8  Smelser/Swedberg

fight each other with such ferocity that history is as if written with " letters of blood and fire" ([1867] 1906, 786). Bourgeois society is no exception on this score since it encourages " the most violent, mean and malignant passions of the human heart, the Furies of private interest" ([1867] 1906, 15). In various works Marx traced the history of the class struggle, from early times into the future. In a famous formulation from the 1850s, Marx states that at a certain stage the " relations of production" enter into conflict with " the forces of production, " with revolution and passage to a new " mode of production" as a result ([1859] 1970, 21). In Capital Marx writes that he has laid bare " the eco­nomic law of motion of modern society" and that this law works " with iron necessity towards in­evitable results" of revolutionary change ([1867] 1906, 13-14).

A positive feature of Marx's approach is his in­sight into the extent to which people have been willing to fight for their material interests through­out history. He also contributed to understanding how large groups of people, with similar economic interests, under certain circumstances can unite and realize their interests. On the negative side, Marx grossly underestimated the role in economic life of interests other than the economic ones. His notion that economic interests in the last hand always de­termine the rest of society is also impossible to de­fend; " social structures, types and attitudes are coins that do not readily melt, " to cite a famous quote from Schumpeter ([1942] 1994, 12).

Max Weber

Among the classics in economic sociology Max Weber (1864-1920) occupies a unique place. He proceeded furthest toward developing a distinct economic sociology, laying its theoretical founda­tion and carrying out empirical studies (Swedberg 1998). The fact that he had worked as a professor of economics was no doubt helpful in these efforts to build bridges between economics and sociology. Also helpful was the major research task that occu­pied Weber throughout his career, which was eco­nomic as well as social in nature: to understand the origin of modern capitalism. Weber drew heavily on the theoretical work on interests of his time and extended that line of work by making it more sociological.

Weber's academic training was broad in nature, and its main emphasis was on law, with the history of law as his specialty. His two dissertations—one on medieval trading corporations (lex mercatoria) and the other on the sale of land in early Rome—

were relevant topics for understanding the rise of capitalism: the emergence of private property in land and of property in the firm (as opposed to in­dividual property). Those works, in combination with a commissioned study of rural workers, earned him a position in economics (" political economy and finance" ) in the early 1890s. In this capacity he taught economics but published main­ly in economic history and in policy questions. Weber wrote, for example, voluminously on the- new stock exchange legislation.

Toward the end of the 1890s Weber fell ill, and for the next 20 years he worked as a private schol­ar. In these years he produced his most celebrated study, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capi­talism (1904-5), as well as studies of the econom­ic ethics of the world religions. In 1908 Weber accepted a position as chief editor of a giant hand­book of economics. From the very beginning Weber set aside the topic of " economy and socie­ty" for himself. The work that today is known as Economy and Society consists of a mixture of mate­rial that Weber had approved for publication and of manuscripts found after his death (see, e. g., Mommsen 2000). In 1919-20 Weber also taught a course in economic history, which, pieced to­gether a few years later on the basis of students' notes, was published posthumously as General Economic History. Though primarily a work in eco­nomic history, it contains much interesting materi­al for the economic sociologist.

Much of what Weber wrote in economic sociol­ogy can be found in Collected Essays in the Sociolo­gy of Religion (1920-21) and Economy and Society (1922). The former contains a revised version The Protestant Ethic, " The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism" (1904-5; revised 1920) and voluminous writings on the economic ethics of the Chinese, Indian, and Judaic world religions and a few other texts (for the latter see Weber [1920] 1958, [1915] 1946a, [1915] 1946b). According to Weber, the material in Collected Essays concerns mainly the sociology of religion but is also of in­terest to economic sociology.

The most influential study is The Protestant Ethic. This work is centered around Weber's gen­eral preoccupation with the articulation of ideal and material interests and ideas. The believer in as­cetic Protestantism is driven by a desire to be saved (a religious interest) and acts accordingly. For var­ious paradoxical reasons the individual eventually comes to believe that secular work, carried out in a methodical manner, represents a means to salva­tion—and when this happens, religious interest is

combined with economic interest. The result of this combination is a release of a tremendous force, which shattered the traditional and antieconomic hold of religion over people and introduced a mentality favorable to capitalist activity. The thesis si The Protestant Ethic has led to an enormous de­bate, with many scholars—probably a majority— arguing against Weber (for an introduction to this rebate, see especially Marshall 1982).

While he was writing The Protestant Ethic Weber published an essay, " 'Objectivity' in Social Science and Social Policy, " that summarized his theoretical views on economic sociology. In this work he argued that the science of economics should be broad and umbrella-like (Sozialö konomik; Weber 1904] 1949, 64-65). It should include not only economic theory but also economic history and economic sociology. Weber also proposes that eco­nomic analysis should cover not only " economie phenomena" but also " economically relevant phe­nomena" and " economically conditioned phenom­ena" (64-65). Economic phenomena consist of economic norms and institutions, often deliberately created for economic ends—for example, banks and stock exchanges. Economically relevant phe­nomena are noneconomic phenomena that under certain circumstances may have an impact on eco­nomic phenomena, as in the case of ascetic Protestantism. Economically conditioned phenomena are nose that to some extent are influenced by eco­nomic phenomena. The type of religion that a group feels affinity for is, for example, partly de­pendent on the kind of work that its members do. While economic theory can only handle pure eco­nomic phenomena (in their rational version), eco­nomic history and economic sociology can deal with all three categories of phenomena.

A somewhat different approach, both to eco­nomic sociology and to interests, can be found in Economy and Society. The first chapter of this work contains a general sociological analysis. Two con­cepts are important building blocks: " social ac- non" and " order" {Ordnung). In the former, " action, " defined as behavior invested with meaning, is qualified as " social" if it is oriented to some other actor. An " order" is roughly equivalent to an institution, and it comes into being when social actions are repeated over a period, regarded as objective, and surrounded by various sanctions. Economists study pure economic action, which is action exclusively driven by economic interests (or “desire for utilities, " in Weber's formulation; 1922] 1978, 63). Economic sociologists, howev­er. study social economic action, which is driven