Social Order In The Working Class Group example essay topic

INTRODUCTION Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are some of the founding fathers in the Sociological discipline. Each developing the discipline in their respective area, contributed to the social science course becoming what it is today. Durkheim the man who coined the term social facts and some sociological theories on functionalism, division of labour in society, education and social solidarity, methodology, positivism and sociology, primitive classification, religion and suicide. Durkhiem believe that social facts should be considered as things in the same way as the objects and events of the natural world. Karl Marx is the person responsible for the conflict perspective, also had some sociological theories on alienated labour, culture, labour theory and commodities, the lower strata, the middle class, power and the state, religion, ruling ideas, social stratification, unemployment, women, the working class. In his theories you will notice factors that will explain what he was trying to accomplish, which later manifested itself in the Communism of Russia.

MR. EMILE DURKHEIM BIOGRAPHY web Durkheim Mr. Emile David Durkheim, the founder of the modern field of sociology, was born in Epinal, France on April 15, 1858. The An nee Sociologique was the first journal committed to social science and was created by Mr. Durkheim. He came for a long history of pious French Jews, his father and grandfather was Rabbis. Durkheim himself was also studying to become a Rabbi, but at the age of thirteen after his Jewish confirmation he was influenced by a female Catholic teacher to study Catholicism. After some time he was no longer involved in any religion and became a nonbeliever. A brilliant student he was at the College d'Epinal, he was awarded various honours and prizes.

Having such academic potential, he was transferred to one of France's great high schools, the Lychee Louis-le-Grand in Paris. After he wanted to attend the prestigious Ecole Normale Superierure, the intellectual training ground for best of France. To attend he had to undergo an admission examination which Durkheim failed twice, but, in 1879 on his third try he was finally admitted. His classmates were some of the most brilliant of the nineteenth century, such as Jean Ja ures and Henri Bergson who became important figures in France's intellectual life. Fustel de Coulanges a perfectionist with a social scientific view, studied with Durkheim in Ecole Normale Superierure. Durkheim's interested in a scientific approach to society manifested when he read Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer.

While attending Ecole Normale Superierure he seems to loose interest and became unhappy there. He rebelled against the course study, which did not teach what he wanted to learn which are modern philosophical doctrines or the recent findings of the science. Later he traveled to Germany where he studied Sociology of a year and to Bordeaux in 1887, where France's first teacher's center was established. There he taught pedagogy and social science, and from this position, he reformed the French school system and introduced social science to the curriculum. In the 1890's a period where his creativity shined when he published The Division of Labour in Society in 1893. He also published two other pieces of literature, Rules of the Sociological Method in 1895 that stated what is sociology and in 1897 he published Suicide.

In World War 1 he actively supported his country and was reluctant in giving into simplistic nationalist passion (in combination with the fact that he was a Jew) made his a target for the ascendant French right. They accused him of being disloyal and favoring the German enemies. In 1816 Andre, Durkheim's only son was killed on the Bulgarian front, which became a mental block Durkheim never was able to recover. He was emotionally overwhelmed and worn-out; he collapsed and died of a stroke on November 15, 1817. EMILE DURKHEIM FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVES He believes that individuals have little or no control over their actions and the society mould individuals. Passed on to individuals are beliefs and morals which go through generations and are shared by the individuals in society.

Society possesses certain functional prerequisites, these are necessary in order for social order. This is important for human nature, because he believes in human nature there are two sides, the selfish and the moral value side. In the selfish side individuals are driven to look after their own interest and this makes trouble for them to integrate in society. The side of moral value is where individuals are interested in others, other than themselves.

Consensus is when individuals of society put their differences away and agree on important moral issues to maintain social order in society. This show what is acceptable and right in society and what is not; this is done in order for individuals to bound together and form an integrated unit. Collective consensus orders individuals to act in terms of social requirements; this is a factor outside the individual and is necessary for it to be forced upon the individual. (Haralambos and Holborn 2004 6th ed. Pg. 938) RELIGIONDurkheim's believed of religion the world is divided into two categories by society: the sacred and the profane.

Religion is a system that containing beliefs and practices related to sacred things. These animals, persons or things that symbolize something scared are believed to have important significance. Collective conscience is reinforced through religion; it provides members of society with power to direct human action. The basis of social life that is formed by values and moral beliefs is strengthened by the worship of society. Religion gives the required authority to society's moralities through collective worship, this involves members coming together to perform religious rituals and ceremonies. This allows society to communicate, express and understand moral bonds which bring them together.

Durkheim stated "religious worship is really the worship of the social group or society". (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004. pg 406) EDUCATION Durkheim states the school system serves a function that family or peer group cannot. School teaches the individuals to cooperate and interact with others, other that kin or friends, in terms of society's rules. These rules should be strictly enforced by punishment which tells the offender the seriousness of the damage done. In doing this pupils would learn self-discipline and understand misbehavior damages society. Education prepares individuals in specific skills necessary for future occupation, this is important in complex and specialized division of labour.

