The Intellectual Heritage

Marx, Weber, and Freud

Presented by: Darleen Joy J. Udtujan
Karl Marx
(1818-1883)

He is known for establishing the theoretical basis for the expansion of

socialism and communism in the 20th century. His work provides an important
and quite fundamental statement of the conditions of social life in modern
industrial society.
Marx and Hegel

Existing circumstances, seen as passing phases in the evolution of freedom,

must be removed in order to ensure the continued extension of reason and
freedom.
The task of social theory is unmasking the false appearances generated in
the present in order to permit expanded freedom in the future,
Thesis and anti-thesis to form a synthesis
Marx saw history as a consequence of contending economic forces that result
in conflicts between economic ideas.
Division of Labor and the Accumulation of Capital
All systems of production involve establishing a set of social relationships for
the distribution and exchange of goods and services.
When tasks of production are divided among various workers and
specialization begins, the possibility of class relationship begins.
Each individual and each society develops its own understanding of the
world, but this understanding is conditioned by the social and economic
circumstances that characterize the particular epoch.
Transition to Socialism
Inherent tendencies exist that will eventually lead to the transition to a
socialist society.
Capitalism, for example, is based on an unstable relationship between two
classes the owners, or bourgeoisie, and the workers, or proletariat.

Industrial Organization and Individual Development

The forces of production seem to require an increasingly complex and

oppressive mode of organization, in which individuals suffer increasing
alienation and depersonalization.
The first historical act is thus the production of the means to satisfy [our]
needs
Growth of Alienation

Under Capitalism, the accumulation of wealth by the owners occur only with a
corresponding impoverishment of the workers.
Under bureaucratic capitalism, the individuals work is assimilated into the
production of standard units, which no longer bear the stamp of the
individual.
When we are alienated from our work, we also feel alienated from one
another.
When we see ourselves as objects in a system, we see others in the same
way, and the distance between ourselves and others increases.
Social Theory as an Impetus to Action

The task of social theory is to reveal to us how our understanding of our

situation has been clouded by ideology and other forms of mystification, to
illustrate the conditions of domination that chain us, and to point the way
toward freedom.
Theoretical knowledge of the true conditions under which we live reveals so
much that we are compelled to act to improve our circumstances.
Through praxis, we engage in critical reflection on our own situation and that
of our society to reveal the basis of social domination and the suffering it
promotes.
Max Weber
(1864-1920)

He is a German sociologist and best known for his analysis of rational

bureaucracy which had a broad impact on the social sciences.
Envisioned a sociology that would combine a concern for objectivity with an
understanding of the meaning of human action for those involved.
Weber had the most direct impact on theories of public organization although
his influence was felt fairly late in the development of the field.
Capitalism and the Protestant Ethic

Weber acknowledged that change could be propelled by other forces such as

tradition or belief.
Changing societies are not merely economic but also to the world of ideas
and ideals.
He argued that the belief in predestination was so disconcerting to followers
of Calvin that they sought a kind of loophole in their destiny, a way of
ensuring that they would be among the elect who enter the state of grace.
The loophole that they developed was earthly success, which they saw as a
sign of heavenly favor and assurance of their place among Gods chosen, and
they diligently sought to extend their holdings.
In terms of formal efficiency, the capitalist dependence on private ownership,
managerial control of the means of production, and reliance on competitive
pricing in the market were clearly at an advantage.

Rationalization of Social Theory:

The Notion of the Ideal Type

The rationalization of society lies at the heart of Webers analysis that human
action, including human labor, is best seen as means to an end.
The objectivity in the social sciences could be achieved through procedures
designed to eliminate personal prejudice in the research process. He
recognized that values do play a part in social science since it influences
social relationships and the way social scientist select significant topics.
He defined sociology is a science concerning itself with the interpretive
understanding of social action and thereby with a causal explanation of its
course and consequences. The sociologist is interested in how interacting
subjects constitute structures of meaning that in turn guide future actions.
Webers notion of the ideal type can provide social scientist an objective
analysis of the impact of social events on individuals and societies that will
lead to the formulation of social understanding.
Ideal-type Bureaucracy

Weber argued that every system of authority must establish and secure a
belief in its legitimacy to be done in many different ways.
Pure Types of Legitimate Authority

