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An ‘ancient sense of politics’? Weber, Caesarism and the Republican tradition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Peter Baehr
Peter Baehr
Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland(St John).
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Abstract

This article critically examines recent claims that Weber's political thought has close associations with classical republicanism. One salient indication of Weber's distance from this tradition is his theory of Ceasarism, and his view that modern polities are most robust when they assume a version of it consistent with civil liberties. By employing the resources of Begriffsgcschichte, I examine the extent of Weber's departure from the ‘ancient sense of politics’ and the originality of his own political theory.

L'article s'inscrit en faux contre les analyses récentes qui veulent que la pensée politique de Weber ait été en affinité avec le républicanisme classique. Pour preuve on convoquera sa theorie du césarisme et sa vision selon laquelle les régimes politiques modernes sont solides quand ils combinent libertés civiles et une certaine forme de césarisme. Des éléments d'histoire du concept aident à préciser l'originalité de sa théorie poiitique.

Zeitgenössische Behauptungen, Weber hätte sich der antiken Republik verbunden gefüllt, werden in diesem Beitrag widerlegt. Als Beweis für Webers Distanz gelten seine Theorie des Cäsarismus und seine Überzeugung, daß die moderne Politik nur solide ist, wenn sie Cäsarismus und zivile Freiheiten kombiniert. Auf die »Begriffsgeschichte« zurückgreifend, untersuche ich Webers Überlegungen zur »Politik im klassischen Sinn« und dessen eigene politische Theorie.

Type
Note Critique
Information
European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie , Volume 40 , Issue 2 , November 1999 , pp. 333 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © Archives Européenes de Sociology 1999

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