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Marxist Perspective In Sociology

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What is a Marxist sociologist and how is a Marxist perspective different than other perspectives in sociology?

Marxist sociology has been developed by a range of ideas that would inspire major social movements, initiate a global revolutionary social change and provide the foundation for many socialist or communist governments. This body of thought was initiated by Karl Marx and his long-time associate Fredrick Engels. In recent times, Marxism’s political influence has subsided, with most of the formerly communist regimes enduring momentous change. Marxist concepts have played a particularly significant role in the development of sociological discipline and have influenced many fields of thought. Classical sociological theorists such as Émile …show more content…

He states that at a particular stage of social development, “the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production.... From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution. The changes in the economic foundation lead sooner or later to the transformation of the whole immense superstructure.” (Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Individual and Society (Moscow, USSR: Progress Publishers, 1984), …show more content…

Whereas Marx tends to focus on economic influences. Weber generalises the political to the economic. He stressed that economics, individually, couldn’t explain the class system. (Max Weber, An intellectual portrait page 86) In contrast, Marx argues that during capitalism the Bourgeoisie exploited the Proletariats for their ‘surplus value, this is the extra revenue made after paying the Proletariats for their labour. Marx stated that the ruling class control all the power and use it to undermine and exploit the working class. He accepts the importance of the state but argues that the state promotes ruling classes’ interests in order to keep the wealthy pleased.
Marx and Weber’s theories begin to differ on the topic of stratification also. Weber introduced the concept of ‘status groups’ which conflict with classes due to the fact that they’re based around communities. The Weberian outlook is that all societies can be divided into said ‘status groups’. Weber argues that it is due to Marx’s class centred view that his prediction on future societies have an unsuccessful

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