Max Weber Wrote a Lot About Instrumental (Strategic, Means-End) Rationality

Essay

Max Weber wrote a lot about instrumental (strategic, means-end) rationality. He saw this type of rationality as the dominant type of social action and of authority in modern society, and he predicted that it would overshadow the relevance of values and non-rational sources of behavior/authority. From your reading of current newspapers [or from an article you have selected] (a) identify one specific example of the way in which an instrumental (or strategic/cost-benefit) rationality dominates our contemporary society; and (b) identify one specific example of the persistence of either value rationality or of tradition as a source of meaning or importance in contemporary society. Discuss the relevance of Weber's analysis of social action to the examples you have chosen, and assess the extent to which Weber's analysis of contemporary society (as indicated by your examples) might differ from, or overlap with, any one concept from Marx and any one concept from Durkheim.