Definitions
- Bourgeoisie: In Marxism, the class which owns and control the means of production within the capitalist system.
- Feudalism: An economic and social system, characteristic of Medieval Europe, in which those who owned land (known as lords) granted control of it to others (known as vassals) in exchange for service and labour.
- Proletariat: In Marxism, the class which does not own and control the means of production within the capitalist system. To subsist, members of the proletariat must sell their labour power to the bourgeoisie for a wage.
- Class Consciousness: In Marxism, one’s self awareness of one’s class, its interests, and its relationship to the means of production.
- Revolution: A forcible overthrow of an existing government or social organization. In Marxism, revolution specifically refers to the overthrow of a ruling class by a ruled class.
- Alienation: In Marxism, the process by which workers are separated or estranged from the products of their labour. Marx holds that in the capitalist system of production workers lose control over their labour and its products; as a result their labour becomes something foreign to them.
- Realm of Necessity: A situation in which individuals are constrained by the need to satisfy their material needs.
- Realm of Freedom: A situation in which individuals are free to act as they please, unconstrained by material necessities.
- Material (Marxism): All that is independent from thought and ideas.
- Production: The provision of goods or services.
- Culture: A set of practices and norms widely shared by members of a group.
- Elective Affinity: A relationship between cultural elements, in which each reinforces, supports, or affirms the other.
- Protestant Ethic: A belief in hard work, thrift, and personal discipline, common to the values of Protestant faith.
- Vocation: Employment or occupation that someone is emotionally or morally drawn towards or to which they are particularly dedicated, qualified or well suited.
- Sect: A sub-group (typically religious) which has branched off or broken away from a main group.
- Consumption: The utilization of goods or services.
- Rational Action (Weber)/Rationality: A type of social action, guided by conscious ideas and decisions. Can be opposed to traditional action, action guided by habit, or affective action, action guided by emotion.
- Bureaucracy (Weber): A form of administrative organization, characterised by hierarchy, chain of command, division of labour, formal procedures, and impersonal interaction.
- Charismatic Leadership: In Weber, a form of leadership is which authority depends on the personal charisma of the leader. Charismatic leaders are typically thought to possess exceptional abilities or qualities, setting them apart from other individuals.
- Iron Cage of Rationality: A situation in which individuals are increased compelled to act in accordance with dictates of efficiency, calculation, and rationality.
- Equality of Opportunity: Used to describe a situation in which individuals can compete on the same terms, or on a ‘level playing field’.
- Division of Labour: the separation of tasks in a productive system. Generally divided into two forms: the division of labour in manufacture, referring to specialization within organizations or manufactories, and the division of labour in society, referring to an increase in occupational distinctions.
- Mechanical Solidarity: The integration of a group by way of shared values, norms, ideas, and behaviours.
- Organic Solidarity: The integration of a group by way of mutual interdependence.
- Social Order: A situation of social stability, in which the norms or structures of a society are generally supported and maintained by its members. Typically contrasted with a state of disorder or chaos.
- Fatalism: In Durkheim, a social state characterised by excessively strong norms, or ‘over-regulation,’ in which freedom of behaviour is heavily constrained. Feelings of fatalism are associated with a sense of oppression and hopelessness, and may cause fatalistic suicide.
- Anomie: In Durkheim, a social state characterised by dramatic shifts in individual status, typically as the result of rapid, unregulated economic change. Feelings of anomie are associated with frustration, uncertainty, and unhappiness, and may cause anomic suicide.
- Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft: Typically translated as community and society. Gemeinschaft refers to social ties based on personal interaction, such as those of family and friendship. Gesellschaft refers to social ties based on impersonal interaction, such as those of commerce.
- Blasé attitude: In Simmel, a detached attitude towards events and other people required to navigate life in a city – also a flatting and homogenization of spontaneity, unpredictable and ironically also of the individuality that city life appears to afford.
- Risk Society/Societies: Societies that are increasingly dominated by a concern over risk and a desire to regulate and control risk, central of which are risks ironically caused by science and technology and a culture that believed risks can be fundamentally mitigated.
- Post modernity: A term used to describe cultural patterns or social structures which seem to depart from, or to otherwise break with, those characteristic of ‘modern’ societies.
- Liquid Modernity: In Bauman, a new type of modernity, associated with the contemporary area. Liquid modernity describes a condition of constant change, instability, and mobility, affecting all areas of human life.
- Networked Selves: A term used to describe the effects of social networking and digital technologies on one’s sense of self.
- Values: Ideas or judgements about the kind of society in which people want to live, or about what constitutes a good society, can guide action.
