165.17
Culture As “Agon”: Agonological Features of Weberian Sociology
Max Weber treated the Greek concept of “agon” with great interest, in the final parts of his treatise of the “City”. However, if we focus on his interest on “agones” in general, the social fields of competition and social selection, we should rather say that this interest can be considered as his premier Leitmotiv, which permeates his comparative study of cultures.
This paper explores the advantages and the limits of this methodology on the cultural comparison of agones (that will be coined “agonology”). Starting from Weber’s concrete historical depiction of Asian competitions (especially, in his “Hinduism and Buddhism”), this paper moves in to the theoretical concerns. It argues that, it is much fruitful to point out the agonological features of Weberian methodology than just to stick the clichés such as “cultural determinism”, “idealism”, “methodological individualism”, or “conflict theory”. Finally, briefly contrasting this Weberian agonological features with modern sociological theories of competition, such as Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic violence, etc., we will like to outline the future possibilities of this comparative agonological perspective.