The forum for inter-american research was established by the American Studies Section of the English Department at Bielefeld University in order to foster, promote and publicize current topics in the studies of the Americas. fiar is the official journal of the International Association of Inter-American Studies (IAS) General Editor: Wilfried Raussert Editors: Yolanda Campos Stephen Joyce Marius Littschwager Mahshid Mayar Luisa Raquel Lagos Ellermeier Paula Prescod Wilfried Raussert Susana Rocha Teixeira Brian Rozema Assistant Editor: Anne Lappert Editorial Board: Prof. Mita Banerjee, Mainz University, Germany Prof. William Boelhower, Louisiana State University, USA Prof. Nuala Finnegan, University College Cork, Ireland Prof. Emerita Lise Gauvin, Université de Montréal, Canada Prof. Maryemma Graham, University of Kansas, USA Dr. Jean-Louis Joachim, Université des Antilles, Martinique Prof. Djelal Kadir, Prof. Emeritus, Penn State University, USA Dr. Luz Angélica Kirschner, South Dakota State University, USA Prof. John Ochoa, Pennsylvania State University, USA Prof. John Carlos Rowe, University of Southern California, USA Prof. David Ryan, University College Cork, Ireland Prof. Sebastian Thies, University of Tübingen, Germany Dr. Cécile Vigouroux, Simon Fraser University, Canada Design: Alina Muñoz Knudsen Contact: [email protected] [49] 521-106-3641 www.interamerica.de (European Standard Time) Postfach 100131 The association seeks to promote the interdisciplinary study of the Americas, focusing in particular on inter-connections between North, Central, and South American culture, literatu- re, media, language, history, society, politics, and economics. www.interamericanstudies.net Guest Editors of Vol. 13.3: Jessé Souza (Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Paulo) ____________________________________________________________________________ www.interamerica.de The forum for inter-american research ISSN: 1867-1519 Vol. 13 No. 3 (Dec. 2020): 100th anniversary of the death of Max Weber: Commemoration from the Americas 100th anniversary of the death of Max Weber: Commemoration from the Americas (Introduction). .5 Jessé Souza (Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Paulo) “How Ideas Become Effective in History” Max Weber on Confucianism and Beyond ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7 Wolfgang Schluchter (Heidelberg University, Germany) Rethinking the State: How Necessary is a Farewell to Max Weber? . .21 Hans-Jürgen Burchardt (University of Kassel, Germany) Max Weber, Understanding and the Charge of Subjectivism . .35 Boike Rehbein (Humboldt University Berlin, Germany) Max Weber e o “Culturalismo Científico” do Senhor e do Escravo ���������������������������������������������46 Jessé Souza (Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Paulo) A recepção de Max Weber no pensamento de Fernando Henrique Cardoso e a legitimação intelectual do projeto de reforma do Estado no Brasil. .58 Marcos Abraao Ribeiro (Instituto Federal Fluminense) Patrimonial Liberalism: A Weberian Approach to Early Latin American State-Making �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������75 Francisco Colom González (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) The Persian Whitman: Beyond a Literary Reception, by Behnam M. Fomeshi,Leiden University Press, 2019.(Book Review) . .88 Mostafa Abedinifard (Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia) FORUM FOR INTER-AMERICAN RESEARCH (FIAR) VOL. 13.3 (DEC. 2020) 5-6 ISSN: 1867-1519 © forum for inter-american research 100th anniversary of the death of Max Weber: Commemoration from the Americas (Introduction) JESSÉ SOUZA (UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO ABC (UFABC), SÃO PAULO) Since the end of the 1990s, the so-called “left many intellectuals who, not so long ago, strongly turn” has been gaining ground in Latin America, supported progressive governments. For this breaking with the “Washington Consensus” for reason, CALAS launched a dialogue platform in two decades. On the basis of rising commodity Guadalajara in early October 2019 entitled “The prices and strong economic growth, social and Latin American Left in the 21st Century: Looking labour policies were expanded and reshaped. Back to the Future.” There it became clear that While the West held on to its neo-liberal model the relationship between state and society plays and faced growing social and political distortions a central role in the failure and must be discussed due to the financial crisis of 2008, poverty in Latin anew, but also that new projects committed to America was reduced by almost half. These the political and social participation of all must achievements were accompanied by broad social