SOCIOLOGY

15-02-2021
RATIONAL LEGAL ACTION AND AUTHORITY: MAX WEBER
1. PROTESTANT ETHICS AND SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM
2. BUREAUCRACY

What is bureaucracy?
Origin – French word – “bureau”, which means desk. A government which is run from a
table is always called a bureaucratic government. “Cracy”, means Authority.
Bureaucracy exists last 400 to 500 years, which develops slowly but steadily and today
almost every aspect of life is dependent in the machine called bureaucracy. It has everything
to do with socio economic and political changes that finally culminated in having the
machine called bureaucracy.

DEFINITIONS:
1. MAX WEBBER - Bureaucracy is a type of hierarchical organization which is designed
rationally to coordinate the work of many individuals in pursuit of large-scale
administrative tasks.
2. TALCOTT PARSONS - defines bureaucracy as relatively large-scale organizations
with specialized functions.
3. WALLACE AND WALLACE - define bureaucracy as large-scale formal organizations
which are highly differentiated and organized through elaborate policies and
procedures in a hierarchy of authority

DEVELOPMENT OF BUREAUCRACY (FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE

DEVELOPMENT OF BUREAUCRACY):
1. Development of Money Economy – maintain a bureaucracy and system of taxation
2. Qualitative Changes in Administrative Tasks - introduce policies and accountable to
the citizens of the nation state. A need for bureaucratic office.
3. Demand for objective experts – specialized experts.
4. Mass Democracy – political party, the party system of functioning, parliament,
-representation of people, adult franchise.
5. Rational Interpretation of Law – only done through bureaucratic machine – courts and
judicial system
Characteristics of bureaucracy:
1. Fixed official jurisdiction area which means the bureaucracy consists of various statues
fixed with official duties and clear-cut rules governing each issue.
2. Hierarchy of authority wherein we see that officials who occupies these statuses are
governed by, principle of super-ordination and subordination
3. Clear cut division of labor, the bureaucratic system is governed by a stipulated system of
division of labor
4. Appointment based on eligibility, where in selecting employees and giving them
opportunities is based on seniority, technical competence, specialized knowledge or skill.
5. The concept of salary allowances and pension which means the participating embers of the
bureaucracy are paid monthly salary and other types of allowances, pensions as per the
written rules.
6. Office and maintenance of files, an office is always is established with reg to bureaucracy
where in all matters and transactions relating to a particular area of operations are thoroughly
maintained in the form of files. For the first time in human history a massive system of
written records or documents governing the procedures and manners of functioning of a
particular issue got to be maintained as a file.
7. Appointment of officials or people in various capacities for a fixed tenure or period, this is
called the period of service in bureaucracy and this is made on the basis of selection and not
whimsical
8. Difference between private and official issues, the bureaucratic system enables its
participants to make a clear-cut distinction between the official issues and matters of personal
interest. The hallmark of bureaucracy is that it has definite written rules to make use of
official facilities, to achieve a task
9. Supervision of work always by an official who is higher than the post that is designated to
supervise.
10. Systematization of official relations which means all communication among the
participants or the designated people follows a particular channel and in addition to this, these
communications are impersonal in nature.
11. Political neutrality, the bureaucratic system or the officials of bureaucracy are expected to
maintain political neutrality in all their communication and actions and avoid their personal
ideological subscriptions.
12. Guidance by past procedures or precedents, this is a unique feature of bureaucracy given
its reservoir or records, an official is able to understand by precedents of past procedures with
reg to various issues if operation or the task that is to be done or performed.
 17-20-2021
In a bureaucracy there is no scope for personal execution of the will.
Ex –
a. A person who may be very good in a particular subject but the person must pass
through the eligibility criteria, he/she will not be able to give a chance in position
b. farmer explains cropping pattern depending on weather and climate. Probably
observed for more than 30 to 40 years
c. Fishing community, the men generally sit on the shore and socialize, all of a sudden
they observe the movement of the waves and guesses that there will be a breeding
ground somewhere where they can catch fishes. They immediately take their smaller
