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Chapter1.Teconstitutionalstateasafunctionaltechnology
ofcultural,symbolicholdontheindividual.Withoutthosesymbolical-
lyimposed,collectivepatternsofthinkingaboutsocialreality,thestate
cannotsuccessfullyimposephysicalcoercion.Weberwasmoreproneto
theoreticalpurityandsharplydistinguishedthepoliticalorganization
ofthestatefromthehierocraticorganizationsofreligiouscommunities.
Whilstheadmittedtheroleofreligionsintheformationofstates,he
drewaclearboundarybetweenthetwo.
Whenwemovetothejunctionbetweencapitalismandpoliticalpow-
er,thetwoclassicspresentedquitediferentattitudes.EmileDurkheim
openlystatedthathisinterestinsocialscienceswasdeeplyrootedineth-
icsandlaw,witheconomicsandtheirmethodologiesbeingcertainlyin-
teresting,butalientohim.InhisDebateonPoliticalEconomyandSociolo-
gy(Durkheim1908),Durkheimadmittedthatpoliticaleconomy,withits
rigorousfocusonobservablefactsratherthanideals,ismethodologically
closetoperfectionandcanformthebasisforothersocialsciences.Still,
hecontendedthatwhatweobservablydoislargelydeterminedbywhat
wethink,andthatthelatterisimposedculturally,astheidealstofollow.
TeheritagelefbyDurkheimindicates,inotherwords,thatifcapital
consistsofvaluableassets,thevalueofthoseassetsistoaconsiderable
degreedictatedbyculturalbeliefs.Ifwestudythelinkbetweencapital
andpoliticalpower,wehavetwodiferentobjectsofvalue.Politicalpower
ispreciousinitself.Withtheexceptionofveryidealisticindividuals,be-
inghigherinsocialhierarchyandhavingmoreimpactonotherpeople’s
behaviourisanassetinobjectiveterms.Politicalpowerislikeacontainer
thatonecanfillwithwhatevercanbeheldinside.Happinessandbeauty
cannotbe,butcapitalcan.Politicalstructuresarecontainersthatcanhold
capitalinside.Asforcapitalinitself,itcanconsistofobjectsvaluable
eitherbecauseoftheirsheer,objectivescarcityinagivenstateoftechnol-
ogy(e.g.navigablecoastlines,naturaloil,rareearthmetals),orbecause
oftheirsubjective,culturalattractiveness(e.g.artcollections,trade-
marks).Teconnectionbetweencapitalismandpoliticalpowerisheavily
dependentonanotherlink,namelythatbetweenpoliticalpowerandall
thosesocialphenomenathatpertaintoscarcityandvaluationofassets.
Ifthestateisactiveincreatingtechnologies,marketsandfashions,itcan
bethesteeringcomponentinrelationtocapitalism.If,ontheotherhand,
politicalstructuresarepassiveinthatrespect,capitaliststructuresgrab
thewheel,sotosay.
IncontrasttoDurkheim,MaxWeberhadveryelaborateeco-
nomicviews.Withhistypicalpunctiliousness,hestartedwithminute
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