Politics as a Vocation

Assignment:

Please choose a passage from “Politics as a Vocation”, write out the passage, and give the meaning of the quote as well as you chose the quote. How does Weber's writings on technical leadership, rationalization, and bureaucracy anticipate Jünger's later writings on technology?

"How does the selection of these strong leaders take place? First, in terms of what ability are they selected? Next to the qualities of will-- decisive all over the world--naturally the force of demagogic speech is above all decisive. Its character has changed since the time speakers like Cobden addressed themselves to the intellect, and Gladstone who mastered the technique of apparently 'letting sober facts speak for themselves.' At the present time often purely emotional means are used--the means the Salvation Army also exploits in order to set the masses in motion. One may call the existing state of affairs a 'dictatorship resting on the exploitation of mass emotionality.' Yet, the highly developed system of committee work in the English Parliament makes it possible and compelling for every politician who counts on a share in leadership to cooperate in committee work. All important ministers of recent decades have this very real and effective work-training as a background. The practice of committee reports and public criticism of these deliberations is a condition for training, for really selecting leaders and eliminating mere demagogues."

Interpretation: The choice of who would be a strong leader was purely decisive on the speech that the person would deliver. The words that were spoken, showed the true intellect of the man who was speaking them. More recently to our times, leaders are chosen based on emotional means. It is compelling for every politician who is going to to be a "strong leader" to have to cooperate in committee work. It helps in successfully choosing leaders who will benefit and be strong as compared to those who use emotion to win votes.

Explanation: I chose this quote because it explains how back then the leaders were chosen by a more accurate way, based on pure intelligence and factual information as opposed to today, where everyone tries to use emotion to persuade people. As I read this I began to realize how true it is.

         Weber's writing on technical leadership, rationalization, and bureaucracy anticipate Junger's later writings on technology because Weber explains how powerful  a country can be and when they are powerful they anticipate more power, whether its on who is in office or who is in charge of the advancing of technology. During war time, technology always rises and new machinery is made and produced for purposes of power and taking control.