Talking Politics: HISTORY OF IDEAS

Weber on Leadership

Max Weber’s The Profession and Vocation of Politics (1919) was a lecture that became one of the defining texts of twentieth century political thought. In it, Weber explores the perils and paradoxes of leadership in a modern state. Is it possible to do bad in order to do good? Can violence ever be virtuous? Does political responsibility send politicians mad? David discusses the legacy of Weber’s ideas and asks: who is the true Weberian politician? Free online version of the text: <a href="http://fs2.american.edu/dfagel/www/class%20readings/weber/politicsasavocation.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://fs2.american.edu/dfagel/www/class%20readings/weber/politicsasavocation.pdf</a>Recommended version to purchase: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weber-Political-Writings-Cambridge-History/dp/0521397197" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weber-Political-Writings-Cambridge-History/dp/0521397197</a>Going Deeper:<a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n16/geoffrey-hawthorn/anti-magician" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Geoffrey Hawthorn on Max Weber for the LRB</a><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-Weber-Joachim-Radkau/dp/0745641482" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joachim Radkau, Max Weber (Polity, 2009)</a><a href="https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2019/141-the-problem-with-political-leaders" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Talking Politics on ‘Politics as a Vocation’ with Jonathan Powell</a><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contesting-Democracy-Political-Twentieth-Century-Europe/dp/0300194129" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jan-Werner Müller, Contesting democracy: political ideas in twentieth century Europe (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013)</a><a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v25/n09/david-runciman/the-politics-of-good-intentions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David for the LRB on Weber, Tony Blair, and the politics of good intentions</a> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

A new series of talks by David Runciman, in which he explores some of the most important thinkers and prominent ideas lying behind modern politics – from Hobbes to Gandhi, from democracy to patriarchy, from revolution to lock down. Plus, he talks about the crises – revolutions, wars, depressions, pandemics – that generated these new ways of political thinking. From the team that brought you Talking Politics: a history of ideas to help make sense of what’s happening today. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.