Marxist thought influenced the work of both Randall Collins and Jürgen
Habermas, but Habermas makes a more convincing argument than Collins when explaining society through a Marxist interpretation. Karl Marx and his ideology have been influential for decades and have always led conversations on controversial, yet elementary issues concerning class dynamics. Even though Marxism influenced both Randall Collins and Jürgen Habermas, their ideologies went in opposing directions with Habermas having a stronger and more in-depth analysis of Marxism in contemporary society.
Karl Marx was born in Germany in 1818 and was educated in philosophy, law and history. Marx grew up in Germany in the age of Enlightenment, but the German Enlightenment differed
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Seidman describes Collin’s conflict theory as the following: “Social life is structured by conflicts that produce domination and subordination as people struggle for scarce but valued goods- power, prestige and wealth” (Seidman 88). Collins claims that people will use whatever material and cultural resources available to them to satisfy their needs or wants, which leads to all social encounters evolving into relationships of domination and subordination. Collins states that social stratification then is divided into three dimensions: economic, cultural and political (Seidman 89). Collins also focuses on levels of sexual stratification and relates that to a relationship or subordination and domination as well. Every sexual relationship is a power struggle. There are two patterns of sexual stratification, which include the degree of force and the economic status of men and women (Seidman …show more content…
Habermas believed that the tendency of Marxism to favor one-sided “materialist” social explanations accounted, in part, for its growing obsolescence in Western sciences” (Seidman 125). Habermas’ ideology better describes contemporary society in part because it attempts to look at society from as many different outlets as possible, whether it be economic, political, cultural or more. His ideology is ever changing and Habermas’ work is dynamic. His ability to abandon work he has already done in hopes of working towards ideas that are more in-depth shows his dynamism. Because Habermas’ reformed Marxist ideology is always changing and because he tries to look at society through a holistic lens, his work does a superior job than Collins in explaining society.
In conclusion, Karl Marx and his views have influenced a countless amount of sociologists, political scientists, historians and more, including Randall Collins and Jürgen Habermas. Through Collins and Habermas, it is clear to see how studying Marxism can lead to two different interpretations of society. Collins promotes conflict theory, which is very similar to Marxism in that it can be very one-dimensional. On the other hand, Habermas’ theories are always changing while simultaneously trying to reinvent Marxism and in the end; this allows him to explain society on a larger scale
Two great writers, whose ideas have been read by many, are Karl Marx and Abraham Kuyper. Marx was a philosopher and because of his writing about Communist many places responded with revolutions. Kuyper was a Christian leader inspired many with his writings about society and culture. Marx and Kuyper both addressed how social issues in the world. Marx and Kuyper’s views of human nature are very different. While Kuyper believes that God shapes our lives and humans have no control; Marx, on the other hand, believes that human beings can shape and control the direction of their own lives. Both men show their beliefs of human nature through history, government, economy, and society. Though they both believe in equal society they don’t agree on the
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and Robert C. Tucker. The Marx-Engels reader . 2d ed. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.
Conflict theory is an interesting theoretical perspective in sociology because it accounts for what is true for today’s society and human nature as a whole usually. The fact that Marx studied economic and political structure to come up with class conflict and by extension conflict theory. This means that how humans choose their leaders as well as their trade and industry system is directly linked and affected by conflict theory, as well as social behavior and culture. Class conflict and conflict theory were also from slightly differing times, as Marx predated the subject that is sociology. “But his ideas on power and domination have been influential in informing our understanding of stratification and inequality in society.” (Durkin & Carrothers, 2015, Ch. 1.2, para 7) These are the main reasons that conflict theory, and the work of Karl Marx’s that helped in its creation, are so
Karl Marx (1818-1883) has been established (post-mortem of course, like almost all greats, it seems) as one of the most influential thinkers and writers of modern times. The Communist Manifesto published in 1848, lays down his theories on socialism. This manifesto was used to establish Communist Russia. Although that "experiment" failed, there are still points in his work that I find relevant in today's society.
Welcome to CHSBS! | Central Michigan University. Karl Marx. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/fattah/COURSES/modernthought/marx.htm
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...
The Marxist theory “is the belief that the struggle between social classes is a major force in history and that there should eventually be a society in which there are no classes” – Karl Marx In the book “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood there are significant examples of the Marxist theory because of the way social classes are represented, how religion is manipulated in the society, and what values the text reinforces in the reader.
Marxism is a method of analysis based around the concepts developed by the two German philosophers Karl Marx and Fredrich Engel, centered around the complexities of social-relations and a class-based society. Together, they collaborated their theories to produce such works as The German Ideology (1846) and The Communist Manifesto (1848), and developed the terms ‘’proletariat’ and ’bourgeois’ to describe the working-class and the wealthy, segmenting the difference between their respective social classes. As a result of the apparent differences, Marxism states that proletariats and bourgeoisie are in constant class struggle, working against each other to amount in a gain for themselves.
"SOCY 151 - Lecture 12 - Marx's Theory of History." Open Yale Courses. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
The bourgeoisie “has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society” (Marx and Engels, 1848). The bourgeoisie or capitalists are those who purchase and often exploit labour power in order to maximise their surplus value. The b...
In 1848, Karl Marx became renowned for his work, The Communist Manifesto, which was considered one “of the most eloquent and undoubtedly the most influential political pamphlet ever published…” (Waugh 140). Marxism, as it later became known as, explored “the intellectual rationale of the numerous Communist and Socialist parties” (Waugh 140). The foundation of Marxist views relied on that of class struggle: “Marxist criticism must always insist upon the issue of class relations, and class struggle, in unlikely contexts no less than likely ones” (Waugh 143). Works dealing with Marxism must, then, show the difference in classes, and the struggle and plight that the lower class faces at the hand of the upper class. It was also the Marxist belief that in order to exact social change, the masses would need to come together and cause a social upheaval.
Karl Marx emphasized a lot on the importance of socialism in society. In his theory, socialism was the only way to end the huge in socio-economic classes. He condemned the emergence of capitalism and the growth of industries that made disunited employers and employees as captured in his theory of labour. In his view, under capitalist production, a great number of people, more often than not, are confiscated from their rewards after so much hard work, and have utterly no control over the environment in which they work under. Jobs no longer reflect human imagination, but rather an insignificant method of generating more profits to enrich modest elite. Marx 's fixation on class reflects even today 's post-modern, socially dynamic world. Marx ideas
The first theorist to consider is Karl Marx. Marx has a uniqueness all of his own. His attention was normally directed towards capitalism in society. He studied the basis of inequality under capitalism. (Ritzer, 2004) When you look into Marx’s work on the dialectical method you can see one of the differences between his studies and Durkheim and Weber. It says, “ The dialectical thinker believes that it is not only impossible to keep values out of the study of the social world but also undesirable because to do so would produce a dispassionate, inhumane sociology that has little to offer to people in search of answers to the problems they confront.” (Ritzer, pg 46) I believe this is showing the depth of Marx because he is basically telling us that without your values when you study sociology you lose the passion of it.
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.
Politics and many aspects of society today have been heavily influenced by political thinkers and scholars from ages before our time. Whether their ideas were implemented or avoided, society today has learned and grown from these influenced; there has been societal adaptions and changes with every success and failure. One important philosopher that is still widely talked about today is Karl Marx. His theories and ideas are still studies, discussed and utilized today. Some aspects of Marxism is relevant to modern day but there are still some major critiques to his opinions that prove there in inconsistencies with the relevance of Marxism. This is a result of his failure to predict how advanced and revolutionized society would be in modern day.