Materialism Sociological Perspective

Evidently, the two main concepts that contribute to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ idea or theory is the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie consists of those

The difference between idealist and materialist epistemologies are that idealism is knowledge can only come from what is in our minds, and materialism is knowledge that is in the thing (Schaffer, Week 4). The differences between idealism and materialism are important because it gives sociologists different perspectives in which to analyze theories and the social world around them. Idealism is dealing with an idea. Materialism is exploring the object beforehand; like culture (Schaffer, Week 4). Materialism focuses more on structures. Marx was an idealist, while Weber was both an idealist and a materialist. Both idealism and materialism are epistemologies. It is very important for a sociologist to understand the differences between idealist and materialist epistemologies because it provides a proper analysis and theory of sociological actions.

The structure of society under the conflict theorists’ views defines distinctions between different classes. The power and authority taken by the upper class, by the rich and mighty, causes inevitably problems within the lower class of society. Deviance, crime, violence and poverty are what the lower class of society was becoming. Unemployment is a large issue within the lower class of society; this is due to the classes that have money; use it for education and to further their skills. The classes within society who are able to obtain better and further education to advance their skills are the ones that employees are seeking for their workplaces. The inequality between the classes is what creates the unemployed and the circle that they are currently sitting in.

If Tyler Durden from Fight Club was sitting inside $340,000 Lamborghini Aventador, his hatred towards materialism probably would have driven him to accelerate the car right into the ocean. If James Twitchell was sitting inside of it, he probably would have just left the car in a parking structure with the keys still inside. Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club and James Twitchell’s essay “The Allure of Luxury”both take negative against the concept and phenomenon of Western materialism, where society indulge on luxurious items to the extent of being the focus of life. In Fight Club, the idea of anti-materialism is taken to a great extent, with the book’s main character and Tyler focusing on destroying the materialistic society with violence to restore a more primitive way of living. However, in Twitchell’s piece, materialism is taken more moderately, describing how materialism has rapidly expanded throughout the Western nations, questioning the if it is beneficial or malicious. I believe that materialism does provide great benefits that allowed us human beings to advance as a society. However materialism introduces numerous complications that impact our society on a macroscale. Before comparing and contrasting my view of materialism, we will first explore Twitchell’s essay, then Fight Club to first better understand their stance and concept of materialism.

Materialistic items play a key role in the world today. People use these items, such as technological appliances, to fulfill their daily wants and needs. However, most people do not realize the negative effects of such a heavy reliance on material goods. In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato shares his idea that an overdependence on items can negatively affect ethical decisions. This idea is discussed in “The Veldt,” by Ray Bradbury, The Truman Show, by Peter Weir, and Daniel Key’s novel, Flowers for Algernon. Throughout all three stories, characters greatly rely on items and other people, leading them to make unethical decisions. In some cases, people are objectified as a result of being needed, desired, and treated unfairly. In “The Veldt,” The Truman Show, and Flowers for Algernon, an overreliance on items leads to a loss of focus on morals and what is ethically important.

Although, there was many positive aspects to our country however, all workers faced many struggles that had put their lives in danger throughout each day. The difficulties and struggles grew for workers, “Although factories provided work for many people, most of these jobs paid low wages. They also required people to spend long hours enduring backbreaking labor and poor working conditions. In many factories, both adults and children risked serious inquiry as they worked in tight quarters and operated dangerous machinery” (Industrial Revolution). Factories at the time had its own pros and cons. Workers had been provided with many job opportunities but however, these roles required the willingness to work where everything had been hazardous and easily diseases can be spread. The working conditions had been very cramped not allowing much movement where any worker can face any possible risks provided. Workers had continued to work these hours for the benefit of being able to support themselves with as much wage possibly. Unfortunately, these low wages had caused a requirement of much more heavy hours in order to make a strong living and be able to drift into a new area. Workers had demanded, “...for such basic workplace rights as higher wages, safer conditions, and shorter hours” (A sweatshop during

When we are less focused on the materials we have, we can focus on a different source of worth, inner worth. We must feel good about who we are, and to accomplish

