Capitalism & Marx, Durkheim and Weber

Marx, more than any other theorist, concentrated his ire and directed his fury at the capitalist system. The structures of capitalism, for Marx, were responsible for creating all of the problems of modern life. As such, the only way to solve these problems was to topple the structures. Unwilling to accept that certain ôevilsöùexploitation, alienation and endless expansionùwere necessary components of the modern industrial system, Marx endeavored to overhaul the consciousness of the day by bringing into sharp relief the pernicious

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Æs view, provide the masses with this common morality and ameliorate the attendant problems of industrial society by allowing owners, managers and workers ôto recognize their common interests as well as their common need for an integrative moral systemö (Ritzer 88). According to Durkheim, the division of labor (and the increasing specialization among the workforce) witnessed during the 1800s was a stage in the evolution of humankind that was social as well as economic in nature (Durkheim 128). ôThe division of labor,ö Durkheim tells us, ôis not peculiar to economic lifeö(128); such divisions are therefore material social facts, arising as a consequence of our naturalùand unavoidableùinterdependence as human beings. Social facts are any ôforces and structures that are external to, and coercive of, the individualö (Ritzer 16). The ônew conditions of industrial lifeö therefore merely raise the stakes of this ongoing sociological game for Durkheim, and demand that we reform our organizations in order to accommodate these new conditions (148). Hence, a new organizationùthe occupational associationùis needed. Surely a more sanguine remedy for the social oppression described by Marx, DurkheimÆs theory clearly favors a reconciliat
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Approximate Word count = 1446
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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