Ringer’s Interpretation of Weber

Abstract: The late American historian Fritz K. Ringer (1934–2006) has been acclaimed for his investigations concerning the German social sciences at the turn of the nineteenth century, and Max Weber’s social theory in particular. Ringer is especially known for his essay on the decline in Germany in the period between 1890 and 1933 of a particular collectivity he has called ‘mandarins’ (Ringer 1969). We shall first briefly provide a brief summary of this essay. Its purpose is to supply information on how Ringer views Weber’s relational and intellectual background, thus giving some clues as to his interpretation of this author. This interpretation will be evaluated in terms of its textual consistency with Weber’s writings and then be assessed in the light of some extant analyses of Weber’s social theory.