Abstract

The part played by the doctrine of natural rights in the unfolding of Max Weber's thought from 1890 to his death in 1920 is analyzed through published interpretations as well as letters and archival material in Germany. A liberal democrat, Weber should have had an affinity for this doctrine, which undergirds British and American democratic thought, but the Germanic tradition he inherited left him ambivalent and skeptical. This German tradition and the idea of natural rights are examined to understand his intellectual odyssey. Weber's 1904/05 American sojourn with his wife Marianne and colleagues Troeltsch and Sombart is seen as a critical juncture. Contact with social thinkers such as William James, DuBois, Jane Addams and the constitutional lawyer, Georg Jellinek, shaped his reactions to American democracy. Weber's legacy is a position that guards Enlightenment values without falling victim to the "isms" of modern political and scientific inquiry