Social Thinkers Flashcards
Describe the prevalence of Marxist ideology?
He had a bizarre relationship with sociology. His ideas were very prevalent in eastern Europe but he did not occupy any fame in America, at least not until the 1960s. Before the 1960s, thinkers like CW mills never acknowledged his work and even Parsons discussed Marx’s work very short in his book. Whereas after the 1960s there were thinkers like Henry Lefebvre who said - that Marx was simply not a sociologist but there was sociology in his work.
In which book does Marx discuss historical materialism and Alienation?
Contribution to the critique of Political economy, 1937
Economic and Political manuscripts
state some famous quotes by Marx
History is man’s self-creation
Man is a perpetually dissatisfied animal
Ancient provide narrow satisfaction whereas modern leaves us unsatisfied.
Sheep Like consciousness during primitive communism.
consciousness from the very beginning is a social product.
Zoonpolitikon - Human is not just a social animal but an animal that can develop into an individual only in society.
It was the history of increasing control of man over nature and at the same time it was the history of increasing alienation.
It is not the consciousness of the man that determines his existence but on the contrary, it is their social being that determines their consciousness.
Emancipation will only be achieved when the real individual man has become species being.
Marx defines species-beings/emancipation as:
the first real emergence, the actual realisation for a man of man’s essence and of his essence as something real.
The history of Hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle.
Class struggle acts as the motor of history.
History repeats itself first as tragedy then as farce.
What are the principles of Hegel’s dialectical Materialism?
Reciprocal relations Relational view changes are driven through conflict and contradiction The world is preset and unchangeable facts and values are inseparable.
What is Materialism in HM
economy forms the base infrastructure.
Production is the first historical act
actions over philosophical speculations
materialistic understanding of both static and dynamic society.
CRITIC ( Historical Materialism)
over-emphasis on materialism ( Karl Popper - economic reductionist).
over-emphasis on conflict.
differential authority is the basis for conflict - Dahrendorf.
no emphasis on micro understanding.
Ollman wrt to Advanced communism
Communism is the time for full and personal appropriation.
Explain Human Potential
Power and Needs
Consciousness
perception, orientation and appropriation
sociability
Critic ( alienation )
Karl Popper - Breeding ground for innovation
Merton - it might motivate people to work harder
ED - solutions to anomie and alienation are present in the existing structures
Goldthorpe and Lockwood - work is means to an end.
Robert Blauner: alienation depends upon technology used at work
Max Weber: Over Bureaucratisaiton leads to alienation
Critic ( Class struggle)
Frank Parkin: stratification exists even in socialist societies
Ken Roberts: manual working class not developing any Class consciousness
Weber: other bases for developing classes
Lenski: New MOP after CMOP
Dahrendorf: Manual working class has become heterogeneous.
What is the perspective of ED’s sociology
to separate it from Philosophy and Psychology empirical observation study in terms of social facts no abstract theories universal law scientific methods objectivity similar to natural science has a specific subject matter
