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Views of Karl Marx in Sociology
Sociological contribution of karl marx
Sociological contribution of karl marx
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Analysis of the Main Strengths and Weaknesses of Marx’s Sociological Thought
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class
struggles”
Marx and Engels (1967, p.67)
Born in 1818, Karl Marx, using his philosophical and socialist ideas,
attempted to show how conflict and struggle in social development were
important in the development of a society. The works of Marx were
influenced by three distinct intellectual traditions: German idealist
philosophy, French socialism and British political economy. German
idealist philosophy is an approach based on the thesis that only the
mind and its content really exist. This philosophy maintains that it
is through the advance of human reason that human beings progress.
French socialism is a political doctrine that emerged during the
French Revolution and emphasised social progress led by a new
industrial class. British political economy was brought about by the
social analysis of early capitalism by writers such as Adam Smith and
David Ricardo. (Bilton, Bonnett, Jones, 2002, p.476) Using these
concepts as a base to his theories, Marx further argued against the
capitalist regime and was a firm believer of the revolution of the
workers which would one day bring about the destruction of capitalism.
Marx was also influenced by the philosophical ideas of Georg W.F.
Hegel. However, unlike Hegel who was an idealist Marx was a
materialist as he believed that the processes of reality as real,
concrete existences in the social world. Hegel believed that although
these processes were dynamic, they were an expression of development
rather than being solid.
To Marx, history d...
... middle of paper ...
...67
Jon Elster, Making sense of Marx, Cambridge University press 1985
C.Slaughter, Marxism and the class struggle, New Park Publications LTD
1975
Tony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Pip Jones etc.. Introductory Sociology 4th
edition, Palgrave Macmillan 2002
Gregor McLennan, The Story of Sociology
Ken Morrison, Marx Durkheim Weber, Sage publications LTD 1995
Fulcher&Scott, Sociology 2nd edition, Oxford university press 2003
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[1] German Ideology, pp.8-13
[2] Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy,
p.150, Pelican books 1963
[3] ibid, p107
[4] Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy,
p.177, Pelican books 1963
[5] Essential writings of Karl Marx; p176; Panther Books Ltd ,1967
Karl Marx’s was a German philosopher, economist and evolutionary socialist born in Germany on May 5th 1818. His theories mostly consisted of the capitalist economic system. Marx’s attended the University of Bonn and University of Berlin. He is widely recognized for his theory of on the class system which included the concepts of base and super-structure. Marx’s theory of the class system is well exhibited by the documentary film, Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class.
The Marx-Engels Reader by Robert C. Tucker is an anthology containing essential writings of German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Major writing selections are to understand Marx perspective about history and society, such as The German Ideology. Marx introduces his historical materialism philosophy in the German Ideology: Part 1 of this book, where he proposes communism. Although I agree with a few points Marx gives, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that communism is the only way to become truly free. Marx suggest abolishing private property ownership and remove economic power from the hands of privileged people to accomplish freedom.
Society, in simplest terms, is defined as a group of people who share a defined territory and a culture. In sociology, we take that definition a little further by arguing that society is also the social structure and interactions of that group of people. Social structure is the relatively enduring patterns of behavior and relationships within a society, not only between its members, but also with social institutions. According to those definitions, society seems a fairly concrete concept to comprehend. However, there are sociologists whom have their own theories about society in the aspects of the relationship between social classes, and class conflict. The German philosopher, economist and theorist Karl Marx has a fragmented and rather disconsolate view on society; while French functionalist and theorist Emile Durkheim looks at society more scientifically and wholesomely. Despite these profound differences of outlook, however, Marx and Durkheim were both centrally concerned with the emergence of modern capitalism, and in particular with the rise of the modern system of the division ...
