Page 39 - 《社会》2026年第1期

社会·2026·1

historical origins of the neo鄄Weberian research， reviews representative empirical
studies centered on these two elements， and excavates the theoretical assumptions
and normative commitments that underpin them. I argue that the so鄄called “revival of
bureaucracy” is， at its core， a search for how value rationality might be re鄄
integrated into systems increasingly dominated by formal rationality. The use of
personal ties or adaptive rule鄄bending is treated as a strategic means through which
morally conscious bureaucrats might absorb， recalibrate， and ultimately incorporate
anti鄄bureaucratic elements into a rationalized administrative order. Yet this
technocratic vision of bureaucratic moral agency rests on a universalizing
assumption：that commitment to the public sphere， distinct from private interests，
constitutes the sole legitimate foundation of bureaucratic ethics. This assumption
overlooks the plural moral orders embedded in distinct institutional and historical
contexts and forecloses the possibility of alternative sources of organizational
legitimacy beyond the bureaucratic form itself. While the neo鄄Weberian framework
offers valuable reparative insights， it remains confined by the limits of its own
theoretical imagination. For scholars of Chinese governance， this calls for a
renewed effort to locate moral and institutional foundations for bureaucracy that are
rooted in indigenous historical experience and ethical traditions.
Keywords： bureaucracy， neo鄄Weberianism， personal ties， adaptive rule鄄bending，
organization studies

“新韦伯主义”一词可追溯至 20 世纪 60 年代，它在不同学科中的
定义与应用并不完全一致（ Pollitt and Bouckaert，2004；Lynn，2008），但总
体而言， 各学科都使用这一名词指称一种建立在韦伯经典理论框架之
上并认同韦伯提出的基本概念，进而采取某些变化和创新的分析方法。
在社会学中，新韦伯主义的成果主要集中于国家研究与官僚研究上。 不
1
过， 相较于更为人熟知的关于国家的宏观历史比较研究传统， 围绕官

1. 需要强调的是，“新韦伯主义”一直是一个较为宽泛且边界模糊的概念。 在宏观历史
比较研究领域，许多受韦伯深刻影响的学者都被冠以新韦伯主义者之名，尽管他们在使
用这个称呼时强调的方面有所不同。 一方面，韦伯对政治社会学最深刻的影响之一是，
他强调国家相对于利益集团的自主性与独立性，并关注国家对社会的积极影响，在这一
意义上，回到国家学派及大量从行政系统的角度来讨论国家能力的研究都可 （转下页）

· 32·