boats and rush to catch fish. Whereas, A person with PhD in fishery will not be able
to tell this. But we cannot appointment a fisher man. Lack of eligibility criteria.
To sum up all the characteristics of bureaucracy, the basic structure of bureaucracy functions
on eligibility and specialization, something again run by another structure of bureaucracy.
3 important characters of bureaucracy:
1. Based on specialization and eligibility
2. It is very complimentary and coordinating, each structure of bureaucracy will always
contribute further to have or to supply to another structure of bureaucracy.
Ex: education. Chain reaction of bureaucracy - From one structure of bureaucracy,
we jump to another. Real or the kind of person who is actually dealing with the reality
but outside the structure of bureaucracy. – dilemma of bureaucracy.
3. Once we have given in bureaucracy there is no room to come out of it. Vertical line of
authority and organization establishment.
Karl Marx’s words: once we give in yourself for the process of bureaucracy, very rarely a
society can break it and have an alternative method.
Kar Marx: -
1. Rationalization
2. Rationality
How bureaucracy came into picture?  because of rationalization.
A process of socialization starts and hardly have ending period.
FRANCIS BACON – to be credited, he is the first one to understand today whatever we call
it as science and knowledge is used for controlling the society.
DEFENITION OF RATIONALIZATION:
Webber refers to the process of rationalization as “a form of control imposed on external
world as a mastery over a reality”. He explains this process with 6 key principles linking to
the overall historical development of particularly the European society
1. The principle of rigorous control of external reality by active mastery of the
natural world.
- Control of external reality by active mastery of natural world. How we control
the nature becomes the aim of rationalization. Purpose of studying science was
not just accumulation of knowledge or knowing but also to control what we
know. Ex, medical industry – active mastery in natural world.
2. Growing stress on rational containment of everyday life by methodical conduct
and consistent attitude of control.
- Once we are into this process, we have rational commitment by methodical
conduct and consistent attitude of control. Ex, borrowing loan.
- Everything we take from a institution which is bureaucratic has its methodical
conduct, with that comes the attitude of control.
- 100 years ago - Transaction based on Faith - Borrowing money - Settlement
agreement without methodical conduct. But now without the methodical
aspect - the bank can take necessary actions.
- We have time bound measure, strictly laid procedure which is methodical in
nature and attitude of control
3. Wide spread use of calculation as a strategy for social control and action and also
the method of controlling the outcome or ends of action.
- Ex- police department, 100 years ago and today, underwent lots of changes
like mapping location, calculation, use of statistical tools.
- COVID-19 – GPS became tool for social actions and control if a person has
corona virus, immediately 16 traces are taken from mobile phone and monitor
them. T is not raw calculation, but using technological and statistical tools.
4. Freeing of all social action from magical thought and only pursuit of rational goal
- As a society - if we come together and subscribe - Hard to break the chain -
There could be certain minor changes but not the structure of bureaucracy.
- TNNLU (a Bureaucratic Structure) - can it be dissolved? No, the very
structure of Bureaucracy cannot be dissolved. However, there can be minor
changes within the Bureaucratic structure like changes in course, eligibility
criteria...etc.
5. Emphasis on practical orientation to empirical reality with aim of mastery
- The aim of knowledge and learning is no more just being happy with the
knowledge of empirical reality but the subsequent action of mastery.
- Siddhartha Mukherjee – cancer biography
- Until the first half of 20th CE, went for age for vaccine and age for antibiotics
- Today, fundamental kind of change in pharmaceutical philosophy, until then
we believed that diseases are curable. This shift drives the practical orientation
of the empirical reality.
6. Wide spread use of technology and procedural reasoning as a way of controlling
our everyday life.
- Technology could be so rudimentary and as advance which is taken as
evidence, procedure and reasoning for human being action.
 - The purpose of having technology and procedural reasoning is to monitor and
to control our life
- Where's democracy in the age of Technocracy? The more and more we
subscribe to technology, the more and more the bureaucratic procedural
reasoning of life comes in, the individual has space for himself or herself.
- Ex- Biometric Attendance.

19/02/2021

Max Weber's two conceptions of bureaucracy by Helen Constas.

