Weber’s tragic legacy

Richard Ned Lebow*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Weber’s corpus is characterized by four tensions: the epistemological between subjective values and objective knowledge, the sociological between social rationalization and irrational myths, the political among conflicting values, and the tragic between human conscience and worldly affairs. I explore how three of Weber’s successors struggled with these tensions. Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer, in the early postwar writings, sought to resolve them, as did Carl Schmitt—although in diametrically opposed directions. Hans Morgenthau sought to keep them alive but did not refine them. They remain very relevant to contemporary international relations theory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-58
Number of pages22
JournalJournal of International Political Theory
Volume13
Issue number1
Early online date12 Oct 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2017

Keywords

  • Adorno
  • Epistemology
  • Ethics
  • Horkheimer
  • Morgenthau
  • Myth
  • Rationalization
  • Schmitt
  • Weber

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