an exploration of the equally. ‧. important structural ideal types. It is to this that we now turn.. y. Nat. Weber’s focus on change means that ‘already present in this underlying thesis is. io. sit. Weber’s evaluative distinction between what we may call progressive and regressive changes.’. n. al. er. (Parsons 1965, xxxi) This will help set the stage for a set of structural antinomies that run. i n U. v. throughout Weber’s work: charisma and bureaucracy. If the previous section gives us the. Ch. engchi. general process of societal change, these two concepts decide the shape and direction of that change. Priest and magician are presented in Weber’s methodology as representative of this dichotomy. Weber’s analysis looks at societal development by considering priest and magician as a ‘set of two principle alternatives of social structuring, after which his methodological problem is to clarify the differences and relations between these alternatives, as well as to clarify the conditions relevant to tipping the balance in one or the other direction.’ (Parsons 1965, xxix) It may seem strange considering the word's prevalence in common parlance; but, before Weber, the term 'charisma' was a specialised word from Christian theology meaning 'grace' and referring to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed on true believers. 'By lifting the Greek concept of charisma from its original theological context, Weber introduced both a new. 26. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(27) word and a new concept into the modern social sciences.’ (Derman 2012, 12) Weber uses the concept of charisma in terms of perceived power or knowledge over reality. That or those who have answers to the big questions and are thus able to bring meaning to people’s lives and shape reality. The question is whether we are active in pursuing that knowledge or passive during ecstatic episodes of possession. This distinction can be seen everywhere from the faith vs works debate in Christian theology to the nature vs nurture debate concerning general talent. How the question is answered determines whether the society comes to view theology as an art or a science. For Weber, the magician works in a state of ecstasy; gaining power through possession. 政治大 seeks to merely understand the forces that are at work in the world and thus offer guidance and 立 predictions that help the society to harmonise itself with these universal powers. The magician's by, and coercion of, gods and spirits; this is the nature of magic. The priest, on the other hand,. ‧ 國. 學. idea that divinity can be coerced is anathema to the priest and the reason why many monotheistic theological systems decry the use of magic. We see the difference through their. ‧. effects on the societies that they influence. Weber finds it essential to:. Nat. sit. y. set up as the crucial feature of the priesthood the specialization of a particular group. io. er. of persons in the continuous operation of a cultic enterprise, permanently associated with particular norms, places and times, and related to specific social. n. al. i n U. v. groups. There can be no priesthood without a cult… magicians may wield. Ch. engchi. considerable power, and their essentially magical celebrations may play a central role in the life of their people. Yet they lack a continuously operative cult, and so the term “priest” cannot be applied to them. (Weber 1965, 29) In other words, as is natural to his project, you see this difference in theology through the practical effects that it has on the wider society. The unifying, systematising work of the priesthood necessarily lends itself to building societies that are centrally organised and highly ritualised with a class of officials who oversee that these rituals take place and that the wider society is educated on their function and the theology they represent. The individualised, ecstatic work of the magician naturally lends itself to the development of a parochial and diffused society where the experts are leaders that are approached on an ad-hoc basis to solve specific problems as and when they arise, normally with only a vague knowledge of each 27. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(28) other’s work. New magicians are found, as opposed to educated, to have this gift. For Weber, the direction that society develops in depends upon which of these experts is listened to and approached for answers. The more a virtuoso is listened to, the more their voice shapes the theological narrative that underpins the society’s existence, and therefore necessarily gives it a precise form. It is in this context that Weber’s differentiation between the types of domination is to be understood. The more charismatic the leadership the more the society submits to an individual leader (Charismatic Domination). One level of abstraction away and a society may submit not to a particular person but more the custom or precedent that a certain charismatic leader laid down for the society to follow (Traditional Domination). A system that is further. 政治大 certain impersonalised procedures (Legal Domination). (Mommsen 1989, 21) 立. abstracted away from charismatic leadership sees a society that submits to a legal system and. ‧ 國. 學. Despite these categorisations, Weber has difficulty giving specifics in the differentiation between the people associated with these two opposing positions. He gives. ‧. multiple options for doing so (Weber 1965, 28-29) but ends up admitting that ‘the two contrasted types flow into one another.’ (Weber 1965, 29). We can see this in the contrasting. Nat. sit. y. ideas about education. The priest needs to learn skills and knowledge by rote as they are a blank slate whereas the magician would undergo ‘an “awakening education” using irrational means. io. n. al. er. and aiming at rebirth.’ (Weber 1965, 29) In reality, these two types are impossible to clearly. i n U. v. delineate. This is equally true of different societies; it is a spectrum between charismatic. Ch. engchi. domination and legal domination, with traditional domination somewhere in between. The various effects of this dichotomy is laid out neatly by Mommsen who characterises the effects that these have on social change as either ‘Value-rational change’, which is charismatic change, and ‘Instrumental-rational change’, which is change bureaucratic change. This can be seen below: Value-rational change [Charismatic]. Instrumental-rational change [Bureaucratic]. ●. Otherworldly world-views. ●. Innerworldly world-views. ●. Ideal interests. ●. Material interests. ●. Substantive-rational life-conduct. ●. Formal-rational life-conduct. ●. Value-rational social action. ●. Instrumental-rational social action. 28. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(29) ●. ●. Charisma, leading to substantive rationalization. Rountinization, leading to formal rationalization. Amounting to: Challenge to given social order on the. Amounting to: Adaptation to given social order;. basis of various forms of otherworldly life-conduct. progressive forms of realization of its immanent. ranging from extreme asceticism to restless. principles via routinization and rationalization’. innerworldly activity. (Mommsen 1989, 154). Rationalisation and the Benefits of Bureaucratisation Weber does not hide his view that the priest represents rational progression and the magician irrational regression. At one point he goes as far as to paint the magician as merely the priests undoing, a destructive force that offers nothing. ‘On the one hand, there is an ever-. 政治大. broadening rational systematization of the god concept and of the thinking concerning the possible relationships of man to the divine. [The Priest, Bureaucratic domination] On the other. 立. hand, there ensues a characteristic recession of the original, practical and calculating. ‧ 國. 學. rationalism. [The Magician, Charismatic domination]’ (Weber 1965, 27) This fits with a general assumption we have that more rational, and therefore efficient,. ‧. effective, and productive societies are preferable to less rationally organised societies. It is. y. Nat. indeed true that Weber welcomed bureaucratic organisation as a means by which less violent,. er. io. sit. more economically productive societies come about. In fact:. Weber welcomed the techniques of bureaucratic organization for moral reasons as. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. well. Rigorous rationalization of one’s own life-conduct in order to maximize the. engchi. chances of achieving one’s personally chosen goals appeared to him an essential element of a moral code of behaviour in consonance with the ‘ethic of responsibility. (Mommsen 1989, 110-111) As previously explored, for Weber, meaning is chosen, self-given. Rationality helps us to determine the best way of ordering our internal lives as well. At a glance, we might assume that the further we move towards bureaucratisation in terms of constitutionally bound societies where everything is governed by legal codes and not the charismatic domination of personal wills, the better. This seems to be true only to a certain extent in Weber's thought. In fact, pushing too far in the direction of bureaucratisation, perhaps the defining characteristic of the disenchanted. 29. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(30) and secular modern world, had brought about a whole new set of problems that Weber was highly concerned by.. The Dangers of Disenchantment A key feature of a bureaucratic system for Weber is the separation of the owner and operator in any system. This depersonalised system then could operate free of irrational concerns and fears, simply growing and spreading in accordance with its own internal rationality. Since it originated in Europe, the rationalised processes of industrial, modern, capitalism had spread across the world in what Weber recognised as an irreversible manner. It had brought with it rationalised systems of governments, constitutions, and codified legal systems that allowed for business to run smoothly. This single bureaucratic system had spread to all corners of the globe and had already in Weber’s time come to incorporate not just. 政治大. economics, but academia and politics as well. (Derman 2012, 74). 立. Usually, Weber noted that 'as the masses increasingly became the object of the priests'. ‧ 國. 學. influence and the foundation of their power, the priestly labors of systematisation concerned themselves more and more with the most traditional, and hence magical, forms of religious. ‧. notions and practices.' (Weber 1965, 77) The specific dangers of Disenchantment is that the. y. Nat. Priesthood of a society, the 'religious Virtuosos' concern themselves solely with producing a. sit. more highly rationalised operation; they do not see themselves as owners of the system. The. er. io. importance of preaching and pastoral care in this system is the primary means of contact,. al. n. v i n C h and pastoral care Disenchantment means that even preaching e n g c h i U become depersonalised. Thus in every profession and in all sectors of society leadership is replaced with bureaucracy.. influence and control over the laity. Present in all rationalised systems. (Weber 1965, 75-76). This scared Weber. We might think that the death of God frees us to order our lives how we want. But the separation of owner and operator only solidifies the operator as a functional part of the system, making them homogenous machine-people, unable to break free. As Gane puts it ‘The rationalization process … while seeming to contain a heterogenous or postmodern moment … in fact intensifies the underlying sameness of culture, and with this contributes to the increasing sameness of modern life itself.’ (Gane 2004, 28) In this way industrial capitalism leads to the bureaucratization that destroys individual liberty. (Mommsen 1989, 34-35) Central to Weber’s thought is the point that as the world becomes increasingly devoid of charisma, increasingly disenchanted, we may become free from relationships of domination but we become increasingly subject to rationalised systems of domination. Weber 30. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(31) wrote, “The Puritan wanted to work in a vocation; we are forced to do so.” (Mommsen 1989, 37) As may be clear, it can be difficult to make sense of Weber’s thought here. According to Mommsen: There is a paradox here. On the one hand, Weber argued that the immanent tendencies of capitalism were working for stagnation and for the ossification of social relations. Yet, on the other hand, he viewed the principle of capitalist market competition as an instrument which above all would guarantee a maximum of dynamism in the economic as well as in the political system. (Mommsen 1989, 39). 政治大. To solve this paradox, balance is fundamental. Weber has been consistently misunderstood on this point, Mommsen thinks this is an inconsistency and weakness in. 立. Weber’s thought. (Mommsen 1989, 19) As a result, clarification will be the focus of the next. ‧ 國. 學. sub-section.. The Importance and Possibility of Balance. ‧. What becomes clear from reading various works by Weber is that he views the. Nat. sit. y. charisma-bureaucracy dichotomy as running through all societies, and a balance between them. io. er. is necessary to preserve the health of any particular society. The resolution to this supposed paradox is a creative balance between a bureaucratic system, which manages the rules of. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. engagement, so to speak, and the charismatic leaders of different competing groups. Politics. engchi. and economics become sport, with redistribution written into the rules to ensure fair competition. The aim is the promotion of competition. Weber, writing in the context of the Weimar republic saw excessive bureaucratisation as a threat to freedom. This feeds into his criticism of Marx who would remove competition by systematizing everything so that the workers always win. Weber argued that even if this were possible it would destroy the freedom of the individual in the same way that unfettered capitalism does. For Weber, the way to redress this imbalance was for system to allow for the rise of charismatic leadership. For Weber, this is the proper role of the politician, somebody who would not merely operate within the system but also take a degree of ownership over it. (Mommsen 1989, 15) 'Weber saw in bureaucracy both a potential danger to individual liberty and an effective instrument in the hands of great personal leaders' (Mommsen 1989, ix) For 31. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

(32) Weber this was the only way to ‘counter the secular trend towards the petrification of free society in routine, mediocrity and general misery.’ (Mommsen 1989, 43) This has drawn plenty of attention especially because of Weber's avowed German nationalism and the fact that he was writing in the immediate prelude to the rise of Adolf Hitler. This is compounded by the fact that a frequent correspondent of Weber, Robert Michels, became a famous supporter of Mussolini and consistently tried to convince Weber to join the new fascist movement. 'The perpetuation of an element of 'recognition by the ruled' in the form of democratic elections, already formalized to an excessive degree in Weber, was declared by Michels, as it was by Carl Schmitt, to be dispensible.' (Mommsen 1989, 102) Weber died before the Nazi's rose to power, but he was viewed by some in the regime favourably because of his opposition to the objectivity claimed by liberal values. Some Nazi's argued that. 政治大 The anarchy of political values under liberalism was itself a thing of ill repute, they 立 argued, and Weber had been right to prevent it from contaminating German. ‧ 國. 學. scholarship. [they mean remove scholarship from the intellectual foundations of liberalism, keeping it open to competition from different foundations] Now that a. ‧. prophet and savior had arrived in the form of Adolf Hitler, bearing “objective” values that were binding on all Germans, the war of the gods had ceased. Under. y. Nat. sit. these conditions… scholarship could be oriented toward the German Volk and its. n. al. er. io. historical destiny. (Derman 2012, 76). i n U. v. It is important to stress how much of a misinterpretation of Weber's thought that this is.. Ch. engchi. Weber argued that the only way of preserving individual freedom was for the 'war of the gods' to never cease. He fought against the liberalist claim of objective foundations just as he argued against claims to objective foundations that are scientifically demonstrable. Once you argue to know the 'right' answer then the conversation is brought to an end and with it the freedom of the people to continue disagreeing. For Weber, science ‘was not in the position to formulate definitive truths, but only a number of alternative models of thinking or alternative models of conduct which ultimately cancelled each other out.’ (Mommsen 1989, 43) The lack of concrete foundations ensured liberalism for Weber. ‘Unlike political utopians from the left and right of the political spectrum, Weber abjured all claims to represent totality. His personal commitments were always directed at concrete goals instead of dogmas or universal systems.’ (Derman 2012, 134) Contrary to liberal 32. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000042.

中國國族神學： 中國與韋伯一百週年 - 政大學術集成

中國國族神學：中國與韋伯一百週年 - 政大學術集成