Max Weber used the historical genesis to categorize bureaucracy
Based on rationality, Helen has divided bureaucracy into two types:
1. The legal rational
 Democratic Bureaucracy- Pluralistic Power Structure
 The kind of structures that come into this type of bureaucracy is to ensure that
the policies and the program of the state is administered as the principles laid
down correctly.
 Bureaucracy is the means to achieve or to implement the goals of the state
which is basically welfare measures.
 Structures which are more or less permanent to achieve the objectives.
 Ex, the structure of education, national law university which is established
now, will not get dissolved, may be the program and academic might change
but the structure does not change easily.
2. Totalitarian
 Bureaucracy becomes the end itself and not the means because the measures
of welfare change according to the existing situation and also the power
groups.
 The basic structure of bureaucracy can itself could change
 Ex, USSR and China

Weber has written about two things

1. Wirtschaft (is about economy)
2. Gesellschaft (is about community and society)

Power and position are Associated with Bureaucracy where the members of the bureaucratic
system can barge in and check the legitimacy of the society.

Power and position:

- A district collectorate can anytime inspect a farmer’s land

- A farmer cannot inspect the collector’s office
- Likewise, our VC can anytime come and inspect our class, whereas we cannot.
When people accept such legitimacy, we think that the type of bureaucracy we follow is also
accepted.

What is legitimacy?
à Acceptance of people of possession and authority or power.
 Characteristics of legitimacy:
1. (Legitimacy of Totalitarian Bureaucracy) Established belief in the sanctity of
immemorial traditions and the legitimacy of status of those who are occupying
positions or exercising authorities under them. Obedience here is paramount to the
structure of the bureaucracy and therefore is regarded with high respect. Usually, this
kind of legitimacy is found in feudal societies with normative patterns of order and
execution of the same. Eg: Head of the villages had authority of the people and people
accepted it reaffirming the legitimacy of Bureaucracy.

2. (Legitimacy of Legal Rational Bureaucracy) It is on the basis of clearly laid down

rules and regulations attached to the positions in the modern bureaucracy and the
authority that people occupying these positions either through the form of selection or
elections. This kind of legitimacy is the classic feature of modern bureaucracy where
people accept authority on the basis of formal structures and non-normative relations.
More than obedience the execution of various tasks becomes the primary importance
of these structures.   

Features and fundamental difference:

Totalitarian Bureaucracy
we learn that legitimacy rests on the absolute kind of tradition.
Here, the legitimacy is based on values, traditionally occupied possession, people’s status that
prevailed society

Modern bureaucracy:
1. Here the legitimacy rests on rules and regulations for certain people who are
occupying certain positions either through selection or election.
In both election and selection, bureaucracy plays its major role.
Election – MLA, MP, representatives, etc.
Selection – selection committee, exams, eligibility, interview, etc.

2. We accept people’s authority, not because that they are important to us as they have been
important to family. We accept them because, they have occupied the structures on the basis
of non-normative relations we follow.

There is a clear cut laid down rule and regulations that gives us the authority which is
accepted by the people.

The legal rational bureaucracy comes hand in gloves to society which are here with
capitalistic authority.
 22-02-2021

CONCEPT OF RATIONALISATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCE:

Two broad trends in historical development in pace with rationalisation:
1. Tendency of social and historical processes to become more and more reliant on
calculation and technical knowledge in order to obtain rational control over the
natural and social world.
The development of science and engineering are the best examples of this tendency.
 The more and more we develop the kind of strategy through obtained control over
the natural and social world.
 The joy of logic and joy of statistics. (journal) says: -
 the way in which we argue a particular science
 covaxine – safe for human use - there is a huge process of calculation,
technical knowledge and presenting everything through statistically and
quantitatively appealing to the people in order to sell idea and obtain control
over social and natural word

science as science by fitting a matrix into the developed format by rationalization from
positivism

Webber says, Today, science has to justify itself on the basis of huge process of
rationalization. Without which it’ll not be called as science
Ex, Siddha
Siddha medicine has certain kind of strategy to deal with corona virus, it has to fit with same
kind of medical knowledge into the format that has been developed by the process of
rationalization which has come from positivism in order to sell itself as a product which
would be acceptable by people.

Today if we have to declare a particular place as biosphere or bioreserve, the first thing they
ask us is the census of animals.
Ex,
 the Nilgiris biosphere, have to justify on the basis of the numbers we have.
 Primitive tribes – we identify them with the appearance and their access to
modern world but then that alone is not enough, that we convert our
experience into a description which is backed by number, statistics, fitting a
format that has come out from rationalization, only then it will be acceptable
by people.