1. Legal authority based on a belief in the legality of certain patterns or

rules and in the right of those in positions of legal authority to issue
commands.
2. Traditional authority based on the belief in the importance of
enduring traditions and those who rule within those traditions.
3. Charismatic authority based on an emotional attachment or devotion
to a specific individual.
They are personally free and are subject to authority only with respect to
their impersonal official obligations.
They are organized in a clearly defined hierarchy of offices.
Each office has a clearly defined sphere of competence in the legal sense.
The office is filled by a free contractual relationship. Thus, in principle, there
is free selection.
Candidates are selected on the basis of technical qualifications rationally
tested by examination, guaranteed by diplomas certifying technical training,
or both. Successful candidates are appointed not elected.
They are remunerated by fixed salaries in money with a right to pensions.
Under certain circumstances, the employing authority, especially in private
organizations, have a right to terminate the appointment taking into account
the responsibility of the position and the requirements of the incumbents
social status.
The office is treated as the sole, or at least the primary, occupation of the
incumbent.
The office constitutes a career thus; promotion is based on seniority,
achievement, or both and depends on the judgment of superiors.

Officials work entirely separated from ownership of the means of

administration and without appropriation of their positions.
They are subject to strict and systematic discipline and control of the conduct
of the office.
Expansion of Bureaucracy
Businesses, governments, churches, all seem to organize around the same
principles emphasizing the exercise of authority through hierarchical
structures.
Socialist systems may even require a higher degree of bureaucratization to
that of capitalist systems in order to provide a stable economic life.
He argued that bureaucratic administration, from a formal and technical point
of view, is always the most rational type for the need of mass administration
today and it is completely indispensable.
Herbert Marcuse argued that Webers critical analysis ultimately turns into
apologetics that are quite favorable to the extension of capitalist
domination through bureaucratic mechanisms.
He also argued that Weber sees the increasing rationalization of modern life
as the fate of modern man thats why it is inevitable. According to some
analysts, Weber and Marx are entertaining the same question that there is an
increasing limitation of the human spirit under conditions of rapidly
expanding bureaucratic regulation.
Wolfgang J. Mommsen, an observer more sympathetic to Weber compared
the idea of Marx and Weber as both concerned with the inhuman
consequences of modern industrial capitalism. Capitalism depended more or
less on formal rationality in all spheres of social life.
Weber envisaged that the further advance of capitalism would eventually
result in the emergence of a new iron cage of serfdom in which the
individual would no longer stand any chance at all.
The only possible escape from the pattern of increasing social regulation is
the hope of Weber that charismatic leaders might emerge in positions to
control the otherwise enduring systems of bureaucratic administration.
Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939)
He was the first to emphasize the notion of the unconscious in the pursuit of
a healthier mental attitude. He also developed an understanding of the life of
groups, organizations, and societies.
Psychotherapy and Personality Theory
Freud developed a theory of personality development by understanding the
mind and behavior of an individual. He argued that when an individual seeks
certain pleasures or gratifications but that few of these wishes can be
fulfilled, those unfulfilled wishes are repressed into the unconscious mind
where they remain hidden and unrecognizable but capable of great influence
over the individuals development. Freud mentioned three forces: id, ego, and
superego.
o Id is the source of psychic energy, the aspect of our being that seeks
to reduce tension by means of the pleasure principle.

Ego serves to mediate between the individual and the objective world
obeying the reality principle.
o Superego comprises the internal representation of the values and
ideals of the society, including matters of right and wrong.
The ego plays a mediating role, checking the primitive and impulsive
tendencies of the id but also preventing the personality from being
overwhelmed by moralistic considerations.
The ego may respond to the object choices of the instincts, meaning both the
specific thing required to satisfy a need and all the behaviors that might go
into securing that object.
In the central mechanism of repression, the ego may engage in displacement,
projection, reaction formation, and fixation or regression.
The repression of wishes cannot be fulfilled creates the greatest discomfort
for the patient.
First, the patient may come to recognize that the wish should have been
accepted from the beginning and actions should have been taken to seek its
fulfillment or the wish should have been released more easily when it is
inappropriate. Or second, the energy of the wish may be redirected toward a
more creative end.
o

Understanding the Behavior and Impact of Group Psychology

Freud examined more closely the implications of his work on therapeutic role
of psychoanalysis in understanding social groups and even the entire cultural
systems.
Leaders often have their own ideas about the direction the work of the group
should take but these ideas may not be at all consistent with the desires of
the groups members. In this case, the leader fails in the eyes of the group
and thus earns their hatred.
According to A.K. Rice, followers depend on their leaders to identify their
goal, to devise ways of reaching it, and to lead toward it; but if the leaders
fail or falters, leaders earn the hatred of followers.
The development of social groups and social organizations, based on the
scientific myth of Freud, having control to a part of the world around them
means doing damage to that world first for which they assume a certain
amount of guilt.
This tension is repressed into the unconscious mind of the group, it creates
patterns that are inexplicable on the surface but nonetheless control the
groups behavior.
Scientific Myth

