Pretty much every heavy jury trial. Results have been great. But the cost is undeniable: physical and mental health, relationships, etc. But I wouldn't have it any other way
My father sat me down one morning (after I did something stupidly wrong) and talked to me about responsibility. He said, “You have three responsibilities in life; number one you have a moral responsibility, you do the right thing, you love your neighbor, you follow the golden rule. Number two you have a civic responsibility, you serve your country, you vote, you serve on jury duty and number 3 you have a financial responsibility, you pay your bills, you don’t welch on bets. It took awhile to sink in but I am grateful now.
Sep 9, 2023·edited Sep 9, 2023Liked by david roberts
What a wonderful surprise, to come to the end of this terrific piece and see the call-out to my own piece. But on THIS piece, I haven’t read Weber since grad school, and in those days I was infatuated with Foucault. But wow, are the ideas you discuss in this piece relevant to our situation today, and I’m grateful to you for refreshing them here. You asked us to think about our own lives, and I will…but I have to say that my immediate “sparks” were to how the absolutism of self-identified “progressives” did their part (and continue to—e.g. Cornell West) to fragment the effectiveness of the Democrats. Bernie Sanders, I was relieved to see, has not endorsed West, and my fantasy is that he is regretting all that he himself did to splinter the blue vote in 2016. Weber is right that there is a time for an absolute ethics, but 2016 was NOT that time. As for now, I see the place of absolutism in an all-out commitment to making sure the Republicans don’t retake the White House and senate, which—paradoxically—should make us wary of absolutist (or “purity”) politics in our own candidates. The Republicans are absolutists—but absolutists without ethics, just an obsession with power. And unfortunately, that enables them to unify behind their party in a way that Democrats seem not to be able to do. Just rambling now….It’s your fault for creating sparks in my brain about the complexity AND usefulness of these concepts to our situation today. Thanks!!
The Absolute Ethic for 2024 is as you say: to prevent Trump from becoming president. And Democrats and those in the media who feel the same way need to make that goal supreme to everything else, including NOT speaking their conscience about policies of Biden they don't like.
Maybe President Obama can play the effectively unifying role in the General that Jim Clyburn played in the 2020. primary.
I can think of so many examples of tv/movie characters adopting an absolute ethic (Tony Soprano, Walter White/Saul Goodman, Omar Little, John Wick etc). It feels like almost every compelling main character these days is driven by a singular value or goal.
Even our favorite athletes talk about the sacrifices they make to be the best (Novak Djokovic and Tom Brady come to mind).
So I wonder if the idea of the absolute ethic has been glamorized by popular culture.
Great observation. We admire heroes and anti-heroes who sacrifice everything for a goal or to live by a code (Omar). I guess there's a part of all of us who wishes we could do the same.
Weber's most famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, was completed at the St Louis Fair in 1904, after watching an exhibition of Roy Knabenshue's controlled balloon flight. Not sure if one bore on the other, haha. Also, when WEB Du Bois was studying in Germany, he met Weber--although did not study with him--and was impacted by his work. Sociology was a nascent discipline that had been dominated for a while by Herbert Spencer, who (not Darwin) had coined the phrase "survival of the fittest." Spencer had spawned a backlash, which eventually included Du Bois's GREAT book, Souls of Black Folk.
btw, this is a terrific piece, which I should have acknowledged before saying anything else. Weber was wonderful at making complex social phenomena comprehensible and you've nailed one of the best examples of that.
Great additional information. There's a good book about the relationship between Du Bois and Weber. Forget the title. As I recall, they had a falling out over Weber's support of German colonialism.
No doubt who’s the more important Max here!! Love the pelican sweater and huge smile! On a far less important topic – Many sparks here, but the reference to the media’s coverage of the President’s age is the one that caught fire with me. I’m ABT (Anyone but Trump) from way back but there is another issue at play here. The President’s age (and all that comes with age) is an extremely important issue and it should be reported on accordingly. It’s not media’s responsibility to cover or not to cover the news in a way that helps to elect or defeat one candidate or another. I realize that this is the ideal and that it is an ideal that has never been adhered to in the entirety of our history. Even so, we must encourage it – not play into it. A free press is one of the vital institutions upon which the Great Experiment depends and the less we can trust the press along with any/all of the institutions that form the construct of our democracy - the media, the courts/justice system, free elections, the bodies that govern us – the lesser will be made this highly imperfect but extraordinary legacy that has been passed on to us. I stand down from my soapbox and return to a life focused on grandchildren and blue booties.
My response is that the Absolute priority is to deny Trump another term. There are enough right-wing media outlets that will gleefully cover Biden's age. I'd say you're prioritizing an idealistic fantasy–––that the media is non-partisan–––over something real and exigent.
