Only he has the calling for politics who is sure that he will not crumble when the world from his point of view is too stupid or base for what he wants to offer. Only he who in the face of all this can say In spite of all! has the calling for politics.
Meaning of the quote
To have a true calling for politics, you must be strong enough to stand firm in your beliefs, even when the world around you seems too ignorant or corrupt to understand what you want to do. Only those who can say "In spite of everything!" in the face of adversity have the true passion and determination needed for a career in politics.
More quotes from Max Weber
The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the disenchantment of the world.
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Only he has the calling for politics who is sure that he will not crumble when the world from his point of view is too stupid or base for what he wants to offer. Only he who in the face of all this can say In spite of all! has the calling for politics.
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One can say that three pre-eminent qualities are decisive for the politician: passion, a feeling of responsibility, and a sense of proportion.
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Only by strict specialization can the scientific worker become fully conscious, for once and perhaps never again in his lifetime, that he has achieved something that will endure. A really definitive and good accomplishment is today always a specialized act.
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No sociologist should think himself too good, even in his old age, to make tens of thousands of quite trivial computations in his head and perhaps for months at a time.
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