Social Inequality

It is logical to assume that for as long as human beings have existed in organized societies, so social inequality has presented itself within these societies as an obstacle to overcome, an instrument to exploit, or at the very least, a reality to accept. Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber, acting at times as sociologists, economic theorists and above all, social critics, each explore in their writings the origins and functions of the social inequality that had grown rife in the modern, industrial, and capitalist society of the 1800s. The class struggle throughout the industrializing world had, by the middle of the nineteenth century, begun to deepen and widen. Why this was so was of profound interest to these thinkers, and their respective analyses of modern social inequities incorporated theories of history, human nature, and economics. The resulting ideas reveal very different approaches for dealing with social inequality. Whether revolutionary or reformist, each of these three thinkers has left an indelible mark on those that have since sought to understand human society and its functions.

Karl Marx, more than any other theorist, directed his fury at the capitalist system and its inherent proclivity for exploiting the working class. The structures of capitalism, for Marx, were responsible for creating virtually all of the problems of modern life. This observation, though complicated in itself, engendered a simple conclusion: the only way to solve the probl

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On the issue of social class and the hierarchy of the citizens, Weber also recognized that private property plays a part, and that generally class distinctions coincide with who owns land and who does not. And, like Marx, Weber assumed that this class distinction could create conflict. Unlike Marx, however, Weber did not perceive that this conflict was necessarily a bad thing, as for Weber class conflicts over resources appeared to be quite normal (Parkin 91). Also, where Marx observed "two great classes", Weber understood social classes to be comprised of many different sub-groups, and that there were no formal definitions that were useful in identifying individual social stratifications at any given time (Parkin 93). Human society, for Weber, is a highly stratified, multi-layered conflagration made up of individuals that are all attempting to expand their sphere of control over various social resources. These social resources certainly can include the means of production and property, but can also be other, less tangible entities such as social respect, physical strength or intellectual knowledge (Livesy 3). In fact, a social resource can actually be anything that is a) socially desirable and b) limited in supply (Lives

Category: Economics - S