Sociology of Max Weber in the 21st Century: From Reception to Actualization

Abstract

This issue of the Russian Sociological Review is dedicated to Max Weber. It could be called an anniversary issue since one of Weber’s famous works will celebrate its centenary immediately after the Review’s publication. At the end of January, 1919, Weber delivered his famous speech Politik als Beruf (Politics as a Vocation), which was published in July of the same year. This is a remarkable coincidence, but still, no more than just a coincidence. In the many contributions to our issue (though not in all of them), Weber appears first as a political thinker and a political figure; meanwhile, we did not plan to celebrate the anniversary of any of his writings (yet some anniversary dates were indicated in the circulated call for papers). Scientists all over the world are reacting to this date and will continue to react to further dates. However, we should admit that these are the external causes to remember Weber and to return to his ideas. The social convention of encouraging the celebration of anniversaries marked by good round figures also holds in science. Weber’s contemporary and great friend, Georg Simmel, would say that we are dealing with the aesthetics of numbers here, 1 which is more formal than a substantial approach. If there