Marx, Weber, and Durkheim

Three common ideologies of social class come from the sociologists Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. Marx and Weber are typically both referred to as conflict theorists, that is, conflict among individuals as well as certain groups occurred in society as all social order involved opposing interests. Durkheim, however, is often referred to as a functionalist, where he believed society was actually ruled by harmony rather than conflict and that social class existed in a certain state of cohesion. Studying all three sociological interpretations of social class is important when attempting to understanding social stratification.

Marxist class theory discusses a sort of war between the social classes between those who control production and those who produce the goods and services. He divided them into two main classes: the bourgeoisie, otherwise known as capitalists, and the proletariat, or the workers. According to Marx:

Masses of laborers, crowded into the factory, are organised like soldiers. As privates of the industrial army they are placed under the command of a perfect hierarchy of officers and sergeants. Not only are they slaves of the bourgeois class, and of the bourgeois State; they are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the overlooker, and, above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself. [if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span>CITATION Mar14 \p 135 \l 1033 <span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span><[if supportFields]><span style='mso-element: field-end'></span><![endif]

Weber was also a conflict theorist but his views on social class were less simplistic than Marx; he believed in three main dimensions of social stratification. These dimensions included economic inequality, status measures of social prestige, and power. In his theory, Weber does not simply account all inequality to social class; he also discusses the concept of social status which may not necessarily relate to an economic basis. According to Weber:

Only persons who are completely unskilled, without property and dependent on employment without regular occupation, are in a strictly identical class situation. Transitions from one class situation to another vary greatly in fluidity and in the ease with which an individual can enter the class. Hence the unity of ‘social’ classes is highly relative and variable. (Weber, 2014, p. 175)

Finally, Durkheim does not view the concept of social class as a matter of conflict but that of harmony within a society. Different social classes must coexist for cohesiveness within society to be possible. A division of labor is necessary, particularly as societies become larger, and individuals from different social classes and skill levels need each other to survive and succeed. [if supportFields]><span style='mso-element: field-begin'></span>CITATION Dur14 \p 219 \l 1033 <span style='mso-element: field-separator'></span><[if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span><![endif]

C. Wright Mills and Anthony Giddens discussed issues related to elite status and power. Mills describes the power elite as individuals that are in the position to make decisions that would have major consequences on the rest of society. Their decisions are able to bear upon military, political, and economical developments around the world. These power elite influence the lives of the rest of society, who in comparison remain relatively powerless. (Mills, 2014, p. 283) Giddens further discusses this idea of the power elite, emphasizing a hierarchy that exists among the elite groups. For instance, some groups hold greater power over specific decisions than others such as those in the economic elite may be more able to induce political decisions. (Giddens, 2014, p. 296)

Bibliography

Durkheim, E. (2014). The Division of Labor in Society. In D. B. Grusky, Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective. Boulder: Westview Press.

Giddens, A. (2014). Elites and Power. In D. B. Grusky, Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective. Boulder: Westview Press.

Marx, K. (2014). Classes in Capitalism and Pre-Capitalism. In D. B. Grusky, Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective. Boulder: Westview Press.

Mills, C. W. (2014). The Power Elite. In D. B. Grusky, Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective. Boulder: Westview Press.

Weber, M. (2014). Status Groups and Classes. In D. B. Grusky, Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective. Boulder: Westview Press.

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