2. The second tendency is human social action to become more and more free from
magical thoughts or superstition and depend on two types of activity:
a. Strategies of social action are utilised in a direct encounter with the empirical
reality as a means of obtaining control over it
b. Adjustments of the means and ends of action in an effort to derive strategies
for attainment of necessary goals and here the end refers to the goal and the
means refer to techniques or strategies.
 a. Formulation of policy, -
To bring down the poverty ratio, how do we strategize our means of action?
 We are dealing with the empirical reality directly by exercising certain means of
control. Ex, population program, during Indra Gandhi period, we understood that
excess population became a problem for us. We did not have enough resources to feed
our people leading to food shortage.
So, when population is the empirical reality, how do we deal with it?
The goal is to reduce the population, the means are to incentivise when people have
two or one child. That is when Indira Gandhi introduced Single girl child policy. It
asks people to stop with one or two children. The incentive can be monitory, social
status etc.
Every program rolled out by govt depends on this point
Dealing with empirical reality
1. Set a goal.
2. Achieve the goal.

Weber’s four type of Rationality

1. Practical rationality
2. Theoretical or conceptual rationality
3. Formal rationality
4. Substantive rationality

Rationality - refers to overall process of rationalisation. If rationalisation refers to overall

historical process by which reality is increasingly mastered by calculation and scientific
knowledge. Rationality on other hand refers to the capacity of social action to be subject to
calculation of means and ends by a methodical orientation to reality.
Ex, in carrying out professional duties, scientist and lawyers may subject to different forms of
rationality in carrying out their actions given the means and ends that are being considered.
In this work “the psychology of world religion”, weber outlines four possible forms of
rationality.

1. Practical rationality
Practical rationality is based on the methodical attainment of a particular end through
increasingly precise calculation of adequate means. This is based on a specific
orientation to an order or situation that requires precision.
 Picture of empirical reality through precise calculation
 We understand the kind of nature or the concept through adequate precision
and calculation.
 Ex, automobile company, the precision is very important. Time, space,
distance, and such practical rationality is best administered or demonstrated in
automobile industry – ISRO.
 The entire science of stimulation that we find today is based on practical
rationality.
 We have adequate means of calculation and precision to understand the
reality.
 Joe Biden’s dream to send people to Mars. To send people to mars, we will
have to apply practical rationality. – time, gravity, and entire scheme.
 Practical rationality involves a perfect or precise calculation of time, place and
the needs.
2. Theoretical or conceptual rationality
imposes/requires understanding of the reality based on conceptual reasoning or
patterns of understanding and does not adhere to just a precise calculation.
 Bermuda triangle – none has a precise calculation.
 The areas where practical rationality cannot be applied, theoretical rationality
might be possible.
 Universe- big bang theory and steady state theory, in this we do not have a
practical rationality to know how universe was created.
 Similarly, black hole is a theoretical rationality based on some calculation.
 Theoretical rationality also depends on calculation, but it is not a precise
calculation rather than it gives a possibility of existence of empirical reality.

3. Formal rationality
It is designated to the amount of quantitative calculation and accounting procedure
that goes into action or decision. The reality here is understood through strict
numerical and only calculable terms.
 All the account that goes into everyday budget or country’s budget is a classic
example of formal rationality.
 There is a little room for any interpretation or words to express themselves but
here there is only numbers to express.

4. Substantive rationality
is bound by criteria of ultimate values that are shaped by ethical norms of equality and
justice over and again purely formal criteria of decision-making based on calculations
as strategies to obtain goals.
 Law plays a huge role.
 We have ultimate value like equality, liberty, etc. but how are we going to
exercise these is what substantive rationality deals with.
 Substantive rationality brings up institutions which are going to exercise the
ethical norms of quality, justice, ultimate values of peace, liberty, adult
franchise, etc. these are the substantial rationality which are establishing
institution to achieve which cannot be easily achieved through numbers.
 It creates institutions to execute substantial rationality and they do it in form of
calculation which helps us to achieve the goals.
CALCULATION AND THE PROCESS OF RATIONALIZATION: -

Applied for understanding religion, society, economy, etc.

