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The History of Commercial Partnerships in the Middle Ages

The First Complete English Edition of Weber's Prelude to The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Economy and Society

  • Textbook
The History of Commercial Partnerships in the Middle Ages cover

The History of Commercial Partnerships in the Middle Ages

The First Complete English Edition of Weber's Prelude to The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Economy and Society

  • Textbook

Description

Weber himself characterized his first book-translated here in its first, complete English edition-as a study in the "formation of commercial law." Weber's argument centers on the legal characteristics of medieval enterprises as a historical precursor to modern forms of commercial enterprises. Weber emphasizes dimensions of medieval law and practices that are at the root of today's business partnerships and modern capitalism.

The History of Commercial Partnerships in the Middle Ages exemplifies Weber's early work in political economy and legal history. His insights here inform parts of his later, classic studies The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and Economy and Society, in which he clearly and succinctly relates the rise of modern capitalism to core themes of his original dissertation, which forms the basis of this book. This early book was a prelude to the multi-causal and multi-dimensional approach that scholars see reflected in his later writings. In subsequent works he would skillfully expand the comparative historical method he had employed in his dissertation to different areas of law and society.

The book includes a translation of the original documents that Weber so extensively quoted, thus making his first book accessible to a larger audience. Lutz Kaelber's introduction analyzes the content of Weber's book in the context of Weber's professional career and personal life, summarizes Weber's major arguments, and situates these arguments within Weber's philosophy and writings.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: Max Weber's Dissertation in the Context of His Early Career and Life
Chapter 2 Section I. The "Lost Decade"
Chapter 3 Section II. Ebb and Flow: Historical and Biographical Contexts of Weber's Early Career
Chapter 4 Section III. Main Themes and Arguments of The History of Commercial Partnerships
Chapter 5 Section IV. Influence of Weber's Later Writings
Chapter 6 Section V. Versions of the Text and Additional Literature
Chapter 7 Section VI. Translating The History of Commerical Partnerships
Chapter 8 Bibliography
Chapter 9 The History of Commercial Partnerships in the Middle Ages
Chapter 10 Prefatory Remarks
Chapter 11 Section I. Roman and Current Law. Plan of the Investigation
Chapter 12 Section II. The Partnerships of Maritime Law
Chapter 13 Section III. Family Communities and Communities of Labor
Chapter 14 Section IV. Pisa. The Law of Partnership According to the Constitutum Usus
Chapter 15 Section V. Florence
Chapter 16 Section VI. The Legal Literature. Conclusion
Chapter 17 Appendix: Overview of the Documents

Product details

Published 17 Dec 2002
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 160
ISBN 9780742520493
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Dimensions 223 x 144 mm
Series Legacies of Social Thought Series
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

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