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Max Weber's Tragic Modernism and the Study of Law in Society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2024

David M. Trubek
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Abstract

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While Max Weber is revered as one of the patron saints of the law and society movement, his views on the nature and limits of sociological studies in law are not fully understood. Using recent analyses of Weber's legal thought (Kronman, 1983) and overall social theory (Alexander, 1983a), the author argues that while Weber set forth the standard, positivist understanding of the sociology of law that influences research to this day, at the same time he critiqued this understanding and in the end despaired that social science could contribute significantly to human emancipation. Arguing that Weber's tragic modernism is an inappropriate guide for law and society studies today, the author suggests an alternative vision in which the sociology of law is seen as part of a pragmatic enterprise of social transformation.

Type
Review Essay*
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , 1986 , pp. 573 - 598
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Law and Society Association

Footnotes

*

A review essay of Kronman, Anthony T. (1983) Max Weber. Stanford: Stanford University Press; and Alexander, Jeffrey C. (1983) Theoretical Logic in Sociology, Volume III. The Classical Attempt at Theoretical Synthesis: Max Weber. Berkeley: University of California Press.

This paper was originally presented in 1984 at the Seminar on Legal Ideology, in Amherst, Massachusetts, where the author had the opportunity to discuss these matters in a particularly stimulating environment. Rick Lempert suggested I undertake this project, and provided support and insightful criticism throughout. John Esser gave me invaluable assistance and advice at all stages of the project. Stewart Macaulay, Fernando Rojas, and Jack Schlegel provided helpful comments on an earlier draft.

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