The Disenchantment of Charisma: A Weberian Assessment of Revolution in a Rationalized World

This essay addresses the question of whether and how it is possible to bring about major changes in the ways in which we order our lives in rationalized bureaucratic society. Genuine charisma—which Max Weber termed “the specifically creative revolutionary force in history”—is dependent upon social enchantment. In modern rationalized and disenchanted social systems charismatic revolution seems to be an impossibility. These correlative assertions are assessed through a reexamination of the work of Weber and a critical review of his subsequent interpreters, particularly with respect to the concept of “charisma” itself. Weber's own writings demonstrate that so-called charismatic figures in mass society are actually a part of the bureau-technic structure, which manufactures (in a thoroughly rational way) their apparent appeal. Weber's additional types of traditional and bureaucratic revolution—too often neglected in the literature—are discussed both in the context of his work and that of the current world situation.