Karl Marx was a German philosopher who studies at the university of berlin. He was a Hegelian. He was very active in the political scene, thus springing his desire to combined philosophy, political science and economics. Marx believes that we are the product of our environments but we also have the power to change our environment. He believed that human beings can shape the environment that we live in through our abilities. He also believes that philosophers should not only interoperate the world, but they should be able to change it (Citation). Marx believed that history is all based class conflicts. He uses the example of the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the oppressive class, they consist of the rich, upper class,
Karl Marx was a nineteenth century, German philosopher, economist, a revolutionary socialist whose philosophy known as Marxism became the foundation of communism. ”Despite Karl Marx stating social classes are the
During the nineteenth century, Karl Marx and Max Weber were two of the most influential sociologists. Both of them tried to explain social change taking place in a society at that time. On the one hand, their views are very different, but on the other hand, they had many similarities.
Introducing cultural studies, London: Prentice Hall Bilton, et al. (1996) Introductory Sociology 3rd ed, London: Macmillan Press LTD. Blauner, R. (1964) Alienation and freedom, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chicago Press Bottomore, T.B., Rubel, M.(eds) (1963) Karl Marx: Selected writings in sociology and social philosophy, Penguin: Harmondsworth
In his Manifesto of the Communist Party Karl Marx created a radical theory revolving not around the man made institution of government itself, but around the ever present guiding vice of man that is materialism and the economic classes that stemmed from it. By unfolding the relat...
thing which through its qualities satisfies human needs of whatever kind.” A commodity according to Marx is important because of its value to people; and its usefulness can be viewed from two perspectives: quality and quantity. Here he introduced the term of use-value. He explained that the use-value relation of an object is the actual physical characteristics and the value is not affected by the amount of time spent on its production. The use-value of an object is considered to be the physical or material part of wealth. However, there is another part of the wealth that is abstract, meaning that is not tangible. Exchange-value is the second term introduced and it is referred to be the relationship between different objects and how one object
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and Robert C. Tucker. The Marx-Engels reader . 2d ed. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.
Karl Marx noted that society was highly stratified in that most of the individuals in society, those who worked the hardest, were also the ones who received the least from the benefits of their labor. In reaction to this observation, Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto where he described a new society, a more perfect society, a communist society. Marx envisioned a society, in which all property is held in common, that is a society in which one individual did not receive more than another, but in which all individuals shared in the benefits of collective labor (Marx #11, p. 262). In order to accomplish such a task Marx needed to find a relationship between the individual and society that accounted for social change. For Marx such relationship was from the historical mode of production, through the exploits of wage labor, and thus the individual’s relationship to the mode of production (Marx #11, p. 256).
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and Robert C. Tucker. The Marx-Engels reader. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.
Karl Marx had very strong viewpoints in regards to capitalism, making him a great candidate for this assignment. People constantly debate over whether his ideologies held any grain of truth to them. I believe that although not everything Marx predicted in his writings has come true (yet), he was definitely right on about a lot of issues. As a matter of fact, his teachings can definitely be applied to today’s society. This paper will give a summary of Marx’s political philosophy. It will also discuss a contemporary issue: the current economic crisis— and how Marx believed racism played a crucial a role in it. Finally, through the lens he has developed, I will explain how Marx would analyze this issue and how one can argue that it spurred the current movement known as Occupy Wall Street.
As a German philosopher, a politician, and an important figure within the Communist League, Karl Heinrich Marx birthed a new way of looking at things through his beliefs, ideas, and writings. Karl Marx was considered to be “…certainly one of the most important minds of modern times”(1). He wanted to know more about philosophy, so that he might understand the political and social system better.
Social systems, constructs, norms, and behaviors can all be determined through empirical evidence and research. Since looking into the future is impossible, knowledge is created through the understanding and evaluation of historical data. What were societal needs during the revolutionary era? How did individuals interact or behave in various environments? These questions, although ambiguous to really test, provide a premise that one could evaluate through empirical approaches. Objectivity provided by science was used to both validate the human existence, reality, and societal systems in addition to categorizing social structures. For Marx and Spencer, what is interesting is that despite their opposing views on the evolution of being and society, empirical evaluation and evidence was key to the validation of their domain assumptions. Furthermore, both were historical scientists that utilized evidence presented by past behaviors, actions, norms, and realities, to predict, expand, or evaluate the progress of society in the future. The underlining comparison for Marx and Spencer of the assumption of epistemology is that both agreed, separately, that the evolution of society was a result of historical structures and