GROUP TWO-1 Sociology

GROUP TWO
KARL MARX
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
KARL MARX WAS BORN ON THE 5TH OF MAY 1818 IN THE
GERMAN CONFEDERATION AND DIED ON THE 14TH MARCH
1883 IN LONDON. A GERMAN BORN SCIENTIST,
PHILOSOPHER, ECONOMIST, SOCIOLOGIST, JOURNALIST
AND REVOLUTIONARY SOCIOLOGIST. HIS THEORIES ABOUT
SOCIETY, ECONOMICS AND POLITICS ARE COLLECTIVELY
UNDERSTOOD AS MARXISM, THEY HOLD THAT HUMAN
SOCIETIES DEVELOP THROUGH CLASS STRUGGLE. KARL
MARX FORMULATED A SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF SOCIETY OUT
OF THE STUDY OF THE ECONOMY, PHILOSOPHY, AND
POLITICS. HE BELIEVED THAT A MIXTURE OF HISTORICAL
RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC METHODS, SOCIETY COULD BE
ANALYSED LOGICALLY AND RATIONALLY
He propounded the conflict theory and began to explore the
relationship the economy and workers within that system. The class
struggle theory is between two distinct social classes. The proletariat,
these are workers who are the lower class. Proletariats perform
labour in exchange for wages. The upper class managers,, bosses and
rulers are called the Bourgeoisie, they receive the profits. The
bourgeoisie control the means of production. In Marxism
governments exist to protect the wealthy, not the common good.
 Karl Marx was one of the first social scientists to focus mainly on social class. His
main focus was that ones social class dictates one’s social life. Basically he meant
that if one is in the upper class, life is one of leisure and abundance. While those in
lower class live a life of hardship.
 According to Marx, there was social elements that would determine where one fit in
social class. That of who controls the means of production, meaning those who own
the resource necessary to produce what people need, and the lower class, working
class who exchange labour for wages.
 Karl wanted to better understand how so many people could be in poverty in the
world where there was an abundance of wealth. His answer to why this was so was
simply capitalism.
Marx believed that the system was inherently unfair under capitalism, Marx believed
that workers would become poorer and experience alienation. Alienation is seen as
workers becoming more distanced from, or isolated from their work. To replace this
alienation and social class structure Marx believed capitalism had to end and be
replaced by a socialist system that would make all equal and have people’s needs met.
Karl Marx felt that the answer to Social inequality is Socalism. Socialism is a
political and economic theory of social organisation which advocates that the means
of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the
country as a whole.
Capitalism is an economic system where the means of production is owned
by private individuals. In this system, the economy and use of resources are
controlled by individual business owners and private companies. This is also
know as free market enterprise. The main focus of capitalism is profit. Under
capitalism the government plays a very minor role of making certain that the
play field for all businesses is even by enforcing rules and regulations
Karl Marx believed society is a dynamic entity constantly undergoing change
driven by class conflict.
Unlike Capitalism, functionalism understands society as a complex system
striving for equilibrium. The conflict perspective views social life as
competition. According to the perspective, society is made up of individuals
competing for limited resources
POPULATION THEORY
He did not separately propose any theory of population but his surplus population
theory has been deduced from his theory of communism. According to Marx
population increase must be interpreted in the context of the capitalistic economic
system. The capitalist introduces machinery and thus increases the surplus value of
labour's productivity. The surplus is the difference between labours and the wage
level. A worker is paid less than the value of his productivity. When machinery is
introduced unemployment increases, consequently a reserve army of labour is
created. Under these situations, the wage level goes down further. A large part of the
population becomes virtually surplus. Poverty, hunger and other social ills are a result
of socially injust practices associated with capitalism.
Population growth according to Marx is therefore not related to the alleged ignorance
or moral inferiority of the poor, but a consequence of the capitalist economic system.
He justifies this with the fact that places where production of food is inadequate is
where there is a problem of population growt.h
Max Weber
A German sociologist, philosopher, jurist,

