In the discussion of social inequality, one cannot leave out the sociological theories and models proposed by Karl Marx and Adam Smith. Generally, social inequality refers to the presence of unequal treatment, opportunities and rewards tied to people of various social standings within the hierarchy of a community group or society. Some common types of social inequality include wealth and income disparity as well as social class stratification. For Marx and Smith, both had explored the various types of social inequality in society. To begin with, Marx mentioned “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” (Marx, 1978, p. 473). Marx understood the history of mankind as a chain of different eras brought about …show more content…
Smith mentioned that “The division of labour, however, so far as it can be introduced, occasions, in every art, a proportionable increase of the productive powers of labour.” (Smith, p. 110). Such a phenomenon would no doubt result in an increase in productivity due to the specialisation of jobs with increased efficiency in doing work. However, due to the specialisation of jobs, the people in society would then be subjected to job positions with varying levels in wages, which could result in income inequality in the society. Furthermore, Smith added “This separation, too, is generally carried furthest in those countries which enjoy the highest degree of industry and improvement” (Smith, p. 111). Thus, not all countries experience similar levels of industrialisation, which implies varying degrees of division of labour in the workforce. This would lead to an uneven distribution of wealth among the countries and result in economic inequality among …show more content…
Marx advocated revolution by the Proletariat against the Bourgeoisie to reduce income and social class inequality. However, Smith felt that the Invisible Hand and the division of labour would eventually bring the poor out of poverty, but may not entirely resolve the income inequality or equal distribution of
Poverty in Brevard County My Social Issue Poverty is a worldwide issue. With emphasis on poverty in third world countries like Africa, Haiti, etc. Citizens of Brevard County tend to overlook how poverty is happening in our own back yards. My social issue is about poverty in Brevard County and I aim to bring awareness to this terrible situation.
In Smith’s theory, he focused on the individual, but Marx preferred to pay much more attention on a specific social class. Marx says, “The distinguishing feature of Communism is no the abolition of property generally, but the abolition of bourgeois property (Marx, 1848).” For example, proletariat needed to build a new social class through revolution, and abolition of private property needed to be established in society. Marx had also offered other policies that helped to get rid of the different class distinctions between bourgeois and proletariat and distribute the wealth equally such as “abolition of all right of inheritance, exclusion of monopoly, equal liability of all to labor, and a more equable distribution of the population over the country (Marx, 1848).” These policies not only prohibited one to hold certain power and rights to rule others, but they also promoted the equal distribution of wealth in
Karl Marx who was an economist, during 19th century established an idea between wealthy and rich. According to “Three Great Economists”, Karl Marx believes that “the class struggle itself, expressed as the contest over wages and profits, would be the main force for changing capitalism and eventually undoing it” (33). Here Marx shows that there will always be difference between classes in capitalism and the only technique can be use to change this concept is to ruin a capitalism. This shows that income inequality is something we cannot fight with in capitalism, because no matter what we do we always will have this problem. People will always want more, and some will achieve it and other won’t.
He believes that the wealth of the nation is increased by the increase of production, the increase of trade, improvement of technology, and expansion of the nation’s market. He believes that all of these things can be the result of division of labor between different classes. I think that Adam Smith would agree more with Ure because these ideas align with the support of industrial capitalism, which is what Ure believed in as well. Even though Smith and Ure may not agree with industrial capitalism for the same reasons, they were both still supporters of it, whereas Marx was not as much of a
These inequalities effects so many people in society both wealthy and people live in poverty. In America low wage workers have some options like little education and having transportations issue. These people in society have very complex issues and it is difficult they change the situation. These people have low self-esteem they learned in every job.
The idea behind this according to Marx is that history is a series of stages, defined by their mode of production and the struggle between classes: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. " According to Marx, the current historical stage is the capitalist historical stage. This is the conflict between the bourgeoisie (middle class) and the proletariat (working class). This theory is supported by the historical stages preceding the capitalist historical stage which can easily be defined by their modes of production and class struggle, or lack thereof.
Present at least two different sociological approaches to social inequality and discuss these approaches with reference to a concrete problem area of contemporary relevance. Social inequality can be found in various aspects of society, the question is if inequality is only caused by the lack of economical estate or if other reasons are underlining it. This essay argues how Max Weber distinguishes between social class and strata and how one often leads to the other. Furthermore, it presents Pierre Bourdieu’s notions of habitus, capital and fields as an explanation of how people can achieve different social statuses within different fields because of their capitals. At last, the two different sociological approaches to social inequality is used to analyze the case of non-traditional students at Australian universities and how they are socially disadvantaged compared to traditional students because of their lack economical support, language skills, educational skills and social relations.
America prides itself on being one of the most effective democratically governed counties. The idea of the American dream is that all people have equivalent political freedoms and a responsive government. However the effectiveness of social equality is being threatened by increasing inequality in the United States. Economic inequality in the US has expanded drastically. The wealth gap has had drastic changes over the past 35 years.
The three main ideas from the Communist Manifesto The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, had little to no influence when it was first published in 1848 for the Communist League. However, soon after Marx and Engel’s other writings on socialism became published it grew in popularity, and was considered a standard text of the time (Brians, 2006). With Marx’s radical ideas, and Engels’ thorough writing, they were able to convey how they were individual of the other socialists of the time and elaborate on their idea socialism and how it would inevitably be achieved. The three main ideas from The Communist Manifesto are class conflict, ephemeral capitalism, and inevitable revolution.
(Division of labour) Smith goes into great detail about how a factory or business is a division of labour. He talks about three key factors, increase dexterity, saving time, and application of machinery, that create a division of labour and increase productivity. This concept can be seen in the quote, “the greatest improvement in the productive powers of labour, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgement with which it is anywhere directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labour,” (Smith 2000:3). The three concepts that Smith talks about can be
One of the most important concepts that defined the capitalist economy is the division of labor. Throughout the years, great philosophers such as Adam Smith, Max Weber, and Karl Marx have discussed theories that have drastically changed and molded the modern labor force. Thus, the ideal of labor division was created. Its purpose is to distribute labor skills amongst groups of people and by doing so it enabled workers to build products quickly. From this ideal, it allowed industries to expand their productivity and create trade on a global scale.
Marx believed that the class struggle forced social change. Marx’s theory is based on a class system
Class conflict, Marx believed, was what encouraged the evolution of society. To quote Marx himself, The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one
Question 1. What do you make of Karl Marx’s contributions to sociology? Answer: It would take volumes to describe how important Karl Marx’s work is in sociology. His work is important in the 21st century because his concepts and ideas are the only genuine seeds for a better society.
CHAPTER 3 CLASS STRUGGLE Generally class struggle means conflict between the upper class and lower class the idea of Class struggle is long-used mostly by socialists and communists, who define a class by its relationship to the means of production such as factories, land, and machinery. From this point of view, the social control of production and labour is a fight between classes, and the division of these resources basically involves conflict and causes damage. Societies are socially divided based on status, wealth, or control of social production and distribution, and in this division of class conflict arises. It is important to know Karl Marx theory on class struggle; he viewed the structure of society in relation to