Max Weber And Emile Durkheim

Karl Marx and Max Weber were influential sociologists that paved the way for modern sociological school of thought. Both, Karl Marx and Max Weber contributed a lot to the study and foundation of sociology. Without their contributions sociology would not be as prominent as it is today. From the contribution of how sociology should be studied, to how they applied their theories to everyday life has influenced many sociologists. Predominantly, both of these theorists’ discussed the effects of capitalism, how it has developed, shaped and changed society into what it is today. Specifically, Karl Marx’s contribution of the bourgeoisie vs. the proletariat class and Max Weber’s social stratification has helped individuals to understand how modern day society has transformed into what it is today. Particularly, this paper will lie out Weber’s theory of social stratification and Marx’s theory of the bourgeoisie vs. the proletariat class; additionally this essay will also compare and contrast the ideas of these two influential sociologists. Finally this essay will criticize both of these sociologists’ theories and display that Marx and Weber do not explain how modern day society and classes have been formed.

Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber were three historical sociologists. Their views have become world renown and have shaped many ways of interpreting the social structure of many modern societies. This essay will take a glimpse into the three sociologists’ ideals and expose the similarities and differences they may have.

Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber are all important characters to be studied in the field of Sociology. Each one of these Sociological theorists, help in the separation of Sociology into its own field of study. The works of these three theorists is very complex and can be considered hard to understand but their intentions were not. They have their similarities along with just as many of their differences.

Émile Durkheim and Mircea Eliade have dissimilar understandings of religion. Emile Durkheim did not have an interest in a belief system or the cognitive approach. He dismissed the study of how particular beliefs lead to certain practices and adopted a functionalist approach. He does not acknowledge the belief in God, rather focuses on what religion does within society. He believed that individuals encompassed a more pure form and focused on the essential structure of religion. His theory of totemism developed, which centers around the idea that the subject of religion is to bring people together, and to ultimately result in social cohesion. He metaphorically relates this to when people in a community rally around the totem. Furthermore, making the totem represent the sacred. Durkheim then understands that the totem will eventually develop into a spirit, and ultimately into a ‘God’ or spiritual form. Moreover, connecting a society on a metaphysical level. This concept does not center around a belief system, rather on social cohesion.

Sociology studies and defines the diverse aspects of some of the most basic human behaviour, particularly focusing on the purpose and the value that human behaviour holds. Max Weber, the highly influential philosopher (born 1864 – died 1920), documented and observed human behaviour, focusing primarily in his text, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, on social action. Weber determines that social action is the behaviour or action of an individual, or actor, in the presence of another individual. The specific role of social action is to monitor the influence of another on an individual’s work output and how their behaviour changes and the direction of their actions determined. Weber claimed that “a correct causal interpretation of concrete course of action, is arrived at when the overt action and the motives have both been correctly apprehended and at the same time their relation has become meaningfully comprehensible.”

Two names that are repeatedly mentioned in sociological theory are Karl Marx and Max Weber. In some ways these two intellectuals were similar in the way they looked at society. There are also some striking differences. In order to compare and contrast these two individuals it is necessary to look at each of their ideas. Then a comparison of their views can be illustrated followed by examples of how their perspectives differ from each other.

In class, we talked about discrimination in society through economic inequality with Marx, and then with Durkheim. We discussed the positive viewing of individualism in society through inequality. Max Weber is comparable to Karl Marx because they both focus on inequality and capitalism. However, unlike Marx, Weber views the uneconomic actions in society. He has an interpretive view, and as an interpretive sociologist, this means he focuses on the concerns of the society itself and not the people

Georg Simmel and Max Weber will first be addressed individually to outline their lives and their works. Even though Simmel and Weber both were born in the same country, they led different lives. The obvious differences among Simmel and Weber are seen in their younger years of their lives. While their works are different, they may have been working for a similar result. Simmel and Weber are now considered to have made an historic impact in the sociological world. Their individual contribution to the sociological work has been significant and will be discussed in sociology classes forever. This paper will outline the differences and similarities of Georg Simmel and Max Weber.

Along with Marx and Weber, Durkheim is considered one of the founding members of modern sociology. He is also credited with making sociology a science through his application of scientific and empirical research. Durkheim believed that sociology should be seen as a science separate from other sciences such as psychology, by studying “social facts” objectively as things. (Kiviston, 2011)

The theoretical works of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber still influence sociological theory. Though their works are decades old they still are a major part of what sociology is today. Though their theories can seem very different, there are some similarities. To become a great sociologist one most learn and understands how to use all sociological perspectives. To do this one must understand and use the different theoretical perspectives created by Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.

This essay seeks to compare and contrast structural consensus and conflict theories of social action such as Durkheimian, Parsonian, Marxist and Weberian with interpretivist perspectives. The aim is to outline the main features of each theory whilst critically analysing the similarities and differences between them. It will also examine the relevance of these theories within modern day society.

When people look at the world, they see it is structured in a specific way. Each perspective varies depending on the person. For instance, when looking at classical theory in sociology, there exists three viewpoints on society. Karl Marx believed the world based on conflict while Weber made sense of it by viewing the meanings. As for Durkheim, he made sense of it through social cohesion. Unlike Marx, whose primary focus was conflict, Durkheim’s writing centered around how people were capable of coexisting harmoniously.

Weber felt that capitalism would take over and there would be too much distinction between the classes. He later went on to study the ruling government or bureaucracy of a society and what limits individuals have. He studied subjectively and objectively. He considered his own views into his studies but limited them and made it clear that sociology must limit the sociologist views on the situation or case. As a sociologist, he felt that putting yourself in the place of the subject will give for empathetic views and add another dimension to the study.

There are many different perspectives on the growth of modernity. Society is constantly changing as more time passes by. People like Emile Durkheim and Max Weber both offer their own individual perspective on how the growth of modernity came about and how we have come to understand today’s society. In the 1890s period Emile Durkheim a sociologist, in France watched the transformation of society go from a ‘primitive’ stance into something more complex also known as ‘organic solidarity’. Max Weber a German sociologist on the other hand, his view was in regards to how the growth of government was a driving force in modernity to maintain order, organisation and administration of specialised functions. Both theses sociologists’ theories are

The sociological inquiry is the methodical analysis of the inspirations and behaviour of individuals within a group. It is the study of the social world as a whole and focusing on how elements such as the family, religion, school, community and government effect it. Sociological inquires most standard goal is to simply obtain a more clear understanding of the observable social world that we live in. In this essay I will be looking into the sociological theories of Marx, Weber and Durkheim, and recognising if their approaches are still relevant today.