A giant of modern social science, on par with Karl Marx
A new, complete translation of two of Max Weber's most insightful works.

A message from Max Weber, the prophet of his time, to our society 100 years later.
Defining 'politics' and 'academics' as professions in the clearest terms possible

The German Empire, defeated in World War I, collapsed in the November Revolution and the Weimar Republic was established.
German university students asked Max Weber, a respected social scientist of the time, what role politics and academia should play in overcoming this turbulent time.
In a situation where everything had changed, students who were at a loss expected Weber to express a concrete position on the issues of the time.
Weber, too, was not unaware of his students' aspirations, but rather than focusing on his political views, he focused on explaining the meaning of 'politics' and 'academics' as professions in a changing era.

Weber viewed 'politics' as a profession, in which a charismatic politician organizes people according to the calling of the times based on an ethics of responsibility and solves problems with the coercive power granted to the state.
Therefore, he argued that a true 'prophet' must emerge during this time of confusion to solve the problem.
However, he said that 'academics' as a profession are different from the responsibilities of politics, and that they should not follow trends but objectively investigate all facts with academic inspiration and passion.
Accordingly, scholars emphasized that they should not pursue academic studies based on partisan interests.
Therefore, it was considered unfortunate that scholars, who were professors, could not be expected to play the role of prophets, and that the absence of politicians who were prophets led to the country being ruled by bureaucrats or amateurs.

A century later, what do we expect from politics and academia today? Or rather, what can we expect? The message of Max Weber, himself a prophet of his time, resonates deeply with us living in the rapidly changing 21st century, offering keen insight.
The translator of this book faithfully translated Weber's famously difficult sentences into Korean, taking into account both readability and preservation.
In the introduction, the background that gave rise to the lecture is introduced as the warp and weft of history and society, helping to understand Weber's thoughts in a three-dimensional way.
Now it is our turn to explore the path forward for contemporary politics and scholarship through Weber's answers contained in this book.

What we are particularly interested in here is the second type, that of domination based on the devotion of the governed to the purely personal charisma of the leader.
Because the concept of calling is most deeply rooted in this type of domination.
When people dedicate themselves to the charisma of a prophet, a war leader, or a particularly brilliant public agitator in a popular assembly or parliament, it means that they truly recognize that individual as a leader with a calling, and they obey him not because of custom or statute, but because they trust him.
If that person is not a narrow-minded and shallow person who has temporarily risen to fame, but is a person of more than that, he will want to live according to his own duty and fulfill the duties entrusted to him.
And his supporters, his disciples, his followers, his purely personal devotees, consider him worthy of devotion because of his humanity and qualities.

--- p.19~20

There are two ways in which a person can make politics his profession.
One is to live for politics, and the other is to live dependent on politics.
These two approaches are by no means mutually exclusive.
Rather, people tend to parallel these two, at least ideologically, and most often materially.
Even people who live for politics live a life that is internally dependent on politics.
The person either enjoys the very act of possessing and exercising power, or finds inner stability and self-esteem in the recognition that dedicating oneself to a cause is the meaning of one's life.
In this way, anyone who truly lives for a cause from an internal perspective is clearly living in dependence on that cause.

--- p.29~30

Politics is something that is done with the head, not with other organs of the body or the mind.
Nevertheless, if politics is to be a truly human activity, not a frivolous intellectual pastime, then devotion to politics can be born only from passion and be nourished only by it.
But that powerful self-control, by the mental strength so evident in passionate politicians, is possible only when it is ingrained in one's being to distance oneself from everything.
And it is precisely this strong self-control that distinguishes a true politician from an amateur politician who operates in a state of sterile excitement.
Being a person with strong political leanings means, first and foremost, possessing these three qualities.

--- p.97~98

Politics is about slowly, persistently and powerfully poking holes in a solid plank, with both passion and vision.
It is absolutely true, and all historical experience proves it, that if there had not been people in this world who constantly challenged the impossible, humanity would not have been able to achieve even what is possible for humanity.
But only someone who is not just a leader, but also a hero in a very simple sense, can do that.
And now, even those who are not leaders or heroes must arm themselves with a strong heart that can withstand all the disappointments of hope.
Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to achieve what is possible for us today.
Only those who want to give something great to this world, and who are confident that they will not be discouraged even if the world seems so foolish and miserable to them, and who can say, “Nevertheless,” in the face of all these circumstances, have a calling in politics.

--- p.129~130

The reason I can say this is because of my personal experience when I was invited as a professor.
It was entirely by chance that I was invited to become a full-time professor in this field at such a young age, even though there were clearly peers with more outstanding research achievements than I had at the time.
Of course, I believe this experience has given me a keen eye to see how many people are suffering unfair fates.
For them, coincidence worked the opposite way to mine, and it still does today.
Despite their abilities, this selection process prevents them from getting the positions they deserve.

--- p.141

Dear participants! Individuals with individuality in academic fields are those who are completely absorbed in their work.
This is not just the case in academic fields.
We don't know of any great artists who do anything other than their own work, because great artists do their own work and are solely absorbed in their own work.
Even a man of such great personality as Goethe, when he tried to make his life a work of art, did at least some harm to his art.
In any case, only someone as good as Goethe could dare to attempt such freedom, and no one can doubt that even Goethe, who would come once in thousands of years, had to pay the price for such an attempt.
The same goes for politics, but we won't discuss that today.

--- p.154~155

If a professor feels called to advise young people and enjoys their trust in that capacity, then it is perfectly acceptable for him to devote himself to that calling by engaging with them personally as human beings.
And if he feels called to engage in the struggles of worldviews and partisanship, he is perfectly permitted to devote himself to that calling in life outside the university classroom, whether in the press, at rallies, or in associations, wherever he chooses.
But in a classroom where students may disagree with you, it's almost too easy and comfortable for a professor to unilaterally express his or her beliefs in front of students who are forced to remain silent.

--- p.187

In my view, it is better to be religious than to prophesy from the pulpit.
They clearly do not understand that within the confines of the classroom there can be no other virtue than that of pure intellectual honesty, and this duty of intellectual honesty demands that we recognize that the situation of all those who await a new prophet and savior today is like that of the watchman of Edom, who, in that beautiful song of Isaiah prophesied during the time of the captivity, tells the people:
“A voice is heard from Mount Seir in Edom:
'Watchman, how much longer is the night?' asks the watchman.
'Morning will come, but it is still night.
If you have any further questions, please come back another time.”

--- p.200~201