HIST363: Global Perspectives on Industrialization

Weber thought that the only way that German culture would survive was by creating an empire. He influenced German policy towards eastern Germany. In 1894, he proposed closing the border to Polish workers from Russia and Austria-Hungary. However, in 1895, impressed by the attitude of the Russian liberal party, which wanted to change Russian nationalism by accepting ethnic minorities as Russians, he reversed his position.

Weber advocated democracy as a means for selecting strong leaders. He viewed democracy as a form of charisma where the "demagogue imposes his will on the masses". For this reason, the European left has been highly critical of Weber for, albeit unwittingly, preparing the intellectual groundwork for Adolf Hitler's leadership.

Weber was strongly anti-socialist, despising the anti-nationalist stance of the Marxist parties. He was surprised that the communists in Russia (who dissolved the old elite and bureaucracy) could survive for more than half a year.

Weber was very opposed to the conservatives who tried to hold back the democratic liberation of the working classes. Weber's personal and professional letters show considerable disgust for the anti-Semitism of his day. It is doubtful that Weber would have supported the Nazis had he lived long enough to see their activities.