‘Economy and society’ by Max Weber:

Introduction of money in the sphere of commerce has brought a form of calculation in

human activities which is far more precise than any traditional method of social action
or measurement until that time. This could be called as money rationality which
stresses on counting, quantitative reasoning, and prime propagator of ordering the
world through calculation.
Weber states that this money rationality slowly and steadily started dominating all
forms of social realities which led to the process of assigning monetary values to
various socio-economic and political processes which is experienced today and is
bound to grow further.

 What could have propelled the process of rationalization and rationality that
we see today?
 He understands that the money economy that was somewhere introduced in
Europe during 18thCE propelled the whole socio-economic world we live in.
 Whenever there is monetary value assigned to every commodity, naturally it
extends itself to the programs and the four points of rationality.
 Today, if government wants to introduce a particular social welfare program,
it is an affirmative action but the cost benefit analysis.
 Recycling paper is more useful or using paper itself is useful? Cost of
recycling is much more than buying a paper.
 We may have social goal. But to achieve that we need an application of
calculation to find out whether it is useful or not.
 Webber says, Money rationality or introduction of monetary calculations is
what we understand today in our socio economic and political context.
 The amount of money spent on Indian election – malpractice – vain – the cost
of conducting the election is much more than process itself. Hence enough
precautions are taken in such a manner to achieve the goal.

24-02-2021
KARL MARX ON SOCIOLOGY OF LAW:

What is ideology?

Set of principles that majority of the people follow; The ideas/beliefs that people follow -
Dealing with an empirical reality with a different perspective. Theories or ideas that are
believed in.

Where does this idea originate?

 Karl Marx, Engels – dialectical materialism

 Hegel – dialectical historicism – every idea(thesis) that we have will have a counter
idea (Antithesis). Dialogue between thesis and antithesis called synthesis which again
becomes a thesis and will have antithesis. Goes on.

 No idea or a system of idea are constantly same, every idea will become composite
structure over a period becoming synthesis and again for that synthesis will become a
thesis and antithesis. System of ideas.

 Hegel’s approach – whether we interpret in politically or philosophically or

sociologically, there is not going to be one group or an ideology which is going to
dominate forever.

Three levels of definition on Ideology.

1. Karl Marx and Engels defined ideology as simply a system of ideas, attitudes,
standpoints, conceptions, and beliefs which arise in relation to material activity and
which are capable of affecting the perception of reality.

- Ex: Place a chalk piece, what will you think - A chalk piece denotes writing on the
board - there are a wave of things that are related to a simple object like education,
infrastructure, teacher-student relationship.

- We think about Utility, People, Institutions, and social relationships.

- Material activity - Right to education - Various institutions make use of the same.

- Whatever we call as system of ideas is just in relation to material activity.

2. The second definition of ideology has to do with the relation between the common
ideas and conceptions and our own conception of the way the world works and
our own relation to it.

- The best example is the material object we possess, it could include a car or anything.
- Example:- chalk piece, when we place a chalk piece there are two things, how the
world views about the Chalk please? what is our relation to it?

- Ex, A teacher who is using the chalk. Two conceptions.

- How the world looks about the teacher? The world looks at the teacher as a qualified
person somebody who is very disciplined, engaging into students, somebody creating
a better future for the students, ET cetera.

- How do we look at the teacher or the chalk piece? (my own relation to it). - probably
if someone has not got opportunity to go to school, therefore they will see it as a great
opportunity to study. if a person is from a family where everybody has been a teacher
will take it as a sign of prestige.

- Ideology is nothing but it arises out of our material activity. we must engage ourselves
in a material activity. based on the material activity our ideas, values, consumption
and believes about the world in which we live and also our social relationship are
developed.

3. The third definition originates from observations made by Marx when he pointed out
that ideology is always enacted in activities that take place in relation to the world
rather than being divorced from it. To simplify, Marx believed that ideology is an
activity that takes place in relation to the world and is enacted through our lived
relations with it which is always ongoing in everyday life.

- Ideology is not just a thought. when he uses the word activity it's about the behaviour.

- Marx says people behave in a particular fashion because it is their relationship to the
world in that particular fashion. Rather than saying that they have a particular
ideology, they behave differently.

- He says that ideology please is not just a thought, but a thought translates into
behaviour and an active engagement to the world or the empirical reality.

- Whenever we use the word ideology, we can only relate this word to the world which
we live.

- Has to be a live social relationship in the world we are.

26-02-2021