After decades of intensive work in the exegesis of Weber's work, research on this author in Germany led to the characterization of his work on the theme of rationalization. Based on this assumption, a more recent generation of researchers has attempted to formulate a proposal for updating Weberian theory, contrasting it with the principal problems in contemporary sociological analysis. What are the characteristics of this "Weberian paradigm" and how should it be evaluated in light of the contemporary theoretical agenda? Based on these questions, the article examines how the Weberian research program fits into the dispute over the link between agency (micro level) and structure (macro level) in social theory. The second topic of analysis deals with the theory of modernity and evaluates the attempt by its interpreters to unfold Weberian studies from the genesis to the diversification of modernity (multiple modernities).
Max Weber; methodological holism; methodological individualism; multiple modernities; Weberian paradigm
