ABSTRACT

Any analysis of the relationship between personal economic interests and political behavior in the Convention must necessarily be tentative. The United States is facing the problem of rebuilding a completely chaotic world and a disorganized agriculture. The possibilities of doing so are limited by the antagonism between the United States and the Soviet Union, by the basic differences between the structure of Old World and North American rural life, and by the varieties of forms of rural life in the various European countries. Under such circumstances it may be of importance to become familiar with the ideas of Max Weber concerning the historical development of agriculture and rural life. Many ideas of Weber's system were explained by special examples in which he dealt more intensively with particular peoples, such as the Chinese. The agriculture and rural life of pre-state society did not play as essential a role in the work of Weber. Nevertheless, they deserve brief consideration.