Economy and society. Essays on understanding sociology. In 4 volumes

Volume I characterizes the basic concepts of understanding sociology as a whole, formulates the principles of economic sociology, briefly sketches the sociology of domination (in particular, charismatic and bureaucratic types of domination), and outlines ways to develop a new concept of social structure and social stratification for its time. In fact, this volume articulates concepts that will serve as a guide for the reader to understand the major issues of the social sciences addressed in the subsequent volumes of this classic work, which are now being prepared for publication. The publication is intended for sociologists, political scientists, historians, economists, and in general for specialists in a wide range of social and human sciences, as well as for readers interested in the problems of social and cultural development of our time.
The chapters included in the second volume demonstrate the formation of rationality structures that regulate the action of communities at different stages of historical development. The domestic community, oikos, ethnic and political formations, in particular parties and states, are examined. Of particular note is the huge chapter on religious communities, which is essentially a condensed sketch of Weber's sociology of religion. The publication is intended for sociologists, political scientists, historians, economists, and in general for specialists in a wide range of social and human sciences, as well as for readers interested in the problems of social and cultural development of modernity. The third volume includes two works devoted to the sociology of law. In the first of them, "Economy and Orders," the author characterizes the differences between sociological and legal approaches to the study of social processes, describes the specifics of normative systems (orders) of different levels, and shows the specifics of their impact on the economy. In the second work, "Conditions of Law Development", the formation and development of legal systems (primarily the three "great systems of law": Roman, English and European continental) is considered in the context of changes in the organization of the economy and structures of domination. Law acts here as a powerful factor in the rationalization of social life, which in turn is subjected to the rationalizing influence of the economy and social management. The publication is intended for sociologists, lawyers, political scientists, historians, and in general for specialists in a wide range of social and humanitarian sciences, as well as for readers interested in the problems of social and cultural development of modernity. The fourth volume includes works devoted to the problems of power and domination. In the first section, the author introduces the concept of "domination" and examines four historically manifested types of domination: patriarchalism, patrimonialism, bureaucratism, and charisma. The second section is titled "The City"; it is a coherent historical sketch of the emergence of the European city as a specific community involving a specific type of domination. The last, third section includes articles that briefly characterize the four types of domination mentioned above. Unlike the previous volumes, which are mainly conceptual in nature, the fourth volume contains a wealth of historical material. Almost all the works included in it are published in Russian for the first time. The publication is intended for sociologists, political scientists, historians, and other specialists in a wide range of social and human sciences, as well as for readers interested in the problems of social and cultural development of modernity.