Max Weber was one of the most important German intellectuals of his day. He believed that sociological explanations must derive from an understanding of why people choose the actions they do. This belief differed sharply from Durkheim’s view that society and individuals should be studied at different levels. Weber acknowledged that there are social facts that must be analyzed using scientific methods, but he argued that social facts are the total result of individual actions. The stress on individual action led Weber to look beyond objective behavior and to focus on people’s subjective belief, attitudes, values and motives. According to Weber, sociologists must interpret, not just observe. They must try to see actions from the point of view of the actor. This approach he called verstehen, which in German means emphatic understanding. Weber stressed that verstehen could be systematic. It did not reduce sociological knowledge simply to matter of opinion. But explanations, in his view, had to go beyond the objective counting of who in society has which social attributes (社会属性). Explanations, according to Weber, must consider the subjective thoughts and feelings that lead to particular actions. Like Marx and Durkheim, Weber wanted to understand the rapid social changes occurring in his time. To Weber the most fundamental trend in the modem era was an increasing rationalization (理性化) of social action and social institutions. More specifically, Weber saw the history of Western society in terms of a shift from traditional orientations, to more rational orientations. Weber believed that the general trend toward increased rationalization could be seen in many aspects of social life. One was the rise of science as the principal method of acquiring knowledge. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries people were increasingly coming to believe in science, to consider its rational, systematic methods superior to simple intuition and common sense. Increased rationalization could also be seen in the growth of government bureaucracies (官僚制度), where laws are the basis of authority. A third area where the rise of rationalization could be seen was in the development of capitalism. Capitalism requires people to analyze markets, maximize the efficiency of production, calculate returns on investments, and create financial institutions to support economic expansion, all things that demand a logical, reasoned approach to the world. What is one of the reasons for the increase of rationalization?