Editing Max Weber (section)

===Later work===

[[File:Max Weber 1907.jpg|thumb|upright|Max Weber in 1907|alt=Max Weber in 1907, holding a hookah]]

After recovering from his illness, Weber accepted a position as an associate editor of the {{Lang|de|[[Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik]]}} (''Archive for Social Science and Social Policy'') in 1904, alongside his colleagues [[Edgar Jaffé]] and Werner Sombart. It facilitated his reintroduction to academia and became one of the most prominent social science journals as a result of his efforts.{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2022|2a1=Roth|2y=1976|2pp=306–318|3a1=Scott|3y=2019|3pp=21, 41}} Weber published some of his most seminal works in this journal, including his book ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'', which became his most famous work and laid the foundations for his later research on the impact of religion on the development of economic systems.{{sfnm|1a1=Bendix|1a2=Roth|1y=1977|1pp=49–50|2a1=Weber|2y=1999|2p=8}} Also in 1904, he was invited to participate in the Congress of Arts and Sciences that was held in connection with the [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]] in [[St. Louis]] alongside his wife, Werner Sombart, Ernst Troeltsch, and other German scholars.{{sfnm|1a1=Roth|1y=2005|1pp=82–83|2a1=Scaff|2y=2011|2pp=11–24|3a1=Smith|3y=2019|3p=96}} Taking advantage of the fair, the Webers embarked on a trip that began and ended in New York City and lasted for almost three months. They travelled throughout the country, from [[New England]] to the [[Deep South]]. Different communities were visited, including German immigrant towns and African American communities.{{sfnm|1a1=Scaff|1y=2011|1pp=11–24|2a1=Radkau|2y=2009|2pp=296–299|3a1=Honigsheim|3y=2017|3pp=24–25}} [[North Carolina]] was also visited, as some of Weber's relatives in the Fallenstein family had settled there.{{sfnm|1a1=Scaff|1y=2011|1pp=117–119|2a1=Smith|2y=2019|2pp=96–97|3a1=Honigsheim|3y=2017|3pp=24–25}} Weber used the trip to learn more about America's social, economic, and theological conditions and how they related to his thesis.{{sfnm|1a1=Scaff|1y=2011|1pp=12–14|2a1=Roth|2y=2005|2pp=82–83|3a1=Smith|3y=2019|3pp=97–100}} Afterwards, he felt that he was unable to resume regular teaching and remained a private scholar, helped by an inheritance in 1907.{{sfnm|1a1=Bendix|1a2=Roth|1y=1977|1p=3|2a1=Radkau|2y=2009|2pp=279–280, 566}}

Shortly after returning, Weber's attention shifted to the then-recent [[Russian Revolution of 1905]].{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1p=233|2a1=Weber|2y=1997|2pp=3–4|3a1=Turner|3y=2001b|3p=16401}} He learned the [[Russian language]] in a few months, subscribed to Russian newspapers, and discussed Russian political and social affairs with the Russian {{Lang|fr|émigré}} community in [[Heidelberg]].{{sfn|Radkau|2009|pp=233–234}} He was personally popular in that community and twice entertained the idea of a trip to [[Russian Empire|Russia]]. His schedule prevented it, however.{{sfn|Radkau|2009|pp=233–235}} While he was sceptical of the revolution's ability to succeed, Weber supported the establishment of a [[liberal democracy]] in Russia.{{sfnm|1a1=Mommsen|1y=1997|1pp=1–2|2a1=Weber|2y=1997|2p=2}} He wrote two essays on it that were published in the {{Lang|de|Archiv}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=234–236|2a1=Weber|2y=1997|2pp=1–2}} Weber interpreted the revolution as having been the result of the peasants' desire for land.{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=235–236|2a1=Mommsen|2y=1997|2pp=6–7}} He discussed the role of the {{lang|ru|[[obshchina]]}}, rural peasant communities, in Russian political debates. According to Weber, they were difficult for liberal agrarian reformers to abolish due to a combination of their basis in [[natural law]] and the rising {{lang|ru|[[kulak]]}} class manipulating them for their own gain.{{sfn|Radkau|2009|pp=237–239}} His general interpretation of the Russian Revolution was that it lacked a clear leader and was not based on the Russian intellectuals' goals. Instead, it was the result of the peasants' emotional passions.{{sfn|Radkau|2009|pp=239–241}}

{{multiple image
| total_width = 350
| direction = horizontal
| alt footer = Bust-length portraits of Else von Richthofen and Mina Tobler
| footer = Else von Richthofen and Mina Tobler, Max Weber's mistresses
| image1 = Jaffe freiin von richthofen else 1902.png
| image2 = Mina Tobler.jpg
}}

In 1909, having become increasingly dissatisfied with the political conservatism and perceived lack of methodological discipline of the {{Lang|de|Verein}}, he co-founded the [[German Sociological Association]] ({{Langx|de|Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie|label=none}}) and served as its first treasurer.{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2022|2a1=Radkau|2y=2009|2p=277|3a1=Kaesler|3y=2014|3pp=653, 654–655}} Weber associated the society with the {{Lang|de|Verein}} and viewed the two organisations as not having been competitors.{{sfn|Kaesler|2014|pp=653–654}} He unsuccessfully tried to steer the direction of the association.{{sfnm|1a1=Swedberg|1a2=Agevall|1y=2016|1p=|2a1=Kaesler|2y=2014|2pp=654}} As part of that, Weber tried to make the {{Lang|de|Archiv}} its official journal.{{sfn|Swedberg|Agevall|2016|p=85}} He resigned from his position as treasurer in 1912.{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2022|2a1=Radkau|2y=2009|2p=277|3a1=Kaesler|3y=2014|3pp=652–655}} That was caused by his support for [[value-freedom]] in the social sciences, as that was a controversial position in the association.{{sfnm|1a1=Kaesler|1y=2014|1pp=654–655|2a1=Turner|2y=2001b|2pp=16401–16402}} Weber{{snd}}alongside Simmel, Sombart, and Tönnies{{snd}}placed an abbreviated form of it into the association's statutes, prompting criticism from its other members.{{sfn|Kaesler|2014|pp=654–655}} In the same year, Weber and his wife befriended a former student of his, [[Else von Richthofen]], and the pianist {{Interlanguage link|Mina Tobler|de}}. After a failed attempt to court Richthofen, Weber began an affair with Tobler in 1911.{{sfnm|1a1=Radkau|1y=2009|1pp=343–344, 360|2a1=Lepsius|2y=2004|2pp=11–14}}