Science and the Modern World

The fullest general statement of Max Weber's sociological theory to appear in any of his writings, "The Theory of Social and Economic Organization" is an introduction to Weber's ambitious comparitive study of the sociological and institutional foundations of the modern economic and social order. In this work originally published in German in 1920, Weber discusses the analytical methods of sociology and, at the same time, presents a devastating critique of prevailing sociological theory and of its universalist, determinist underpinnings. None of Weber's other writings offers the reader such a grasp of his theories; none displays so clearly his erudition, the scope of his interests, and his analytical powers.