Having control to a part of the world around them means doing damage to
that world first for which they assume a certain amount of guilt. Then as the
leader of the group begins to speak for and be identified with the group, the
group members can shift their own guilt to the leader. Then recognizing the
evil of the leader and the guilt the leader bears, the group can only recoil
against him or her, thus creating inevitable tension between the leader and
the group. As this tension is repressed into the unconscious mind of the

group, it creates patterns that are inexplicable on the surface but nonetheless
control the groups behavior.
Groups and organizations appear as much more significant to the personal
and psychological development of the individual than might first appear.
Individuals use groups and organizations not only to accomplish established
ends but also to serve as direct sources of need gratification to provide a
sense of security. The organization is itself integral to the development of the
person a direct purveyor of influence and values, of hopes and aspirations,
dreams and desires. The individuals relationship to the group and ultimately
the society itself is critical to an understanding of the human condition.
Individual Autonomy and Cultural Constraints

Freud examined the impact of civilization on the possibilities of human

satisfaction as illustrated in his Civilization and Its Discontents.
Freud said that a good part of the struggles of mankind center round the
single task of finding an expedient accommodation one, that brings
happiness between this claim of individual autonomy and the cultural
claims of the group.
Civilization represents a massive struggle between the life instinct, Eros, and
the death instinct, Thanatos a struggle that can only lead to guilt and
repression on the part of the individual.
Our culture can only thwart our desires, limiting our freedom and
independence.
They depict the individual as engaged in a struggle with the forces of
organization in society, both public and private, due to the complexity and
the consequent rationalization of society. Our personal and collective survival
depends on our developing both a basic intelligence and a sense of
compassion as we live and work in a society of large and complex
organizations.
1. Controlling Our Environment
2. Interpreting the Intentions of Others
3. Freeing Ourselves from Limiting Perspectives

Political heritage: Wilson to Waldo

Presented by: Darleen Joy J. Udtujan

Beginnings of Public Administration Theory

Hamilton argued on behalf of a strong national government with considerable

power residing in the executive.
The Federalists preference for executive branch was a faithful reflection on
their distrust of the people. An intelligent perception of sound public policy
could come only from well-educated men of affairs, men of trained minds and
broad experiencein short, from the upper class.
Action, to be effective, must have clear direction, and such direction can
come from only one source, a unified executive.

According to Wilson, students have been largely preoccupied with

constitutional questions and had ignored active operations of government
agencies.
He then suggested that stable principles of administrative management,
businesslike principles, should be permitted to guide the operations of
public agencies.
The field of administration is a field of business

Politics-administration
1. Public administration is made distinctive by its relationship to the
government process and that this relationship requires that special
attention be paid to such normative concerns as justice, freedom and
responsibility.
2. After decisions are made in a democratic manner, their implementation
depends on the same managerial techniques employed in private
industry.
The duties of the executive are to enforce and apply the laws of the nation
after they are made by the legislature and interpreted by the courts.
Legislative, Judicial, Executive, Electorate and Administrative.
Every act [of the public employee] is a seamless web of discretion and action.
Administrators are continually laying down rules for the future, and
administrators are continually determining what the law is, what it means in
terms of action.
The lingering influence of politics-administration

Goodnow and Willoughby argued that the relationship between government

functions like policy making and policy execution is much more complex that
was previously realized.
Scientific approaches to management

the best management is a true science, resting upon clearly defined laws,
rules, and principles
Scientific management recommends managers to view workers as machines
to be tuned to their peak efficiency.
Administrative management and organizational structure
1. Coordination through unity and command.
2. Scalar principlevertical division of labor among various organizational
levels.
3. Functional principlevarious functions of the organization could be
grouped (horizontal division of labor).
4. Relationship between line and staff.
Centralization and integration
Efficiency: the key measure of success

the objective of public administration is the most efficient utilization of the

resources at the disposal of officials and employees. White
in the science of administration, whether public or private, the basic good
is efficiency -Gulick
Democratic administration

A democratic state must not only be based on democratic principles but also
democratically administered, the democratic philosophy permeating its
administrative ministry Levitan
Dynamic administration must be grounded on a recognition of the
motivating desires of the individual and of the group Follett
Conclusion

The problems of public organization are essentially the same as those of

private organization, subject to solution through the scientific principles of
administrative management.
Democracy is best preserved through the efficient operation of government
agencies.
Efficiency is best produced through sound business management.