The human kind come across all kinds of limitations in their daily lives: gates, doors, traffic, walls, etc… Our jobs, school, family and even social life (emotional or physical) may add to the ripple effect on ourselves. But imagine if we were jammed with all those limitations behind four tall walls, a bad, and maybe a toilet with a sink for 23 hours a day while only having somewhat fresh air for one hour in a caged space with an officer hovering over you, trigger-happy if you make one mistake. While we are currently living in the 21st century, we are still living amongst the ideals of the 17th and 18th century. Their social construction of society came across the expansion of the class structures because of the Industrial Revolution. As people were getting richer from these inventions, people were also getting poorer; this led to the growth of the capitalist society as the upper class saw more coming in. The innovative procedures of quick production pioneered because of the Industrial Revolution led to the significant surplus by exposing anybody that was not the upper class. This tarnished the lower and middle class and they had to by any means, provide for themselves and their family. A new form of science was coming to be – social science. Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx defied all odds and opposed the quality of society. Today, these two men influenced us all in one way or another, but they have yet to see what long-term solitary confinement is like today; studying their

Given the power money and items have on society, it is difficult to detach from that way of life. Charlie, an acquaintance of Chris, notes McCandless, “seemed like a kid who was looking for something, looking for something, just didn't know what it was. I was like that once, but then I realized what I was looking for: Money!” (Krakauer 42). As Charlie puts it, the only thing he was searching for in life he realized was money, not the fulfillment of ‘finding oneself’. Money is the prime example of materialism, dictating the social class and overall “worth” of someone's life. More importantly, money controls how much stuff a person can buy and own. Society's insatiable desire to buy and consume creates the population's utter dependence on material items. People today experience insane difficulty detaching themselves from the product lifeline and digital age, highly contradicting the transcendental belief that items hold no real value in a truly lived life. Transcendentalists do not see the benefit in having so many things or placing so much dependence and value into objects. For a society attached and bonded tightly to its material items, stepping away and living a truly transcendental lifestyle is almost impossible.

So much that some of the time, people almost died from their factory jobs. Hebergam, a former factory worker, had been told that he would die within a year. He affirmed that this is because of the, “dust in the factories” and from, “overwork and insufficient diet.” (Testimony of Joseph Hebergam to the Sadler Committee). Hebergram seems to be a dependable source because he had actual physical damage to his body to prove that the work in factories are unhealthy and overbearing. He also provided evidence from his doctor that he would die within a year from the damage done to his body. Although some may say that factory workers “always seemed to be cheerful and alert,” and “taking pleasure in the light play of their muscles”, it doesn’t seem to be too believable from all of the accounts of injury and disease to reportedly be in those factories. People such as Dr. Ward and John Birley have revealed that the factories are “nurseries of disease and vice”, and have beaten their employees “dateless.” A great deal of factories during the Industrial Revolution contributed to the health issues in working class families, and

Religion can be found in a majority of cultures and society all across the world, and cultures have been following religions for thousands of years. Although a religion may have started practice thousands of years ago, a religion may not even earn itself a certain label or name for the religion. Buddhism, for example, did not gain the title of Buddhism until the nineteenth century. For a practice to be considered a religion, it must include leaders, beliefs, rituals, symbols, myths, scriptures, ethics, spiritual practices, cultural components, historical traditions, or management structures. However, not all of this religion behavior may occur in religious institutions, such as a church or monastery. If one can build

Erik Olin Wright breaks down the concept of class and its importance for understanding different issues in today’s society. He claims that class divisions are defined basically by the exploiter and the exploited and that exploitation is necessary for profits in a capitalist economy (Wright, 8). There are two main classes; the capitalist that owns the means, hence the exploiter, and the worker, the exploited which has the labor power. It is through this labor power that the worker exercises his economic power. As Wright explains, “this dependency of the exploiter on the exploited gives the exploited a certain form of power”.

Before the creations of federal regulations that govern work places hazards many unsafe work conditions existed. A matter of fact, construction companies conducted risk assessments on the number of personnel they expected to become hurt or die before the job was completed. Even the use of what we know today as deadly chemicals or methods were used in the past just to get the job done. This can be seen in coal mines by coal workers contracting the deadly disease known as the black lung. The black lung is a lung disease that is associated with breathing in coal dust which then becomes deposited in the lungs. Over time those working in coal mines affected with the black lung being to experiences shortness of breath due to their lungs being unable

Taylor’s The Madness of Materialism…”, it states that we have been like this for a long time.

Marx held a two-dimensional view of class structure in capitalist society. According to Marx, and individual’s position in the class hierarchy in a capitalist society was simply defined by their relationship to productive property, or the means of production. He divided class into two main classes – the