ABSTRACT
We saw in the last chapter that the men’s world of powerful political communities gives
rise to a special feeling of prestige-“power prestige.” The source of this prestige lies in
the power of the political association to dispose over life and death as well as in the
power of the political community in relation to other political communities. That men
pretend to a special prestige due to the power of their political structure in turn influences the external conduct of the power structure, including the initiation of wars and
imperialism. In Weber’s view, “claims to prestige have always played into the origin of
wars.” The realm of “honor” also influences the interrelations of political structures (Weber, [1921-2] 1978, p. 911).
