Political and Unpolitical Germany: Max Weber and Thomas Mann

Abstract This paper presents a comparison of Max Weber and Thomas Mann from a historical perspective. It does not seek to override the obvious differences between them, but it suggests that these differences reflect on the remarkable diversity and plurality of a common context: Germany seen as a community of Kultur. Furthermore, very different views of the world could still lead to significant coincidence. This is particularly true of their views on politics, where both men emerged as robust democrats. Yet they also upheld a large “unpolitical” space, a position which was symptomatic of their class, the Bildungsbürgertum, but which was ordinarily a source of political weakness in that class in early 20th century Germany. The comparison is asymmetric however. While a wide range of Weber’s texts can be drawn upon, in Mann’s case Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen stands out as a focal point. This leads to a revaluation of that text. It was a central component in Mann’s intellectual formation; not an aberration which can be set aside.