Sociological Theory
5/11/15
Various sociological theories have gone on to shape and mold our society into what is today. Sociology became a science of society in the 18th century. However, it wasn 't until the 19th century that it became systemized. Sociology can be defined as the study of social problems. Studying the development, structure, and functioning of a society is greatly beneficial to those living there. Despite the fact that various sociological theories have been of great importance, there are three theories, in particular, that tremendously impacted the views on modern society. Three sociologists contributed to these theories. Among these sociologists include Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. These …show more content…
The Communist Manifesto divided people into two classes: the bourgeois and the proletariat. Its goal The goal was to overthrow the bourgeois and establishing a new social order. This new social order will be one without classes and private property. In every era, we see that the oppressor and the oppressed stand in opposition. This fight will end in one of the two ways: a revolutionary reconstitution of society or in the ruin of contending classes. In such a ruin, we see that those who fail to own the means of production are oppressed. The bourgeois and proletariat have opposing interests. The bourgeois want to maintain the status quo whereas the proletariat yearns for a reorganization of society. This reorganization will make it that production benefits collectively as a whole. The proletariat constitutes a vast exploited and alienated workforce while the bourgeois seizes political power. Marx had two predictions concerning the demise of capitalism. One prediction deals with the fact that capitalism is unstable and that we are unable to escape the recessions and depressions. The second deals with the modern working class, the proletarians, becoming impoverished and alienated. The proletarians would then overthrow the entire system. Marx believed that the working class would create a worldwide communist revolution. He thought that collective control was only possible under …show more content…
These types of integration show how a society organizes itself. The types of labor individuals partake in may only slightly vary, but integration in terms of beliefs greatly vary. Durkheim showed how a society 's solidarity is dependent on its complexity. Societies experiencing mechanical solidarity tend to be small and find kinship affiliations to be very important. A shared system of beliefs regulates social relations. This system is referred to as the common conscience. Violating the social norms was seen as a threat and punishments ensued. As a society grows the division of labor grows as well and the collective conscience is diminished. People are then forced to interact with one another. These societies find themselves arranged around economic and political organizations. Behavior is regulated by legal systems as opposed to a system of beliefs and punishments are traded in for restitution. Based off of his observations Durkheim concluded that the division of labor creates social cohesion. However, there are times of tension and turmoil. Because of this, Durkheim created the notion of