Compare and contrast Karl Marx and Max Weber's approach towards the understanding of Capitalism
Answers
COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE KEY IDEAS OF MARX AND WEBER
Karl Marx and Max Weber are recognized as two of the most prominent theorists of the 19th century. Many might argue that there are many similarities between these sociologist’s theories, however although Marx and Weber both examined similar ideas, they noticeably came to two drastically different conclusions. During this essay I am going to compare and contrast the ideas of these two influential sociologists to see whether there are any similarities in their understanding of society. I will attempt to gather enough evidence in order to draw conclusions on whether Marx and Weber are indeed as different as is so often claimed or whether their similarities are significant enough to class them as having comparable understandings in their key ideas.
Marx took inspiration from Hegel, and consequently came up with the idea of base and superstructure. The base is the relationships that arise as a result of production and the superstructure are the ideas and relationships that the base relations determine (S.H.Rigby). He was also strongly influenced by the classical political economists who came up with the labour theory of value. This states that the real ‘cost’ of a product was determined by how much labour went into it (Evans). From these and other influences Marx came up with his extremely influential ideas about the economy as a whole.
In Marx’s opinion, the mode of production is what shapes history; he believed that the ways in which people make products is the catalyst that governs the Western society. Marx suggested that as workers lost control over what they produced, they were forced to sell their labour and therefore be exploited which inevitably alienated them from their work. Marx argued that as Capitalism expands, competition increases which inevitably means power will fall to an increasingly smaller minority, which will leave a division between “The property owners and the property-less workers” (Marx)
Firstly, I am going to outline some similarities within Marx and Weber’s theories. The first is the idea that “individuals are ruled by abstractions”, which is the foundation to both theorists’ ideas. An example of this could be taken from their views on feudalism. Feudal economics meant that people didn’t want to make a profit but instead sold products at a reasonable price for their ‘use value’ (Marx). Weber’s explanation of feudalism is that ‘private property is a result of military violence’ within a political structure. Marx, On the other hand explains feudalism as a result of ‘the means of production within an economic structure’ (Mannheim).
All in all, many sociologists might argue that both Marx and Weber each offer one layer of interpretation to put over complex reality. They propose two different explanations, both of which can be criticized. However, their theories have been prominent for centuries, which therefore suggests that both Marx and Weber’s came up with two of the most influential theories of their time. Some sociologists might argue that Weber’s contribution was perhaps more subtle than Marx’s, nonetheless it is clear that by studying both Marx and Weber’s theories on Capitalism, we gain a greater understanding of Capitalism as a whole.
Please make my answer as brainliest