Politics as a Vocation

A lecture Weber gave in Munich in January 1919 to a student audience, in the turmoil after Germany's defeat and revolution. He defines the state as a human community that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory, and identifies three grounds of legitimate rule: tradition, charisma and legality. A long historical section describes how politics became a profession, distinguishing those who live for politics from those who live off it. Weber then names the qualities a politician needs: passion for a cause, a sense of responsibility and a sense of proportion. The final part sets the ethic of conviction, which acts on principle regardless of outcome, against the ethic of responsibility, which answers for foreseeable consequences, and argues that anyone who enters politics deals with violence as a means. He ends by describing politics as a strong and slow boring of hard boards. Some readers find his stress on charismatic leaders troubling in light of later German history.

Its definition of the state and its contrast between conviction and responsibility remain basic tools for anyone thinking about political leadership and moral compromise.