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Theories Of Alienation, Anomie And Rationalisation

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Introduction
Classical sociologists such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, all forged great sociological theories, which helped with the understanding of social success of functioning as well as how these successes can lead to its fragmentation.

The theories of Alienation, Anomie and Rationalisation cover ideas on isolation from groups, lacking of ethical standards and the process of increasing efficiency; each theory outlined the hopes and fears of their respective theorist about the future of society.

This paper will discuss the proposed hopes and fears of classical sociological theories with reference to Alienation, Anomie and Rationalisation while highlighting their definitions and core concepts.
Definitions
Alienation
According …show more content…

Alienation, Anomie and Rationalisation by Marx, Durkheim and Weber
Karl Marx, popularly known for his work with the theory of alienation claimed that for knowledge to be valuable, it must serve the betterment of mankind (Young, 2003:111); however, Marx did not go further to discuss the different meanings of betterment for society nor the uses of these differences.
The histories of all previous existing societies are their histories of class struggles between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats, meaning the working and ruling classes (Tucker, 1978:473); the class of the modern known capitalist who owned all means of production and the class of the modern known labourer who owned no means of production of their own and were reduced to selling their labour for a living; …show more content…

Through labour, man overcomes alienation as his spirit completes its development allowing him to feel at home within the hostility of the world.

Emile Durkheim, known for his theory of anomie stated that although social lives bear the mark of material foundation, their collective consciousness is more than just an observed phenomenon (Young, 2003:111). Modern life as it is known revolves around members acting in occupational roles which are becoming increasingly specialised, this doesn’t pose any problems however, as those who fail to fit in to the modernisation of society are often forced to ship out.
As anomie is one of the few sociological concepts with a unique starting point within the field of sociology, it stands as a moral withdrawal from reality as it is known (Hilbert, 1986:1).

Anomie is as the result of some group inactivity within a specified category of occupational group (Marks, 1974:331-2); these groups, when functioning properly, can begin a remedy process for social

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