Abstract of

Anti-Semitism and Radical Scholarship: Case Studies in the Work of Karl Marx and Max Weber

By Dr. Irwin Sperber, Ph. D.

This study seeks to demonstrate the caricatures of Jewish culture in the writings of Marx and Weber; to highlight the policy implications of their respective notions about the supposedly devious and greedy conduct of European Jews; and to trace the subtle yet tenacious influence of these notions in radical sociology as well as leftist social commentary. It then utilizes the perspectives of historical materialism advanced by Marx and social action theory advanced by Weber to explain how these theorists, albeit generally regarded as champions of historical and critical self-awareness, came to be caught up in the anti-semitic ideologies prevalent in 19th century German social thought.

Although Weber is usually regarded as an outspoken critic of Marx and, indeed, a social democrat haunted by the latter’s revolutionary spirit, attention is called to the remarkable degree to which they shared an ill-informed and ahistorical outlook toward the role of Jews in the era of laissez-faire capitalism. The connections of this outlook to radical analyses of racism and bigotry in contemporary American society and the Arab-Israeli conflict in the context of post-Cold War doctrines will also be explored.

The documentation for this study is based chiefly on primary source materials: a sampling of representative and relevant passages in the writings of Marx and Weber will be reviewed. It also includes a critical examination of an unduly neglected secondary source: Max Weber and the Jewish Question by Gary Abraham. Key terms to be used: False consciousness; theory of alienation; unintended consequences of social action; traditional domination.

Dr. Irwin Sperber is professor of sociology at SUNY New Paltz