Soviet communism and weberian sociology

Stefan Breuer

pp. 145-165

in: Ralph Schroeder (ed), Max Weber, democracy and modernization, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 1998

Abstract

Every state, Trotsky is said to have remarked at Brest-Litovsk, is based on violence. His contemporary Max Weber agreed with this, but added a crucial qualification. If a state is to survive, those who are ruled must acquiesce in its claims to authority. State authority, like authority in general, is based on internal justifications, and it can be maintained only as long as these are accepted (PS: 506ff.).

Cited authors

Weber Max