and political economist whose ideas
profoundly influenced social theory and
research. His methodological writings
where instrumental in establishing the self-
identity of modern social science as a
distinct field of inquiry.
 Max weber developed the three-component theory of stratification
more widely known as Weberian stratification or the three class
systems. Class, status and power are the distinct ideal types. Weber
developed a multidimensional approach to social stratification that
reflects the interplay among wealth, property such as buildings, land,
factories etc. Prestige which is the respect with which a person or
status position is regarded by others and power which is the ability of
people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others.
 Weber argued that power can take a variety of forms. It can be shown
in social order through their status, in economic order through their
classes, and in political order through their party. Thus class, status
and party are aspects of the distribution of power within a community.
 According to weber there are two basic dimensions of power, the
possession of power and exercising of power.
 Theability to possess power derives from individuals ability to
control various social resources. These resources may include land,
capital, social respect, intellectual knowledge etc.
 Theability to exercise power takes a number of forms, but all
involve the idea that it means the ability to get your own way with
others, regardless of their ability to resist you. For example, if we
think about an individual’s chances of realising their own will
against someone else, it is reasonable to believe that the person’s
social prestige, class position and membership in a political group
RATIONALIZTION OF SOCIETY
The rationalization of society is a concept that was created by Max Weber.
Rationalization refers to the process by which modern society has
increasingly become concerned with:
 EFFICIENCY; Achieving the maximum results with a minimum
amount of effort.
 PREDICTABILITY; A desire to predict what will happen in the future.
 CALCULABILITY; A concern with numerical data, i.e., statistics and
scoring.
 DEHUMANIZATION; Employing technology as a means to control
human behavior.
Rationalization is a product of scientific study and technological
advances in the western world. By reducing tradition’s hold on
society, rationalization led to new practices. Instead of human
behavior being motivated by customs and traditions,
rationalization led to behaviors that were guided by reason
practically. Rationalization not only transformed modern society,
it played an important role in the development of capitalism.
Though rationalization was first apparent in the creation of
bureaucracies, it has spread to all aspects of society.
TYPES OF RATIONALITY
According to Weber, there are four types of rationality:

 Practical rationality involves systematically deciding the best way to achieve
a desired end based on what is practical.
 Theoretical rationality involves understanding the world through abstract
concepts.
 Substantive rationality involves deciding the best choice of a means to an end
as guided by all of your collective values. In other words, you are attempting
to make your system of values and your actions congruent with each other.
 Formal rationality involves making choices based on universal rules,
regulations, and the larger social structure of your society. It involves
calculating or quantifying the most efficient means to an end.
BUREAUCRACY
Weber's focus on the trend of rationalization led him to concern himself
with the operation and expansion of large-scale enterprises in both the
public and private sectors of modern societies (Aron 1970; Coser 1977).
Bureaucracy can be considered to be a particular case of rationalization,
or rationalization applied to human organization. Bureaucratic
coordination of human action, Weber believed, is the distinctive mark of
modern social structures. In order to study these organizations, both
historically and in contemporary society, Weber developed the
characteristics of an ideal-type bureaucracy:
• Hierarchy of authority
• Impersonality
• Written rules of conduct
• Promotion based on achievement
• Specialized division of labor
• Efficiency
According to Weber, bureaucracies are goal-oriented organizations
designed according to rational principles in order to efficiently
attain their goals. Offices are ranked in a hierarchical order, with
information flowing up the chain of command, directives flowing
down. Operations of the organizations are characterized by
impersonal rules that explicitly state duties, responsibilities,
standardized procedures and conduct of office holders. Offices are
highly specialized . Appointments to these offices are made
according to specialized qualifications rather than ascribed criteria.
All of these ideal characteristics have one goal, to promote the
efficient attainment of the organization's goals (Aron 1970; Coser
1977).
Some have seriously misinterpreted Weber and have claimed that
he liked bureaucracy, that he believed that bureaucracy was an
"ideal" organization is key in understanding our world.
STUDENT NUMBERS:
004-511
004-991
005-351
004-951
005-335
004-953
005-272
005-184
005-139
004-894

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GROUP TWO

A German sociologist, philosopher, jurist,

According to Weber, there are four types of rationality:

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