Abstract:

Weber's concept of "charisma" refers to a highly personalized "extraordinary" and the "effect" of needing to be recognized by others, and these two elements constitute the internal tension of charisma. Charisma in modern democratic politics is largely manifested as the demagogic ability. The theoretical implication of "demagogy" is that the "effect" of charisma replaces "extraordinary". The complexity lies in the fact that charisma in this sense must, at the level of real-world efficacy, transcend all structures of domination or authority—a task that appears to demand a form of charisma endowed with absolute "extraordinary". Different from interpreting "demagogy" from a political perspective, this article attempts to start from Weber's comparative study of religions and explore what kind of ethical situation can shape the charisma and enable "effect" to replace "extraordinary". The study found that whether in the case of sorcerers, prophets, or religious virtuosos, the bearers of charisma, no matter how they express their individualized "extraordinary", inevitably confront the "effect" that simultaneously negates this very extraordinary. This inherent tension allows both to coexist, yet the resulting charisma becomes entwined with the establishment of "status distinctions" and "structures of domination". Such cultural configurations cannot be reconciled with the "anti-domination" logic of "charismatic democratization", nor with the consequent "demagogy" it engenders. The shaping of charisma by Protestant Calvinism and other Protestant sects absolutely denied the significance of charisma's "effect", making charisma completely "extraordinary". This charisma, however, creates the condition for the full acceptance of "effect". Therefore, the power of charisma in modern politics is no longer achieved by emphasizing differences with others but rather by emphasizing commonalities with others, which lays a key ideological foundation for "demagogy".

Key words: Charisma, domination, extraordinary, demagogy