Politics as a Vocation

"Politics as a Vocation" (German: Politik als Beruf) is an essay by German economist and sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920). It originated in the second lecture of a series (the first was Science as a Vocation) he gave in Munich to the "Free (i.e. Non-incorporated) Students Union" of Bavaria on 28 January 1919. This happened during the German Revolution when Munich itself was briefly the capital of the Bavarian Socialist Republic. Weber gave the speech based on handwritten notes which were transcribed by a stenographer. The essay was published in an extended version in July 1919, and translated into English only after World War II. The essay is today regarded as a classic work of political science and sociology.

Weber’s classic definition of the state as an entity which has a monopoly over the use of legitimate coercive power in a given territory is found at the beginning of "Politics as Vocation". Politics, he in turn defines as the pursuit of power over the state.

Weber's definition is the following: “The state is seen as the sole grantor of the 'right' to physical force. Therefore, 'politics' in our case would mean the pursuit for a portion of power or for influencing the division of power whether it is between states, or between groups of people which the state encompasses.”. Following this definition, Weber notes that there are three principles justifying the legitimacy of political domination of the state, and these include traditional authority, charismatic authority, and legal authority.

Much of the middle part of "Politics as a Vocation" consists of Weber’s definitions of charisma and leaders, and the type of people who are called to the profession of politics. This is developed by lengthy historical descriptions of how modern politics emerged historical examples. Emphasis is placed on Great Britain, The United States, and Germany, though examples from France, China, Rome, Ancient Greece and elsewhere are mentioned. In developing these examples, Weber demonstrates his grasp of comparative historical research. To do this, Weber describes the relationship between politicians, political parties, and the bureaucracies they create. In this section, Weber’s writing in “Politics as a Vocation” is similar to his writing in another of his well-known essays “Bureaucracy.”

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