‘Echoing Weber’: Richard Titmuss and Weberian social science

Abstract Richard Titmuss (1907–73) was appointed professor of social administration at the London School of Economics in 1950, going on to create the academic field of social policy. A key figure in post-war British social science, Titmuss also held numerous public roles, including advisor to the Labour party. Among his intellectual influences was Max Weber, one of the ‘founders’ of sociology, whom he drew upon for insights into the nature, and consequences, of capitalist modernity. Understanding such influences throws fresh light on Titmuss’s analysis of the ‘welfare state’ and its historical development, an issue also with broader historiographical significance.