I like Weber's conceptualization of the Absolute vs. the Responsible, and especially his recognition that to be an effective human being requires a constant blend of both. But that ambiguity leaves tons of room for human folly.
In my direct personal experience, much of today's progressive institutional leadership endorse an Absolute Ethic that "the worse, the better" in terms of amassing funding and power and instilling a permanent crisis mentality so their enlightened vanguard can break whatever eggs necessary to achieve the grand global omelet others are too blind to envision. It doesn't remotely reflect the will of their voters, but the kind of people with the drive and will to power to claw their way to the top of exclusive institutions tend toward Absolute Ethic tunnel vision that their ends justify their means.
It brings to mind the old quote about democracy being a lamb and two wolves deciding what to eat for lunch. The thoughtful, civic-minded citizen is stuck between wolves who might have perfectly good intentions from their vantage points but are willing to do unlimited damage on the way to Utopia.
I agree with your critique of the institutional leadership of some of the far left welcoming, exaggerating, or inventing crises as fundraising opportunities.
That said, civic-minded citizens are still faced with a choice. And in my opinion re-electing Trump is by far the worst choice. So much so that all other considerations ought to be put aside.
We agree. An election where the rules are not followed would be worse than a Trump victory.
You remind me that i was upset when Democratic political bodies gave money to unelectable MAGA candidates*** in Republican primaries. That was legal, but it struck me as unethical, cynical, and ultimately damaging. .
*** Initially autocorrected to "abdicates," which I thought was funny.
I think you caught me in a misuse of labeling something an Absolute Ethic! An Absolute Ethic of stopping Trump implies extralegal means. Anything goes. I don't believe that and I shouldn't have applied that term to Trump. Thank you.
As to fear or emotional manipulation, if a voter was on the fence, and I had the opportunity, i'd tell them why I feared trump's election and why. If I was effective at communicating my honest opinion, I might make them afraid also. Not sure if that would qualify as a manipulation of their emotions.
Comment Prompt:
Have there been circumstances in your life when you’ve adopted an Absolute Ethic? How did it work out?
Pretty much every heavy jury trial. Results have been great. But the cost is undeniable: physical and mental health, relationships, etc. But I wouldn't have it any other way
Absolutely!
My father sat me down one morning (after I did something stupidly wrong) and talked to me about responsibility. He said, “You have three responsibilities in life; number one you have a moral responsibility, you do the right thing, you love your neighbor, you follow the golden rule. Number two you have a civic responsibility, you serve your country, you vote, you serve on jury duty and number 3 you have a financial responsibility, you pay your bills, you don’t welch on bets. It took awhile to sink in but I am grateful now.
That's certainly a great Ethic of Responsibility.
What a wonderful surprise, to come to the end of this terrific piece and see the call-out to my own piece. But on THIS piece, I haven’t read Weber since grad school, and in those days I was infatuated with Foucault. But wow, are the ideas you discuss in this piece relevant to our situation today, and I’m grateful to you for refreshing them here. You asked us to think about our own lives, and I will…but I have to say that my immediate “sparks” were to how the absolutism of self-identified “progressives” did their part (and continue to—e.g. Cornell West) to fragment the effectiveness of the Democrats. Bernie Sanders, I was relieved to see, has not endorsed West, and my fantasy is that he is regretting all that he himself did to splinter the blue vote in 2016. Weber is right that there is a time for an absolute ethics, but 2016 was NOT that time. As for now, I see the place of absolutism in an all-out commitment to making sure the Republicans don’t retake the White House and senate, which—paradoxically—should make us wary of absolutist (or “purity”) politics in our own candidates. The Republicans are absolutists—but absolutists without ethics, just an obsession with power. And unfortunately, that enables them to unify behind their party in a way that Democrats seem not to be able to do. Just rambling now….It’s your fault for creating sparks in my brain about the complexity AND usefulness of these concepts to our situation today. Thanks!!
The Absolute Ethic for 2024 is as you say: to prevent Trump from becoming president. And Democrats and those in the media who feel the same way need to make that goal supreme to everything else, including NOT speaking their conscience about policies of Biden they don't like.
Maybe President Obama can play the effectively unifying role in the General that Jim Clyburn played in the 2020. primary.
YES YES YES
I can think of so many examples of tv/movie characters adopting an absolute ethic (Tony Soprano, Walter White/Saul Goodman, Omar Little, John Wick etc). It feels like almost every compelling main character these days is driven by a singular value or goal.
Even our favorite athletes talk about the sacrifices they make to be the best (Novak Djokovic and Tom Brady come to mind).
