The Enlightenment Karl Marx and Max Weber - 3163 Words

The Enlightenment The 17th century was torn by witch-hunts and wars of religion and imperial conquest. Protestants and Catholics denounced each other as followers of Satan, and people could be imprisoned for attending the wrong church, or for not attending any. All publications, whether pamphlets or scholarly volumes, were subject to prior censorship by both church and state, often working hand in hand. Slavery was widely practiced, especially in the colonial plantations of the Western Hemisphere, and its cruelties frequently defended by leading religious figures. It was inevitable that sooner or later many people would begin to grow tired of the repression and warfare carried out in the name of absolute truth. In addition though†¦show more content†¦Marx seen the economy as the basis of society and called this the infrastructure, he saw the institutions of society such as the political system, the education system, the mass media, religion and even family as developing out of the economic system which he called the superstructure which was shaped by the base (infrastructure), the means of production (everything required to produce), machines, factories, land and raw materials all owned by the bourgeoisie. The Marxist theory of historical materialism understands society to be determined by the relationships which people enter into with one another to fulfill their basic needs, for instance to feed and clothe themselves and their families. In general Marx identified five successive stages of the development of these material conditions in Western Europe. †¢ Primitive communism- early human societies (hunter gatherers) †¢ Slavery- considered to be the beginning of class society where private property appears. †¢ Feudalism- monarchy attempts to control the lands of the realm through agreements with regional leaders. †¢ Capitalism- an economic system based on private ownership of capital †¢ Socialism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital and derives its wealth through exploitation. Marx saw that each stage or epoch created a new class or invention that wouldShow MoreRelatedKarl Marx And Max Weber1174 Words   |  5 Pagesfactors that compose society and the myriad of ways in which it functions. Karl Marx along with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber were the pioneers that are credited as being the founders of classical sociology. They were the first ones to thoroughly examine the complexities of society and create theories for them. The theoretical frameworks and research methodologies created by these sociologists were products of the enlightenment and are still studied and widely respected by scholars to this day. AlthoughRead MoreThe Theoretical And Methodological Perspectives Of Radicals Karl Marx And Friedrich Engels1162 Words   |  5 Pages In the comparison of the theoretical and methodological perspectives of radicals Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, with the more liberal teachings of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, there must be an understanding that essentially they were all intellects of the period of the Enlightenment. The philosophical basis of the Enlightenment was that human beings are substantially perfectible. This meant that human beings could be taught things and that there was never an end to the capacity of what couldRead MoreSocial Stratification1349 Words   |  6 Pagesstratification is vertical hierarchical arrangement which differentiate people as superior or inferior. Societies are stratified in three ways which are,1) Social Class; 2) Racial and Ethnic stratification; and 3) Gender. 1) Social Class: According to Karl Marx, Class society is based around a primary line of division between two antagonistic classes, those who owns the means of production and those who do not own. Comer added to it in 1978 â€Å"Social Class implies having or not having the following: individualRead MoreKarl Marx And Max Weber1486 Words   |  6 PagesBoth Karl Marx and Max Weber assert that capitalism is the dominion of abstractions and the irrational accumulation of abstract wealth for the sake of wealth. For Marx, the state of capitalism is entrenched in the social classes to which people have bben assigned. Capitalism, according to Marx, is a result of the bourgeoisie s ascent to economic and political power. This fuels the manifestation of a system that exploits the labour power of the lower socioeconomic classes for the gain of the higherRead MoreModernity and Classical Sociology Theory Essays1855 Words   |  8 Pagesto say? Modernity takes out the old and brings in the new , continually upgrading to something else? Modernity appears as a concept of change. It most commonly refers to the social conditions, processes, and discourses resulting from the Age of Enlightenment. The concept of modernity captures the progress of societies, from primitive civilizations, which evolved gradually through discrete stages, reaching a modern age characterized by industrialization and capitalism, concluding in the current, post-modernRead MoreThe Rise Of Capitalism : Karl Marx2134 Words   |  9 PagesKarl Marx is the first in a series of 19th and 20th century theorists who started the call for an empirical approach to social science. Theorizing about the rise of modernity accompanied by the decline in traditional societies and advocating for a change in the means of production in order to enable social justice. Marx’s theories on modernity reveals his beliefs of modern society as being influenced by the advancement of productive forces of modern industry and the relationships of production betweenRead MoreMax Weber And Karl Marx2003 Words   |  9 Pagesas sociologists and philosophers. Despite a vast amount of sociologists contributing to our development of social thought over time, I’m particularly interested in the work of Max Weber and Karl Marx. Both theorist’s theories co-inside and take on an interesting partial Marxist perspective on society and social thought. Weber, a German sociologist, philosopher and political economist born in 1864 is one of the best philosophers to explain the theory of the economic system of capitalism. He had a wideRead MoreThe Key Ideas of the Enlightenment Essay1865 Words   |  8 PagesThis essay will be examining the key concepts of the ‘Enlightenment’ also known as â€Å"The Age of Reasonâ€Å" that occurred from the 16th and 17th century, before considering the manner in which it helped to shape the sociological view on societies and how it has linked to the birth of sociology. Before doing so I will give a brief historical context. All the profound questioning that emerged during the Enlightenment came out of the undermining of the old Catholic authority over all social truth thatRead Morefactors that contributed to the rise and development of sociology1511 Words   |  7 Pagesoppressed and exploited by the capitalists in the sense that both adults and children worked for long hours and were given low wages. Classical sociologists such as Karl Marx (1818-1883) were attracted to the study of society due to the unfair system of the capitalist economy that had been brought by the industrial revolution in Europe. Marx condemned the industrial societies and gave alternative models of society such as socialist and communist societies. As a result, it is wise to assert that societalRead MoreThe Enlightenment : The Age Of Reason1126 Words   |  5 PagesThe Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an important period in the history of Western Civilization during the 17th and 18th centuries - a time of so cial turmoil where societies were divided between social groups and struggled for freedom, equality and democracy (Seidman, 2008: 6). This time gave rise to remarkable social thinkers, known as Enlighteners, who pioneered a new science of society (Seidman, 2008: 5). These highly educated Enlighteners believed the world could be rationally