Science as a Vocation and Politics as a Vocation

Introduction

Weber gave these two lectures in 1917 and 1919, amid the turmoil of Germany's defeat and revolution, at the invitation of students in Munich. In Science as a Vocation he tells his audience frankly that an academic career is ruled by chance and means watching 'one mediocrity after another promoted over your head'; science can tell us facts and means, but cannot answer 'what shall we do and how shall we live'; the modern world has been 'disenchanted', and the teacher at the lectern must not play prophet or demagogue. In Politics as a Vocation he defines the state as 'a human community that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory', distinguishes the 'ethic of conviction' from the 'ethic of responsibility', and holds that a true politician needs passion, a sense of responsibility and a sense of proportion. 'Politics is a strong and slow boring of hard boards.' Both lectures remain required reading for scholars and statesmen.