ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATION AND HEALTH SERVICE SECTORS IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BARRA DO GARÇAS, MATO GROSSO, THROUGH THE LENS OF MAX WEBER'S THEORY OF SOCIAL ACTION

Abstract

This article examines the performance of the education and health service sectors in the municipality of Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, through the lens of Max Weber's Theory of Social Action. It aims to understand the social and economic dynamics that shape these sectors beyond their strictly economic dimensions. Grounded in interpretive sociology as its epistemological framework, the study adopts a qualitative, theoretical-analytical approach based on a review of Weber's works and those of Weberian scholars, together with an analysis of secondary data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and municipal institutional documents. Barra do Garças serves as the principal regional hub of the Araguaia Valley, with its tertiary sector accounting for the largest share of the municipality's Gross Domestic Product. The application of Weber's four typologies of social action demonstrates that these sectors constitute complex social arenas in which instrumental rationality, ethical commitments, institutionalized practices, and affective ties coexist and interact. The findings suggest that the sustainability of urban services in medium-sized Brazilian cities extends beyond economic viability and depends on the interaction of different forms of social action, thereby contributing to the theoretical and empirical advancement of the sociological analysis of regional urban development.