The article that I will be reviewing is “Marx, Weber, and the development of capitalism” written by Anthony Giddens. The article is split into three main sections in which Giddens uses to analyse Marx and Weber. Theses sections are; the historical background; Weber’s attitude towards Marx and Marxism; Weber and Marx: the analytic problem. When reading the article I found that each point was fully explained and the article was linked very well throughout. The main topics than ran through the article were; the comparisons between Germany and Britain; Religion and the key points of contrast between Marx and Weber. It is stated that the main object of the article is to separate the links between the work of Marx and Weber (p289).
In the beginning …show more content…
It can be said that Marx believed that Christianity began as a religion for ‘wandering and uprooted vagrants’ (p301) and also believed that religion was “the opiate of masses” (Appelrouth & Edles, 2012). What Marx did find interesting about Christianity was the idea of one single God who had authority based on the values of sin and of salvation (p301). Part way through the section on religion, Giddens brings in a new sociological view from Feuerbach, who had an altogether different view of religion. He states ‘Man himself created God as an idealized perception of oneself, who holds their most cherished values’ (p299).
Throughout the whole article Giddens makes comparisons between Marx and Weber. Although Weber understood that during his time Marx had made great contributions to sociological analysis as well as historical analysis, he believed that the theories of Marx could only be seen as an insight; Weber did accept though that the writings of Marx had a ‘varied degree of sophistication’ …show more content…
By using other thinkers work such as Bernstein, Feuerbach and Sombart, Giddens was able to develop the points that were being made in the article. Throughout the article, the work of Marx and Weber is compared and although there are some similarities, it is clear that Weber critiqued Marx work. We could also say that this is due to the generation gap between the two key thinkers who wrote at different times and experienced different economic and political
In the beginning …show more content…
It can be said that Marx believed that Christianity began as a religion for ‘wandering and uprooted vagrants’ (p301) and also believed that religion was “the opiate of masses” (Appelrouth & Edles, 2012). What Marx did find interesting about Christianity was the idea of one single God who had authority based on the values of sin and of salvation (p301). Part way through the section on religion, Giddens brings in a new sociological view from Feuerbach, who had an altogether different view of religion. He states ‘Man himself created God as an idealized perception of oneself, who holds their most cherished values’ (p299).
Throughout the whole article Giddens makes comparisons between Marx and Weber. Although Weber understood that during his time Marx had made great contributions to sociological analysis as well as historical analysis, he believed that the theories of Marx could only be seen as an insight; Weber did accept though that the writings of Marx had a ‘varied degree of sophistication’ …show more content…
By using other thinkers work such as Bernstein, Feuerbach and Sombart, Giddens was able to develop the points that were being made in the article. Throughout the article, the work of Marx and Weber is compared and although there are some similarities, it is clear that Weber critiqued Marx work. We could also say that this is due to the generation gap between the two key thinkers who wrote at different times and experienced different economic and political