Classical Theories of Industrial Societies: Marx, Durkheim, Weber

1

Sociology of Industrial Societies

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
2

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies
• Karl Marx Emile Durkheim Max Weber
• Analytical approach to the study of industrial
  societies
• The social structure of industrial societies
• Social relationships in industrial societies
• Key similarities? Key differences?

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
3

d.1883
b.1818
1844 Econ. Philos. Manuscripts
1867 Capital Vol. 1.
Karl Marx
d.1917
b.1858
1893 The Division of Labour in Society
Emile Durkheim
d.1920
b.1864
1904 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism
Max Weber

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
4

• Marx Analytical approach
• Materialist conception of history
• Humans defined by their material existence, esp.
  productive labour
• Changes in the method and the organization of
  production as the drivers of societal development
• Societies defined by their mode of production,
  comprising
• Physical means of production
• Social relations of production
• Movement of societies through distinctive
  historical epochs
• Asiatic ? Ancient ? Feudal ? Capitalist (?
  Socialist)
• Industrial societies emerge out of
• growing conflict between new means and old
  relations of production
• leading to revolutionary overthrow of the old
  social order

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
5

• Marx Social structure of industrial societies
• Economic base, political and legal
  superstructures
• Economic stratification according
• to (non)ownership of the
• means of production
• Essentially two classes,
• Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
• Other classes...
• remnants of classes from previous epoch
• petit-bourgeoisie and other middle strata
• lumpenproletariat or reserve army of labour
• ...but...
• expectation that two main classes will become
  increasingly crystallized and polarized over time

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
6

• Marx Social relationships in industrial
  societies
• Relationship between Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
  inherently exploitative
• Private ownership of the means of production
  creates
• dominant-subordinate relationship
• Bourgeoisie expropriate as profit the surplus
  value of workers productive labour
• Fundamentally opposed interests of the two
  classes creates intrinsic class conflict
• Class domination in the ideological sphere ?
  false consciousness
• Commodification of the products of labour creates
  alienation, i.e. the estrangement of human beings
  from the activity and result of productive labour

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
7

• Durkheim Analytical approach
• Focus on social aggregates as social facts
• Society conceived of as analogous to an organism
  each part functions to maintain the whole
• Social change thought of as a kind of
  evolutionary process
• Societal development defined in terms of
• The complexity of social organization
• How social solidarity is maintained in the face
  of growing social complexity

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
8

• Durkheim Social structure of industrial
  societies
• Increasingly complex division of labour
• Growing social differentiation and
  individualization
• Institutional as well as individual
  specialization

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
9

• Durkheim Social relationships in industrial
  societies
• Shift away from mechanical solidarity (based on
  similarity) to organic solidarity (based on
  difference)
• But potential social pathologies
• Where the allocation of specialized roles is
  determined by interest groups rather than by the
  demands of society, a socially dysfunctional
  forced division of labour is made
• Growing complexity of industrial societies can
  create moral uncertainty or anomie

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
10

• Weber Analytical approach
• Method of verstehen
• Explaining historical developments requires
  empathic understanding
• Ideas and beliefs as the drivers of gradual
  social change
• Emergence of industrial societies linked to the
  impact of certain religious beliefs on the
  actions of individuals
• Early industrializing countries all predominantly
  Protestant societies
• Ascetic Protestantism
• predestination and
• work as a calling
• Protestant work ethic hard
• work, frugality, reinvestment of
• profits ? genesis of
• capitalist accumulation

Key Protestant Catholic Orthodox Source
Wikipedia Oct 2007

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
11

• Weber Social Structure of Industrial Societies
• Growing rationalization
• Movement away from affective (emotion-led) and
  traditional (custom-led) forms of social action,
  towards more instrumentally rational
  (calculation-led) forms of social action
• Movement away from charismatic (personality-led)
  and traditional (custom-led) forms of authority,
  towards more rational-legal (impersonal,
  bureaucratized) forms of authority
• Not one but three stratification orders
• Economic class
• Social status
• Political power

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
12

• Weber Social relationships in industrial
  societies
• Complex and multidimensional stratification
  relationships
• Impersonal nature of rationalization/bureaucratiza
  tion means a social levelling
• But
• Increasing rationalization threatens growing
  disenchantment
• Increasing bureaucratization threatens an iron
  cage

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07
13
Key similarities? Key differences?

• Classical Theories of Industrial Societies Marx,
  Durkheim, Weber

Week 2 MT07