Sociological Contribution of Karl Marx Essay

Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are two of the founding figures of sociology. They were the first to explore the relationship between the economy and society in the nineteenth and twentieth century, each developing different perspectives of society. Despite them having significantly different views on modern capitalism, they both played a prominent role in the development of sociology as an academic discipline. This essay provides a biography of Marx and Durkheim and the major works they published. It then focuses on the intellectual and historical contributions they have made and how their works are still influential to contemporary society. The ideas of both sociologists are compared, discussing the similarities and differences of their main…

Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim both introduce sociological theories that explain two different statuses of human beings in a society. Marx examines the condition of alienation or estrangement while Durkheim examines anomie. Both of these sociological terms can contribute negativity in a society but there are solutions for each feature. In Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 Karl Marx defined alienation as such “the worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, the more…

Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim: A Difference in Views Taylor Wetherholt SO 350 Dr. Ames December 10, 2014 Introduction This essay intends to compare and contrast the various beliefs of Marl Marx through a conflict perspective and Emile Durkheim’s functionalist perspective. It will comprise of a brief introduction of their lives and familiarize you with their accomplishments and major work contributions. Focusing majorly on both Marx and Durkheim’s views and ideas of Religion and the…

structure of capitalism, Karl Marx blatantly failed to analyze the role of a significant group within society: women. Since Marx emphasized a focus on capitalism as a whole through the underlying economic laws of society, he was unsuccessful in considering the role of interrelated groups past his predominant conflict theory.The oppression of women through this fault has called for the rise of various distinctive feminists groups, such as the lesser known Marxist feminists. These feminists…

The British Sociological Association defines sociology as being ‘how society is organized and how we experience life’. It looks at the different societies, the groups within these, and how they all interact. Society is organised into various different social institutions, which can be built like building block to make our society; families, the education system, the legal system, the healthcare services etc. Social institutions function accordingly with customs, rules and regulations. A family…

This leads Harvey to conclude that Lewis was rooted in Marxism and therefore the Culture of Poverty Theory must be interpreted accordingly. Harvey believed that Lewis’ actions and support for the working class, unions, and his advocacy for the causes of the oppressed provided conclusive proof that he a disciple of Marxism. A portion of Harvey’s analysis includes an interpretation by Susan Rigdon, a writer who postulates that it was not the intention of Lewis to make the poor look as if they…

Imperialism in its most simplistic form can be defined by the dictionary of human geography as “the creation and or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.” It is also declared by this work to be primarily a western phenomenon that utilizes “expansionist, mercantilist policies” which was demonstrated during the nineteenth and twentieth century. Japan in the earlier…

One can construe a linkage between social order and social control. For society to exist there must be order and predictability and to ensure this some measures are to be taken. As such social control is simply all the mechanisms a society would put in place to ensure conformity and compliance of its members. This is significant to the economy to guarantee that people live in peace and that crime rates decrease in order for society to move towards a developed status. The Caribbean of all…

Karl Marx, unlike Durkheim, was not a sociologist by profession . He was a journalist but first and foremost a political activist around the time of the Industrial Revolution (Scott & Marshall, 2009:443). His political ideas were often rejected, but his work often had real sociological insight as his writing was based in the economics within society its’ social institutions (Giddens, 2009:18). His work as a whole was focused on conflict, centered around class divisions and relations, and as…

Karl Marx saw himself as the, “Newton of social science” (Seidman, 34) and described his book, Capital, as being ”to the social sciences what Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was to the natural sciences” (Seidman, 34). Marx was correct about his work because even today, he is seen as one of the most influential social science writers. The readings discussed Germany during the life of Marx as well as his theories created through the observation of capitalism and class structure. Born in 1818…