The Anonymous and TRP/: Max Weber

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

Max Weber's diagnosis of Occidental modernity Pynchon makes use of, 
especially in Gravity's Rainbow,
is that of 'bureaucratic dominance' ("bürokratische Herrschaft") which 
is characterized by the
"ROUTINIZATION of charisma". You know, organizations, science, the law, 
Pointsman ... It's true that,
according to Weber, the system now and then needs a shot of temporary 
charisma, but the general
tendency goes just the other direction ... RATIONALIZATION along the 
ways of capitalism (and please
don't forget that Weber appreciated the work of Karl Marx very much!). 
Oh, and thanks for the hint, but alone in "Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft", 
Weber's opus magnum, there are literally dozens of pages dealing with 
the issue of 'charisma'. The general problem with charisma is, according 
to Weber, that charisma is 'alien to economy' ("wirtschaftsfremd"), and 
that's why it is doomed to die in the modern
world. At least in the long run ... "On this way from a stormy emotional 
life, alien to economy, to slow
entropic death under the pressure of material interests is any charisma 
in any hour of its being, and  indeed, with every passing hour to a 
rising degree" (Max Weber: Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, p. 661,
fünfte, revidierte Auflage, Tübingen 1980: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 
edited by Johannes Winckelmann;
the translation is my own). Btw, with the sociology of the artist this 
has not that much to do.

KFL


On 09.02.2011 14:18, Mark Kohut wrote:
>   and esp his anti-charisma rants--read
> the definition of charisma from Weber: it means standing out publicly and using
> THAT
> ---which he will never do.