Politics In Max Weber's Theory Of Politics

Max Weber, a late 19th and early 20th century political scientist, once described politics as “a strong and slow boring of hard boards” that “takes both passion and perspective” dedicated to the idea “that man would not have attained the possible unless time and again he had reached out for the impossible” (GPT, 432). Weber is basing this on idea of politics, that are activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power (lecture, 8/29/2016) Although great in many forms and continues to bring order to most of the world, modern politics has proven time and time again to be a slow process that can be a very hard tool to use to inflict

Although there is evidence that politics can be unproductive, corrupt, and backwards, Weber believes that that is part of the deal. As long as whoever emerges themselves in politics treat it as a personal vocation, or as a life mission, the patience and expertise required to deal with unresponsive colleagues, public backlash, two steps forward and one step back tactics will help to accelerate the possibilities that politics can unfold within a society.

“Whoever wants to engage in politics at all, and especially in politics as a vocation, has to realize these ethical paradoxes. He must know that he is responsible for what may become of himself under the impact of these paradoxes…he lets himself in or the diabolic forces lurking in all violence.” (GPT,

To be able to achieve this leadership aspiration, the person needs to have a balanced sense of power. This means (1) they need to have the ability to get someone or a group to do something they would not otherwise do, in both the sense of good and evil (but hopefully good)(lecture, 8/31/2016). By having this skill will that help speed up the already slow process of policy making and bill passing that seems to create problems in most democracies, especially presidential. Additionally, they must (2) create incentives that make it seem like a rational decision for someone to do something (lecture, 8/31/2016). Weber would be able to point this out in the US democracy through the culture of lobbying. Many companies lobby politicians though an elaborated craft of enticement to get politicians to either create bills or vote against bills that might be helpful or hurtful for their business. Lastly, a leader who has a sense of power (3) follows norms that go with the flow and do not disrupt the peace and conformity of the setting of society (lecture, 8.31.2016). In the sense that Weber is promoting, using power in a productive way can help the slow boring politics become less slow and less