Durkheim Vs Marx

Unlike Durkheim, Karl Marx did not emphasize social order in his ideas about the transition from agrarian to industrial society. Marx viewed capitalist society as having two main classes: the bourgeoisie, who were the people who controlled and owned “the means of production” and the proletarian who did not control or own anything, but were still needed for society to function as their ability to work was crucial. While the proletarian were not working for free per se as they had the ability to exchange their work for wages, they were “mistreated” in that they were not paid the value of their work. Due to the exploitation of the working class, Marx found that social change was necessary and he explains how it is possible through a series of steps, which are often called “Marx’s …show more content…
After they are aware of their situation, Marx theorized that the working classes, whom he viewed as oppressed, would then organize and gain the motivation to rebel against the conditions in which they work and live, thus taking steps to truly control their own lives by overriding capitalism as the dominant economic ideological force. In simple terms, first, the underclass must realize they are being exploited by the (“bad guy”) bourgeoisie and from there, they will engage in class action or come together, rise up, and demand for change. In doing this, change would in fact be achieved whereby it would then first, benefit the underclass, but then, ultimately society as a whole would benefit as society would move closer to communism, which to Marx is the goal to be reached or the solution to social problems. All in all, it is clear that the ideas of both class consciousness and revolution are central to Marx's theory of social