This essay will focus on the works of Marx prior to 1846 specifically on the dominant theme of alienation and freedom. An attempt is made to paint an account of Marx’s concept of alienated labour which includes a discussion on the concept of alienation and the four types of alienation and how freedom can be achieved. In this regard understanding the influences on young Marx are also important and hence a brief discussion on the same is included. In the early works of Marx, notably his Economic
Marx first mentions alienation in the following statement, “The less you are, the more you have; the less you express your own life, the greater is your alienated life the greater is the store of you estranged being" (mcLellan, 2000) Here I think the most important part is the word "express", because in terms of life each person wishes to express themselves to their maximum limit. I think that no one wants to have a "store" of isolated being, because it would mean that one is holding something back. A man's life-activity is his work. In a capitalist society, the worker is alienated from his labour - 'he plays no part in deciding what to do or how to do it. The division of labour ensures that each worker only does one job, and the labour market decides which job any particular worker will do.
Browne once said "sociological perspectives centre on how much freedom or control the individual had to influence society" He goes on to comment on the two main approaches "structuralism is concerned with the overall structure of society and the way social institutions act as a constraint, or limit and control individual behaviour". Structuralism offers a view of the individual being controlled by the society they live in, Marx and Durkheim are similar in that they can both be described as structuralists, however their individual ideas are somewhat different. Functionalism was developed by Emile Durkheim, he believed like Comte that sociology should be viewed as a precise science and that society should be studied objectively. Durkheim placed an enormous amount of emphasis on social facts which he saw as ways of acting, thinking or feeling that are external to individuals and have their own reality outside the lives and perceptions of individual people. This is known as the macro approach, which places a great emphasis on the structure of society and how an individual operates with that society.
4. Discuss the similarities and differences between conflict/Marxist theories and functionalist theories in sociology. Marxism was founded by Karl Marx. Marx saw society as divided into two major parts, the economic base otherwise known as the infrastructure and the super-structure. Functionalists see society as a set of parts which work together to form a whole.
Analyse and explain the nature of Nazi government. by Geoff Pugh When considering the question of the nature of Nazi government it is necessary to consider three broad factors which are central to the understanding of it. Firstly, is the way in which Hitler led the Party prior to the seizure of power in 1933. It is then necessary to assess the relationship which developed between the Nazi Party and the existing structure and institutions of the State following the rise to power. Finally, it is necessary to consider the role which Hitler himself played in the Nazi regime, and the underlying debate as to whether or not the development of the nature of Nazi government was planned or accidental.
On the other word, this group of leisure class people usually would not produce tangible goods or any other goods, which have intrinsic worth. (The intrinsic worth in this content refers to produce a tangible unit by themselves) This group of people can be a ruler, warrior, priest or wealthy entrepreneur nowadays. One interesting characteristics of this leisure class is it exists when the society accumulates sufficient or excess amount of goods to support a group of “non-productive” people, which in this case, the leisure class. In the history of evolution, human race is the only living creature in the earth that does not required to compete with other species to struggle for a room to live. However, this does not mean we do not need to face any competition throughout our life.
This report is designed to highlight noticeable differences in culture between the USA and Germany. Since the purpose is to prepare Kelly Services for expanding into the German market, I will also note some similarities between the USA and Germany. The differences and similarities will be noted so that our people will have a better understanding of what they will encounter, what they should do, and what they should avoid when dealing with Germans. Some Basic Facts about Germany Historically, Germany has not been a nation for very long. Germany used to be composed of many different territories, principalities, and cities and was not unified into a German nation until 1871.
Only when the analysis of their main differences is looked at, can a stronger and broader understanding of capitalism be reached. Marx and Weber are both social scientists and devote much of their work to defining capitalism through understanding its creation, workings and causes. They arrive at two very distinct conclusions in their evaluation of capitalism caused by similar and distinctly different factors. Although they have studied the same system, it seems perplexing that Marx and Weber came to two fundamentally different conclusions. It would therefore seem that one must be right and one must be incorrect.
QUESTION: Critically analyse the factors that led to and immediate consequences of the Unification of the German states, assessing Otto von Bismarck as a key individual in this process. RESPONSE: The nation of Germany is only very young in that it had once been a group of individual states that were autonomous, sewn together over time by individuals such as Otto von Bismarck who manipulated the societal and political aspects of a nation in the making to develop the super-power that Germany was in the early 1970s. But it is not just the workings of one man that builds a man, but instead a combination of various factors that culminate to produce one final result, in this case, a nation built on ‘iron and blood’ Before one can even begin to look at the unification of the German states, they must first gain a solid understanding of what Germany was like beforehand. Germany did not originally exist as one nation, but as over 350 individual states, with Prussia and Austria being the two largest of these. The states were connected mainly by language and a simple political scheme.
Furthermore, the essay will donate to link the aforesaid historical phenomenon’s (protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism) to the advantages and of bureaucracy; it will also critically discuss the conflict theory (Karl Marx) and the functional theory (Weber) then critically discuss Weber and Marx views on class social stratification and status, it also going to discuss four values of social action and lastly answer the question why I support his ideas. Weber, by rationalisation, meant the process by which explicit, abstract, intellectually calculable rules and procedures are increasingly substituted for sentiment, tradition and rules of thumb in all spheres of activities (Wrong, 1970:26).What weber basically mean by this definition is that the social actions for people are becoming more and more based on fulfilling self-luxury rather than motivations drives like tradition, morality etc. For example, if you could ask a very determined and successful business man, why he works so hard to keep his business functioning and alive, he will answer that he is working for his children and grandchildren to have good life (Geddens, 1971:), whereas bureaucracy is the specialized adherence to fixed rules and hierarchical fixed authority (Website 1).This definition basically mean that bureaucracy is a type of domination that is organized hierarchically with strict chains of command from top to bottom(Website 1). Looking at the vesting that constitute this essay, it is definitely clear that the essay will