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Marx, Durkheim, and Weber

cial conditions with any sophistication requires special capacities of interest, education, and insight. One must be acquainted not just with history, but with a wide variety of complex contemporary social conditions, and have the capacity to generalize theory to explain a myriad of specific instances without distorting the facts.

Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber were all well qualified for this quixotic endeavor. Their sociological analyses of the forces modeling 19th century life in the industrializing world are landmarks of thought, with many of their pregnant observations still capable of elucidating social conditions in the 21st century. Marx and Weber were particularly brilliant in their insight into the nature of industrial capitalism and its radical disintegration of the values of the past. Turning on a TV set or reading a newspaper today is to be reminded of the continued relevance of their thought.

Marx's ideas are still taboo in America. No serious analysis of his thought is ever carried on mass media, because its implications would call into question the unjust workings of the corporate-media state. In Europe, Russia, China, and elsewhere, his ideas have profoundly affected the lives of millions. In modern capitalist America, he is persona non grata. If one wants a relevant proof, try to remember the last time you

heard Fidel Castro speaking uncensored on corporate television news.

Marx showed clearly the anti-social, selfish, brutal nature of capitalism, and its utter lack of concern for the welfare of human beings, unless you happened to be one of the minuscule percentage of owners of the means of production. The resonance of his thought galvanized workers to revolt, and indirectly led to the Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cuban, and Nicaraguan revolutions, as well as to the formation of labor unions in the United States.

It is critically important in evaluating Marx to remember that we have all...

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Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 18:58, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1698400.html