Max Weber's Ideal Types

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how according to the 19th century sociologist Max Weber, an ideal type is a kind of useful abstraction. It is a pure idea that does not directly correspond to a social reality, but it makes reality more clear, for the purpose of classification and analysis. The paper explains that Weber believed using ideal types was vital to the social sciences.

From the Paper:

"Weber developed his ideal types as a way of understanding and explaining real world authority-legitimacy relationships between the rulers and the ruled in comparative perspective. It will be noted that, for all of the diversity of the three types, and the diversity of personas within those types, one common thread unites them all, that of the fact that the defined types all relate to power, the fact that one party possess power and another power does not. The Western World defines the West in opposition to a less or more powerful East, bureaucracy or feudalism describes particular relations in a hierarchy, and even 'economic man' examines the relationship of humanity to the capricious marketplace, and the power the marketplace has over someone within a capitalist system. The degree of power in different relationships within all of these categories varies from era to era."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cosner, cited in "Weber--the work--ideal type." Sociology: Readings--Weber Summary. [2 Nov 2006]<http://tiunet.tiu.edu/acadinfo/cas/socsci/psych/SOC410/Readings/Weber/Summary/ideal.htm>

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