Similarities Between Karl Marx And Max Weber

Second Paper- Marx vs. Weber Sociologist, Karl Marx and Max Weber, have spent their sociological careers researching and developing theories of how to make a good society. Both Marx and Weber, go about answering this question slightly different. Karl Marx believes there can be no such thing as a good society as long as history lasts, while Max Weber on the other hand believes in a good society, only when the society and its individuals are free. Max Weber is a sociologist associated with the German tradition of sociology. To answer the question of if it is possible to make a good society, Weber would respond with yes, it is possible to create a good society, however a good society is only formed when the society is free (Lecture 11/01/16). If the society is not free, then the society cannot be good. Free will makes a society good. A term used to describe this type of society is normative self-determination (Lecture 11/01/16). To break down this concept, we will first define the word normative. Normative is a standard of behavior that is typical in a society. This means that this behavior is common and accepted within a society. Next, self-determination is understood as a process in which a person controls his or her own life. Therefore, normative self-determination means a person has the free will to choose his or her own standard of behavior to …show more content…
However, only Max Weber’s idea of a good society is actually attainable because he believes a society is good only when it’s free and a society becomes free through living out normative self-determination. Karl Marx, on the other hand, states a society is only good whenever there is no exploitation and when history is no more. Therefore, a good society according to Marx’s ideals is nonexistent. So to answer the question of is it possible to make a good society, Marx would argue no, while Weber would argue