Anneke van Baalen, HIDDEN MASCULINITY, Max Weber's historical sociology of bureaucracy. 1994
Chapter 9 Connections between formal rationality and charismatic domination over and through free
men: the continuing role of magic in the construction of impersonal patriarchal fraternities; from
Ständestaat to revolution
162
The attitude 'of the average German toward the 'Amt', toward the "supra-personal" authorities
and their "nimbus"', which has been partly conditioned by Lutheranism, is based on the same
belief: 'the endowment of powerholders with the office charisma of "God-given authority". The
purely emotive state metaphysics, flourishing on this ground, has had far-reaching political
consequences.'
20
In his analysis of the belief of Germans in the bureaucracy and of their 'Untertan'-character
Weber emphasizes the charismatic element, which in his chapter on patriarchal patrimonialism
etc. remains hidden behind his construction of the development of traditional domination.
21
4. Rationalization of charismatic education into examinations of 'expertise'
The production of 'office charisma' led to a transformation of charismatic education. In Greek
Antiquity charismatic education had combined intellectual training with the 'agon', the contest
in the gymnasium, which was developed 'to the point where it dominated all interests, the
practice of the arts and of conversation up to the Platonic "dialectal" contests.'
22
Under
feudalism it merely consisted of a training in the martial arts and in the specific ethos of
'honor'.
23
Only the patrimonial church and state organized a systematic university education for
their future officials
24
.
Weber gave no systematic treatment of the universities and their history of wondrous
amalgamation of rationalistic teaching and charismatic manhood celebrations;
25
his views on
them are scattered through his chapters on bureaucracy, on charismatic education, on
patriarchy and patrimonialism, on 'feudalism, Ständestaat and patrimonialism',
26
on political
and hierocratic domination, and, with regard to the education of jurists, also in his chapter on
sociology of law.
According to Weber the 'examination for expertise' is not a strictly bureaucratic phenomenon; it
existed already in prebureaucratic or semibureaucratic epochs, especially under 'prebendal
patrimonialism of the arbitrary type', especially where theocracy has taken over education.
27
Patrimonial education tried to establish 'office charisma' by requiring a distinctive way of life
and a corresponding training of future officials, in order to control lay education.
28
Patrimonial
carried through consistently as soon as the development toward the charisma of office had gotten under way.'
20
ES p. 1141, WG p. 675.
21
See above Ch. 8,9.
22
ES p. 1368, WG p. 814.
23
Cf. EuM p. 264: reading and writing were considered 'weiblich und pfäffisch'.
24
See ES p. 258/9, WG p. 150/1.
25
See for the Netherlands Frijhoff (1981) and De Vrankrijker; for a dramatic representation of masculine student
initiation rituals of thirty years ago, Van der Pijl (1989).
26
ES p. 1090, WG p. 639/40; his interest here lies in the fact that education is the most important influence on
the general c u l t u r a l development.
27
'Where domination is prebendally organized, education tends to be intellectualist - transmitting special
knowledge. In a particularly typical form this is true of China and in cases - to be discussed later - in which
theocracy takes over education. The last development tends to reach its culmination in the secular state of the
arbitrary patrimonial type, which does not develop an educational system of its own.' ES p. 1090, WG p. 640.
28
'In particular, the church establishes a distinctive way of life for its officials. This requires a specific course of
training and hence a regular hierocratic education. Once it has created the latter, it also gains control over lay
education and, through it, provides the political authorities with officials and subjects who have been properly
brought up in the hierocratic spirit.' ES p. 1165, WG p. 693.
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