be a part of this process . mobilisation and in some cases complemented One of the most influential state theorists to by new models of political participation. The date is Max Weber. It is necessary to take into region became more independent and gained account that Max Weber, albeit from a “culturalist” international influence. reading that distorts his work, is the most Since the middle of the last decade, this important author for hegemonic social science political trend has reversed. With the fall in in the Americas as a whole. On the occasion of commodity prices, the region has fallen into an the 100th anniversary of Max Weber’s death, the economic crisis, which has quickly worsened following volume presents various contributions the social situation and fuelled political conflicts. that explore the significance his ideas continue to Progressive forces have lost legitimacy and have for the analysis of the state, where it could influence. Social dismantling and discrimination be expanded or replaced and what significance against the weak and minorities have become Max Weber still has for Latin America today. a part of the political programme, and in The set of texts presented here discuss some countries, such as Brazil, politicians Max Weber‘s work at two different levels of on the extreme right have been elected into abstraction. The texts by Wolfgang Schluchter, government. Hans-Jürgen Burchardt and Boike Rehbein Over the last two decades, Latin America has are dedicated to discussing methodological had a century’s opportunity to embark on a new and philosophical aspects that are considered path of development in politics and the economy. essential for the understanding of Weber. In This option has been weakened, but has not the case of Rehbein the relationship between yet failed. It is now necessary to learn from objectivity and subjectivity, in the case of the mistakes of the last decade of progressive Schluchter the relationship between ideal and governance, for those who do not know their material causality, and in Burchardt‘s case the history are doomed to repeat it. need to criticize the Weberian concept of the To do so, it is necessary to analyse the internal modern state. factors for the recent failure of progressive The set of texts by Jessé Souza, Marcos governments that contributed to this social and Abrãao and Francisco Colom refer, on the political crisis. The left’s loss of confidence and contrary, to Max Weber‘s application to the legitimacy has hardly been analysed so far. concrete Latin American context. Souza What is particularly striking is the silence of questions the „culturalist“ use of Max Weber in 6 J. SOUZA: 100TH ANNIVERSARY (INTRODUCTION) American social sciences in general, both in the Author’s biography USA and in Latin America. Abrãao shows how this skewed reading was used politically in Brazil, Jessé de Souza is a Brazilian sociologist, while Colom focuses on the traditional use of the professor at the Federal University of ABC, concept of patrimonialism for Latin America. The with research in the areas of inequality, two levels of abstraction must be interconnected social stratification and critical theory. He is in order to produce a productive critique of the a fundamental reference of contemporary use of Max Weber in American sciences. Brazilian social thought, having published on This volume shows that Weber is still the political sociology, peripheral modernization most important thinker both for the construction theory and inequalities in contemporary Brazil. of “American exceptionalism,” and then for the Among his recent works, stand out A Construção construction of the idea of USA as the „promised Social da Subcidadania (2006); A ralé brasileira: land“ of the ascetic Protestant and his supposed quem é e como vive (2009); Os batalhadores moral superiority; and, on the other hand, for the brasileiros: Nova classe média ou nova classe construction of the idea of the Latin Americans as trabalhadora? (2010, 2012). More recently he an inferior and corrupt people. The “culturalistic” published A elite do atraso: Da escravidão à approach in US and in Latin America social Lava Jato (2017). sciences is still today dominated by the figure and the ideas of Max Weber. Patrimonialism, ascetic Protestantism, modernity, tradition are all terms from Weber’s work which were interpreted by the Americans and Latin Americans in very peculiar ways. It is precisely this context that profoundly affects the Americas as a whole that the present collection of texts aims to help to clarify. To understand how Weber was used and misused by American and Latin American thinkers and readers is to understand the very scheme of continental domination and the role of