So I wonder if the idea of the absolute ethic has been glamorized by popular culture.
Great observation. We admire heroes and anti-heroes who sacrifice everything for a goal or to live by a code (Omar). I guess there's a part of all of us who wishes we could do the same.
Sorry, I saw Trump in the title and stopped reading. It's a personal rule, an effort to avoid exposure to toxic materials.
Weber's most famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, was completed at the St Louis Fair in 1904, after watching an exhibition of Roy Knabenshue's controlled balloon flight. Not sure if one bore on the other, haha. Also, when WEB Du Bois was studying in Germany, he met Weber--although did not study with him--and was impacted by his work. Sociology was a nascent discipline that had been dominated for a while by Herbert Spencer, who (not Darwin) had coined the phrase "survival of the fittest." Spencer had spawned a backlash, which eventually included Du Bois's GREAT book, Souls of Black Folk.
btw, this is a terrific piece, which I should have acknowledged before saying anything else. Weber was wonderful at making complex social phenomena comprehensible and you've nailed one of the best examples of that.
Thanks!
Great additional information. There's a good book about the relationship between Du Bois and Weber. Forget the title. As I recall, they had a falling out over Weber's support of German colonialism.
Interesting how after the worlds fair was over they demolished the exposition. 🤔
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4No2E_pPHGc
No doubt who’s the more important Max here!! Love the pelican sweater and huge smile! On a far less important topic – Many sparks here, but the reference to the media’s coverage of the President’s age is the one that caught fire with me. I’m ABT (Anyone but Trump) from way back but there is another issue at play here. The President’s age (and all that comes with age) is an extremely important issue and it should be reported on accordingly. It’s not media’s responsibility to cover or not to cover the news in a way that helps to elect or defeat one candidate or another. I realize that this is the ideal and that it is an ideal that has never been adhered to in the entirety of our history. Even so, we must encourage it – not play into it. A free press is one of the vital institutions upon which the Great Experiment depends and the less we can trust the press along with any/all of the institutions that form the construct of our democracy - the media, the courts/justice system, free elections, the bodies that govern us – the lesser will be made this highly imperfect but extraordinary legacy that has been passed on to us. I stand down from my soapbox and return to a life focused on grandchildren and blue booties.
My response is that the Absolute priority is to deny Trump another term. There are enough right-wing media outlets that will gleefully cover Biden's age. I'd say you're prioritizing an idealistic fantasy–––that the media is non-partisan–––over something real and exigent.
But glad we agree on the best Max!
I like Weber's conceptualization of the Absolute vs. the Responsible, and especially his recognition that to be an effective human being requires a constant blend of both. But that ambiguity leaves tons of room for human folly.
In my direct personal experience, much of today's progressive institutional leadership endorse an Absolute Ethic that "the worse, the better" in terms of amassing funding and power and instilling a permanent crisis mentality so their enlightened vanguard can break whatever eggs necessary to achieve the grand global omelet others are too blind to envision. It doesn't remotely reflect the will of their voters, but the kind of people with the drive and will to power to claw their way to the top of exclusive institutions tend toward Absolute Ethic tunnel vision that their ends justify their means.
It brings to mind the old quote about democracy being a lamb and two wolves deciding what to eat for lunch. The thoughtful, civic-minded citizen is stuck between wolves who might have perfectly good intentions from their vantage points but are willing to do unlimited damage on the way to Utopia.
I agree with your critique of the institutional leadership of some of the far left welcoming, exaggerating, or inventing crises as fundraising opportunities.
That said, civic-minded citizens are still faced with a choice. And in my opinion re-electing Trump is by far the worst choice. So much so that all other considerations ought to be put aside.
We agree. An election where the rules are not followed would be worse than a Trump victory.
You remind me that i was upset when Democratic political bodies gave money to unelectable MAGA candidates*** in Republican primaries. That was legal, but it struck me as unethical, cynical, and ultimately damaging. .
*** Initially autocorrected to "abdicates," which I thought was funny.
I think you caught me in a misuse of labeling something an Absolute Ethic! An Absolute Ethic of stopping Trump implies extralegal means. Anything goes. I don't believe that and I shouldn't have applied that term to Trump. Thank you.
No to lying or stretching the truth.
As to fear or emotional manipulation, if a voter was on the fence, and I had the opportunity, i'd tell them why I feared trump's election and why. If I was effective at communicating my honest opinion, I might make them afraid also. Not sure if that would qualify as a manipulation of their emotions.
It is like crossing a busy street.
When the way is clear it is absolutely correct to cross.
If it is not clear be responsible.