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Weber delivers the Munich lecture Politik als Beruf

On 28 January 1919 Max Weber lectured in Munich on Politik als Beruf, defining the state, the ethic of responsibility versus conviction, and the vocation of the politician, weeks after revolution and before Versailles signatures. In the causal graph this event strengthens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — an improving welfare path.

Read the full account

On 28 January 1919 Max Weber lectured in Munich on Politik als Beruf, defining the state, the ethic of responsibility versus conviction, and the vocation of the politician, weeks after revolution and before Versailles signatures. It is not the 1917 science lecture. Suffrage and parliamentary responsibility are the improving democratic reading.

Context

Eisner’s Bavaria, a lost war, and student hunger for leaders framed the night. Weber had been speaking for a liberal republic and against council rule. The Bund again hosted. Sharing does not erase the speaker.

Shared responsibility is part of Weber delivers the Munich lecture Politik als Beruf. Naming Max Weber does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 1919-01-28 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

Why it matters

Democratic-resilience path, modest-to-mid weight, medium confidence on later parliamentary effects. High confidence on the 28 January 1919 delivery.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Max Weber

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.36 · verified

    He delivered the 28 January 1919 lecture on politics as vocation, ethic of responsibility, and the state as monopoly of legitimate force. The Bund hosted.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactWeber delivers the Munich lecture Politik als Beruf
    2. strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
    3. strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
    Improving path

    impact weight 0.4 · Effect from 28 January 1919 · verified

    • Having a say in government

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.28 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.7)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Clean elections index

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.18 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.

      Above normal = better

    • WJP Rule of Law Index (global)

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.18 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      Above normal = better

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Politik als Beruf (1919) — Internet ArchiveInternet Archive / Duncker & Humblot · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Max WeberStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/weber-max-1919-politik-als-beruf (opens in a new tab) holds the 1919 print. SEP at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/weber/ (opens in a new tab) independently treats the vocation lectures as paired lifetime speeches.

Established: Weber delivered Politik als Beruf on 28 January 1919. Not established: that the lecture uniquely caused the Weimar constitution. Contribution is recorded as He delivered the 28 January 1919 lecture on politics as vocation, ethic of responsibility, and the state as monopoly of legitimate force. The Bund hosted. The dated heading stays Weber delivers the Munich lecture Politik als Beruf on 1919-01-28, not a later statue, UNESCO listing, or school film. Later competitions, monuments, and adaptations are refused as extra lifetime acts of this person on this date.

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.

If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.

Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. Politik als Beruf is not Wissenschaft als Beruf. Mixed effects of Weber delivers the Munich lecture Politik als Beruf are separate paths.

The contribution type is direct. That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorMax Weber
  2. contributed toFactWeber delivers the Munich lecture Politik als Beruf
  3. strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
  4. strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Weber delivers the Munich lecture Politik als Beruf. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/weber-politik-1919

https://factrail.ai/facts/weber-politik-1919

Accessed 15 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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