- Social Statics: analyses concerned with the present structure of societies, or with understanding the stability of current social orders. Contrasted with social dynamics.
- Social Dynamics: analyses concerned with patterns and processes of social change. Contrasted with social statics.
Books on the General Topic
Royce, E. 2015. Classical Social Theory and Modern Society. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Elliott, A. 2014. Contemporary Social Theory: An introduction. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Elliott, A. 2014. Introduction to Contemporary Social Theory. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Graeber, D. 2018. Bullshit Jobs, New York: Simon & Schuster.
Research Monographs
Turner, C., 2010. Investigating Sociological Theory. Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE.
Pietila, K., 2010. Reason of Sociology: George Simmel and Beyond. 1st ed. SAGE Publications.
Bryant, C. and Peck, D., 2007. 21st Century Sociology. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Contemporary Articles
Journal of Classical Sociology 20th Anniversary Special Issue on Classical Sociology
- Gives a very comprehensive historical overview of anthropological studies of Indigenous Australians. Although focused on anthropology, it discusses issues that are equally relevant to the sociology of the time. There is some discussion of Durkheim.
- Discusses the foundation of sociology in the era of European colonialism and provides a postcolonial critique of dominant sociological accounts.
- Easy to read and understand, shows that modern scholars are still reading Durkheim for hypotheses and ideas.
- Discusses ideas of globalization in Durkheim’s work.
- Useful to explain Durkheim’s ideas, and to show their relevance in contemporary scholarly discussions.
- Connects Durkheim to a relevant contemporary issue; discusses solidarity, collective consciousness, functionalism, other such topics.
- Theoretical piece, helps describe and explain the concept of elective affinities.
- Useful links between Weber’s work and contemporary issues.
- Philosophical discussion of the relationship between Weber and Marx.
- Uses Durkheimian and Weberian conceptual tools to analyse ICT. Explicit mention of mechanical solidarity and the iron cage.
- Useful links to later topics ion the book, such as digital technologies and the network society.
- Interesting article, combining elements of Weberian and Marxist analysis.
- Contemporary attempt to apply Marxist ideas and concepts.
- Discussion of the relevance of Marx’s ideas in relation to Hochschild’s work.
- Hits on many of this themes of the chapter: continuity and change, Marx and Weber, and the sociological imagination.
Kemple, T. 2020. A Century After Weber and Simmel. Theory, Culture & Society. Online Early, 1–10.
- Highlights their relevance to problems and questions still being posed and contemplated today.
Discussion Questions
- Sociology arose during a period of significant social change. Describe some of the changes which Marx, Durkheim, and Weber were trying to understand.
- How relevant are Marx’s ideas about capitalism today? What aspects of his thought do you agree or disagree with?
- Durkheim argued that societies depend on mechanisms of social cohesion. How do you think modern societies create cohesion? Do we have sufficient cohesion?
- Weber argued that modern societies would become “iron cages of rationality.” What did he mean by this, and do you think his prediction was accurate?
- Marx and Weber had different views about the emergence of capitalism. Where do they disagree, and who do you think offers the better explanation?
- What are the major changes impacting contemporary societies? Do you think they challenge the relevance of the ‘big three’ theorists?
Chapter References
- Durkheim, E (1915) The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. George Allen & Unwin.
- Durkheim, E (1933) The Division of Labour in Society. Free Press.
- Durkheim, E (1951) Suicide: A Study in Sociology. Free Press.
- Durkheim, E (1964) The Rules of Sociological Method. Free Press.
- Hughes, JA, Sharrock, WW and Martin, PJ (2003) Understanding Classic Sociology:
- Marx, Weber, Durkheim, 2nd edn. SAGE.
- Marx, K (1963) The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. International Publishers.
- Marx, K (1964) Selected Writings in Sociology and Political Philosophy. McGraw Hill.
- Marx, K (1970) The German Ideology. Lawrence & Wishart.
- Marx, K (1976) Capital. Penguin.
- Marx, K and Engels, F (1983) The Communist Manifesto. Penguin.
- Mills, CW (1959) The Sociological Imagination. Oxford University Press.
- Morrison, K (2006) Marx, Weber, Durkheim: Formations of Modern Social Thought, 2nd edn. Sage.
- Simmel, G (1950) ‘The Metropolis and Mental Life’, in The Sociology of Georg Simmel. Free Press, pp. 409–424.
- Sorokin, P (1937–41) Social and Cultural Dynamics, 4 vols. American Book Company. The Foundations of Sociology Tönnies, F (1955) Community and Association (Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft). Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Weber, M (1946) From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. Oxford University Press.
- Weber, M (1958) The City. Free Press.
- Weber, M (1958) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Charles Scribner’s Sons.
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