When first published, this now classic text made a fundamental contribution to the revival of the British sociological tradition in the 1960s, when one of the fundamental features of the ...transformation of the social sciences all over Europe was the rediscovery, recovery, & re-evaluation of the classics. As discussed in Juan Jose & Santiago Castillo's article (2004), Thomas Spensley Simey (1906-1969) played an inspirational role in this rediscovery of the classics, publishing studies not only of the Webbs, but also of Charles Booth, the subject of his seminal Charles Booth; Social Scientist (1960) written with his wife Margaret Bayne Simey. Simey's other major, later republished works include the Social Science and Social Purpose (1968). In this article, Simey discusses & analyses the role that Industrial Democracy, & the Webb's writings more generally, played in the development of the social sciences in the UK. Adapted from the source document.
M. Weber's idea of the diff between fact & value & the objectivity of the soc sci's is re-examined to find out what precisely M. Weber did say on the subject. A sketch of the era in which Weber was ...born shows that Weber's outlook was that of the Mc, but that, deeper down, he also identified with his We fellow citizens. He joined the Assoc for Soc Policy in Vienna with divided loyalties. The aims, scope, & activities of the Assoc are examined in detail & M. Weber's role in it is discussed. The dispute about the status of values in the soc sci's before WWI is examined. Original speeches made by Weber at meetings of the Assoc are analyzed re Weber's pol'al ideas. Weber emerges as a man who had a novel understanding of the main trends of development of the industr society of his day & wished to influence the formulation of soc policies according to his ideas. He held the opinion that the discussion of values was a means of deflecting attention away from the discussion of practical pol & drawing it to the examination of philosophical issues. But it is highly doubtful whether philosophical discussion can deal effectively with soc problems. It is concluded that the dispute about value judgments seems to have been occasioned by a lack of understanding, on Weber's part, as to how he might play a constructive role in the Assoc. He had great concern for soc questions but considered bur'crats 'threats to the liberties of mankind.' Eventually Weber took an increasing interest in practical pol & endeavored to bring bur 'tic officials under the control of responsible ministers. He received the reputation of being both a reactionary nat'list & one who wished to keep sociol out of pol & free from value judgments. This is considered 'far from the truth,' yet M. Weber remained 'of 2 minds' till the end of his life. M. Maxfield.
M. Weber's contribution to sociol is seen as the most signif of the 20th cent. Questions are raised as to whether current interpretations of Weberian thought are in fact interpretations of what Weber ...intended, whether the sociol't can be a detached observer of soc life rather than a participant & whether this is what Weber advocated, & whether such detachment would infuse` his studies with artificiality. Weber's sociol'al theory of value is reappraised to derive answers to these queries. The oftslighted concept of Wertfreiheit; rationalism, empiricism, sci'- fic inquiry, & value judgment as they are signif in Weber's thought & writing; the chasm between positivism & idealism; his attempt to establish a via media between realism & idealism, the pessimism underlying his work, & other factors, are therefore reexamined. Weber must be credited with developing the methods of understanding, if not solving, the problems which endanger our civilization, & with establishing the sociol'ts role in society. M. Farber.
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