Analysis of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim's Views
The sociological views of the three founding fathers; Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim all assert that various aspects of our lifestyle are fully a product of the society in which we live. Each theorist views the impact of society and its manifestation of our identity in a different way. All three of these men used the Industrial Revolution and capitalism to shape their theories of social identity, especially the identity created by capitalism's division of labor; the owners of the means of production; the bourgeoisie and the oppressed proletariat. The Industrial Revolution was a major turning point in the recent history of the world. This shaped the "theological" point of view and underpinned this social and economic paradigm shift toward "mechanical" rather than "organic" solidarity among individuals. This analysis will provide a comparison and contrast of the positions of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.
Marx saw the basic division in society as existing between owners and non-owners of the means of production. Marxist sociology and economic theory posited the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Karl Marx embraced the change from agrarian to the industrial revolution for the reason that the industrial revolution gave the lower class civilians a chance to engage and benefit the opportunities that existed in the industrial revolution and that were once so considered impossible for them. Although this was a great change, there lies one problem, the workers or proletariat were oppressed. Marx had a great existential theory that the capitalist society was in fact exploiting the proletariat, they were selling the ability to work that they consumed in exchange for monetary value but in contrast were not receiving fair wages; as in barely getting by for day to day living; to put it simply the proletariat were not receiving their share of the profits. Marx stated that the proletariat were simply servants to the means of production that the
Marx saw the basic division in society as existing between owners and non-owners of the means of production. Marxist sociology and economic theory posited the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Karl Marx embraced the change from agrarian to the industrial revolution for the reason that the industrial revolution gave the lower class civilians a chance to engage and benefit the opportunities that existed in the industrial revolution and that were once so considered impossible for them. Although this was a great change, there lies one problem, the workers or proletariat were oppressed. Marx had a great existential theory that the capitalist society was in fact exploiting the proletariat, they were selling the ability to work that they consumed in exchange for monetary value but in contrast were not receiving fair wages; as in barely getting by for day to day living; to put it simply the proletariat were not receiving their share of the profits. Marx stated that the proletariat were simply servants to the means of production that the