Durkheim believed that altruism is the basis of morality. He was critical of modern society because of the rise of individualism. Durkheim believed that the social structure of society is build upon social facts that cause habitual action (Durkheim 1971:xiv-xi). In order to understand the core of social action, the function of the social action [...]
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classical social theory
Weber’s concept of social stratification consisted of multiple dimensions which establish one’s life chances. Unlike Marx, Weber did not believe that stratification is monolithically established by ownership. According to Weber, there are infinite forms of stratification, not just two forms: owner and worker (Giddens 1971:165). He recognized the pluralism apparent in acquiring power in society [...]
Protestantism emerged from the Reformation and the rejection of otherworldly aestheticism form inner-worldly aestheticism. Aestheticism is the absence of worldly pleasure. Other-worldly aestheticism calls for the withdrawal from the world in order to avoid worldly pleasures and receive grace. On the other hand, inner-worldly aestheticism requires confrontation with the world and the avoidance of worldly [...]
Weber formulated various ideal types of social action and rationality to help with the understanding of the rationalization process. Weber believed that man rationalizes in various ways. He agreed with Kant that there are different modes of reason, including intellectual analysis and moral understanding (Ashley and Orenstein 2005:229). Rationalization is the regular patterns of society [...]
Marx believed that capitalism is the current mode of production developed by historical materialism. Capitalist society has inherent contradictions which will allow the progress of society and the creation a new social structure. Capitalism developed through the dialectic method of historical materialism and emerged from the contradictions in feudal society (Zeitlin 2001:171). Through trade, the [...]
Marx’s theory of historical materialism is based upon a dialectic model of the progression of society. Man develops history by changing the materials around him through labor. Historical materialism is an epistemology that explains human consciousness and social change through modes of production. Only through labor, can the human consciousness and the material world be [...]
Hegel had a strong influence on Marx. Marx built his ideas using Hegel’s rejection of positivism which sees “social facts” as the given form of truth (Zeitlin 2001: 147). Hegel did not believe that society was governed by ahistorical laws, instead, he believed that man can create the laws, and, therefore, create the self. Marx’s [...]
Mills defined the sociological imagination as an attempt to understand the individual in context to the larger social structure and history. Mills wrote, “The sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individual” (Mills 1959:5). [...]
