3. Why are some groups in society more powerful than others?
Power is one of Weber`s central concepts. He combines elements of consensus and conflict sociology in his treatment of this matter. He agreed with the functionalists that for society to function efficiently some people have to have more power than others. He pointed out that in modern bureaucratic organisations (the civil service, for example) there are always more powerful people at the top, and less powerful people at the bottom; that is bureaucracies are organised hierarchically. But Weber also accepted with Marx that those groups which do gain a powerful position in society tend to use it primarily in their own interest. Thus in medieval society the king and nobility used power for their own ends, even though they may also have sometimes used it for the general good as well.
 
4. What causes social change?
Weber considered that social change can occur for many reasons, or, more technically, according to his analysis, social change is multifactoral. Ideas, new inventions, war, the rise and fall of power groups, influential individuals and other factors all contribute to, and are part of, historical change. In insisting on the possible variety of causes of change, Weber wished to distinguish his position from that of Marx, whom he thought overemphasised class conflict as an explanation for change.
 
5. Is society in orderly balance or conflict?
The issue of equilibrium and conflict in society is posed to contrast functionalism and Marxism, and is less of central concern to social action theorists. Weber considered that society is not normally in balance or in conflict - the state of society varies from case to case. A society may be untroubled for centuries and then be plunged into decades of turmoil. Weber preferred to study specific cases rather than make sweeping generalisations about what is ‘normal’.

6. What is the relationship of the individual to society?