Ebook: Max Weber and Karl Marx

Lowith's 1932 essay on Marx and Weber remains the definitive statement of the deep commonalities between these two thinkers. That is, it argues that Weber's central concern is to develop a fundamental theory of capitalism, as with Marx. For decades, it was "necessary" to attempt to parry Marx with Weber. Lowith's stood as an accusation of "bad faith" with regard to all such attempts, especially those who would evacuate Weber of all critique, even if only existential. Derek Sayer's "Capitalism and Modernity" is perhaps most in the spirit of this minor masterpiece.