ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Toennies's, Weber's and Simmel's descriptions and appraisals of the normative and communitarian elements that may be found in business relations. The sociological work of Toennies, Weber and Simmel was inspired by a common concern for the social and cultural consequences of capitalist modernization. Toennies differed from Weber and Simmel in that he did not see communitarian relations compatible with modern economic life. According to Toennies, actually existing societies which are close to the ideal type of Gesellschaft may then include some Gemeinschaft elements. Rational Gesellschaft relations are thus instrumental to the preservation of a market Gemeinschaft, or community. In contrast to contemporary Marxist theory, however, Weber resorted to a comparative analysis in order to show the business' dominating political influence is not inherent to capitalism. Simmel's sociology of monetary transactions, while fundamentally different from that of Toennies, paralleled Weber's in some respects and complemented it in others.
