Carl Marx Essay

Submitted By caspins
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Marx is interested in change and recognizes the problems. Is never afraid to say what’s wrong.
Adam Smith!!! Know him!
The Invisible Hand. If you have a market economy you don’t have to plan how much to produce or how much to sell or where to sell the invisible hand takes care of it. Supply and Demand. It regulates itself.
Communist society. Govt determines who makes what and ships how much of it where.
A theory- Idea of how things work. Kind of like a blue print. Shows you things you might otherwise not figure out. Offers predictions.
Most physical sciences have one overarching theory. One theory that everyone buys into. Sociology has no unified theory.
Every theorist has unspecified assumption on which the theory is based.
Social theories are different from Hard science theories.
Social theories are more evaluative
Sociologists want to make the world better.
Subjects of inquiry (people) have free will
They don’t behave predictably all the time
Universal laws are hard to find
People are motivated by self-interest, altruism, passion, tradition, habit, etc.
We have no over arching paradigm.
Instead we have several competing/complementary paradigms- Structural/functionalism. Conflict theory, interactionism, subjectivist theories
August Comte
Thought the social world could be studied and analyzed just like the physical world. Develop a systematic method to analyze the elements/functions of social systems
Establish testable generalizations

Emile Durkheim
Was ambivalent about the new changes in social structure- life as we know it will change.
Sought to establish social facts
-Conditions and circumstances that affect human action
Sought to systematically study the influence of social facts.
Karl Marx
Was afraid of the little mad would be stepped on
Sought to understand society in order to solve that social and moral problem
Max Weber
Was afraid the real joy of life would be lost in the development of technology and bureaucracy
Sought to understand the influence of ideas and belief on human society
Sought to understand the impact of the new organizational structures on human life
Key points to look for
Individual versus the collective
Rational versus Nonrational
What are the underlying assumptions?
-Of people-are they inherently good or evil?
-of God, spirit, invisible world (including emotions)?
-Of order-are things hierarchically structured?
Thesis, anthisis and synthesis-Hegel

Dialectic
Discuss Marx

Alienation
Workers become isolated because of their feeling of powerlessness
-From their work-it is repetitive and boring
-From the product- they never see the end
-From other workers- out of boredom
-From human potential- they are not given scope to develop beyond
False Consciousness
Workers “buy into” the capitalist order
They become happy to be a part of the system even though they don’t benefit
They believe that the owner is justified in his position of power
Class Consciousness -Marx wanted this
Marx wanted them to realize that they are being taken advantage of, and rebel against the Bourgeoisie.

The result would be Revolution.
Communism
The society in which “the people” hold everything in common
-“from each according to his ability to each according to his need”
Socialism is the first stage of the development of Communism according to Marx
Premise of Capitalism
Adam Smith- Invisible Hand
-Markets are not regulated, so anyone can enter and compete
-Consumers will buy what they want and need, determining the price and availability
-When there is too much, the price will go down and people will leave the market
-When there is not enough, the price will go up and others will enter the market.
Marx: Capitalism is