Marx Vs Durkheim
Alienation - Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim
Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are two of the founding fathers of sociology. They have both had a profound influence on the development of sociology. This essay will examine two of their theories - Marx’s theory of alienation and Durkheim’s theory of anomie, and will look at the similarities and differences in their thinking.
Marx (1818-1883) wrote the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts in 1844, and one of these manuscripts, entitled ’Estranged Labour’, contains his discussion of alienation - the experience of isolation resulting from powerlessness. Marx’s basic concern was with the structures of capitalism that cause this alienation. He offered a theory of alienation rooted in social structure. …show more content…
Marx’s assumption was that people basically need and want to work cooperatively, to acquire what they need to survive. Capitalism disrupts this cooperation. People, often strangers, are forced to work side by side for the capitalist, often in direct competition to produce more, or to work more quickly. Hostility is generated among the workers towards their peers. As universal competition becomes the norm, isolation and interpersonal hostility tend to make workers in capitalism alienated from fellow workers.
Durkheim (1858-1917), first used the concept of anomie in Division of Labour in 1893, but it was not until 1897 that he began to use the term in a more narrow sense to describe the overall deterioration of moral restraint in society. He believed that the primary function of society was to set limits to social wants by providing a moral framework of restraint. Anomie refers to the state which results in society when there is a decline of the social regulatory mechanisms and individuals do not have a clear concept of what is not proper and acceptable …show more content…
Marx doesn’t adopt such a psychological model; he believed there is no asocial basis for such conflict between the individual and society. For Marx, ’The individual is the social being’.
There is quite a close similarity between the ’constants’ lying behind the concepts of alienation and anomie. Both Marx and Durkheim emphasis the fact that human qualities, needs and motives, are in large part the product of social development. Both perceive a flaw in the theory of political economy, which treats egoism as the foundation of a theory of social order.
Alienation then, is the structurally imposed breakdown of the interconnectedness that is, to Marx, an essential part of life, at least in an ideal sense. Anomie can be defined as the state which society brought about by unchecked economic progress. While there are similarities and differences between the theories of Marx and Durkheim, there is one thing that is undisputed about these sometimes controversial sociologists - they have both had a great impact on the way the world’s people approach sociology today.
Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are two of the founding fathers of sociology. They have both had a profound influence on the development of sociology. This essay will examine two of their theories - Marx’s theory of alienation and Durkheim’s theory of anomie, and will look at the similarities and differences in their thinking.
Marx (1818-1883) wrote the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts in 1844, and one of these manuscripts, entitled ’Estranged Labour’, contains his discussion of alienation - the experience of isolation resulting from powerlessness. Marx’s basic concern was with the structures of capitalism that cause this alienation. He offered a theory of alienation rooted in social structure. …show more content…
Marx’s assumption was that people basically need and want to work cooperatively, to acquire what they need to survive. Capitalism disrupts this cooperation. People, often strangers, are forced to work side by side for the capitalist, often in direct competition to produce more, or to work more quickly. Hostility is generated among the workers towards their peers. As universal competition becomes the norm, isolation and interpersonal hostility tend to make workers in capitalism alienated from fellow workers.
Durkheim (1858-1917), first used the concept of anomie in Division of Labour in 1893, but it was not until 1897 that he began to use the term in a more narrow sense to describe the overall deterioration of moral restraint in society. He believed that the primary function of society was to set limits to social wants by providing a moral framework of restraint. Anomie refers to the state which results in society when there is a decline of the social regulatory mechanisms and individuals do not have a clear concept of what is not proper and acceptable …show more content…
Marx doesn’t adopt such a psychological model; he believed there is no asocial basis for such conflict between the individual and society. For Marx, ’The individual is the social being’.
There is quite a close similarity between the ’constants’ lying behind the concepts of alienation and anomie. Both Marx and Durkheim emphasis the fact that human qualities, needs and motives, are in large part the product of social development. Both perceive a flaw in the theory of political economy, which treats egoism as the foundation of a theory of social order.
Alienation then, is the structurally imposed breakdown of the interconnectedness that is, to Marx, an essential part of life, at least in an ideal sense. Anomie can be defined as the state which society brought about by unchecked economic progress. While there are similarities and differences between the theories of Marx and Durkheim, there is one thing that is undisputed about these sometimes controversial sociologists - they have both had a great impact on the way the world’s people approach sociology today.