ABSTRACT
Max Weber and Walther Rathenau (1867-1922) were virtually of the same age. Both grew up in Berlin. Both took as their starting-point modern socioeconomic facts and problems: Weber was mainly interested in political economy and agrarian questions, and Rathenau in technology and industrial organization. Both sought to have an influence on politics that was similar in its nationalist stance and its liberal critique of Wilhelminism. Their supporters, who by and large came from the same social background and shared similar attitudes, revered them as models of great stature; this was particularly so for those young people seeking new political and ideological goals. Whether as political thinkers relevant to the time or as charismatic leaders, they were seen as persons denied position - to the detriment of Germany. The equal of this esteem (one might say, over-esteem) was not shown to any other contemporary in this way, and it was enhanced by the unexpectedly early death of Weber and the murder of Rathenau in the critical initial stages of the Weimar Republic.
