Max and Alfred Weber II: From F�hrerdemokratie to F�hrernation A Comparative Synthesis of Their Political Sociology

Abstract

In their Führerdemokratie Max and Alfred Weber assigned the key decision-making influence to an oligarchical elite of political leaders, in the caesarist version of Max's conception also to a 'plebiscitary dictator'. In Max's view, the leaders should be appointed by a party apparatus, win the elections through their charisma and distribute power, posts and profits to their followers. In Alfred's version, the voters were directly involved in the selection of the leaders. According to Max, the individual was in an 'iron cage', bound by command and obedience and at the mercy of political authority and bureaucracy. Alfred rather considered the individual as a 'person destined for freedom' and sought ways to release him from the economic, social and political pressures of modern life. A quantitative keyword content analysis of two relevant texts confirms that Max's conception of political will was based on power and force, while Alfred set store by freedom, human rights and political self-determination.