Education teaches 'values, which provide necessary homogeneity for social survival and specific skills, which provide the necessary diversity for social cooperation. ' (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004. pg. 692) KARL MARX BIOGRAPHY web Heinrich Marx, son for a successful Jewish lawyer, was born on May 15, 1818 into a middle-class home in Trier on the river Moselle, Germany. At seventeen he enrolled at Bonn University where he studied law, while at Bonn he engaged Jenny von Westphalin, the daughter of Baron von Westphalin. Marx's father sent him to the University of Berlin the following year where he stayed for four years. He joined the Young Hegelian movement, a group rated theologians Bruno Bauer and David Friedrich Strauss, created an essential critique of Christianity by suggesting the opposition to the Prussian autocracy. Marx was editor in the Rheinische Zeituna and in his articles were economic questions which forced the government to close down the paper.

Karl Marx and Jenny, his wife, emigrated to France and here he met his lifelong partner Friedrich Engels (1820-1895). Marx became a communist and demonstrated his perspectives in a series of writings identified as Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts (1844) which was published nearly a century later in the 1930's. Marx summarized a humanist conception of communism, via the philosophy of Ludwig Feuerbach, based on a difference between alienated nature of labour under capitalist and a communist society where human beings are free to develop their nature in cooperative production. Marx was banned from Paris, Engels and Marx went to Brussels where they stayed for three years. While they were in Brussels Marx dedicated himself to a rigorous study of history what came to be known as the materialist conception of history. He simultaneously written The German Ideology and The Poverty of Philosophy against the socialism of P.J. Proudhon (1809-1865).

Marx became a member of the Communist League, and Engels and Marx, both became the theoreticians. He went back to Paris in 1848 when the revolution of Germany began and there he found the Neue Rheinische Zeituna, this paper supported democracy against the Prussian autocracy. Marx was devoted to editorship since the Communist League was practically separated. His paper was censored and he went into exile in May 1849, in London. In London Marx and his family lived in poverty, he earned an income at Engels' increases from the family business and articles for the New York Daily Tribune he written as a foreign correspondent. He written an enormous manuscript of 800 pages in 1857 on capital, landed property, wage labour, the state, foreign trade and the world market this was published in 1841.

His health declined and was unable to continue efforts that typify his work before, he manage to get a chance to comment on contemporary politics in Germany and Russia. When he corresponded with Vera Zasulich, Marx considered the possibility that Russia might bypass the capitalist stage of development and communism. In his final years his health showed no improvement. He travelled to Europe and even to Algeria thinking that he would recuperate. The death of his wife and daughter stained the last years of his life.

While sleeping in his armchair Marx died peacefully on March 14, 1883. MARX'S WORK CONFLICT OR MARX'S PERSPECTIVE. Marx dedicated his time and effort to uncover the weakness of the bourgeoisie system which would unsurprisingly direct the movement of the proletariat's to overthrow the capitalist (bourgeoisie) system. In society Marx saw two major groups present, the ruling class also known as the capitalist or the bourgeoisie, the kings of production with all the resources.

They had the raw materials, machines and production methods. The other is the subject class also known as the working class or the proletariat and they own their labour only. The bourgeoisie hire the proletariat's and give them next to nothing wages in return for their labour. In relationship between these two classes, there are the proletariat's, who are the exploited and oppressed, and the exploiters and oppressors, the bourgeoisie's. They exploit the proletariat's and gain wealth at their expense by making them work hard and give them less that the worth of their labour. The bourgeoisie's legitimize control by "projecting a distorted picture of reality", which they use to disguise the real conflict between the class and have social order in the working class group.

The proletariat's had a false class consciousness from the bourgeoisie's, who tell the proletariat's that this is the real nature of society one class work and the next accumulate the wealth because they supply the material resources. After some time the working class would realize the nature of the situation, their knowledge of the exploitation would increase and would develop a common identity and recognize their shared interests and unite. The working class became the larger of the two groups, and this, enables them to overthrow the capitalist system of the bourgeoisie. The proletariat's all rise against the oppression and exploitation which the capitalist placed on them. The capitalist struggled to have control over them but once the working class united there was no way they could bring back the order and this is where the revolution started. The end results are no more class division and all the resources, production and wealth will be shared equally between everyone.

These are the factors of a communist society. CULTURE Culture derives from the first society through humanity's creation. It originated form productive activity of humans, as they extend 'the work they do beyond their survival needs', self consciousness developed and this allowed them to make their culture. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004. pg. 795) Using their imagination, when they lived in freedom, fulfill themselves by creative activities Marx believes. In human freedom problems arise when they were restricted by private property. Some individuals accumulated large amounts of private property at the exploitation of others; the others that have no property loosed their freedom because they are not part of the ruling class society.

They became alienated as they are forced to work in order to survive, for the ruling class. The ruling class structures society's culture with their economic power. They also produce a false class consciousness which the working class suffer from. Different classes will have different cultures and views of the world because their conditions of materials existence are different. The working class will develop class consciousness and see the ruling class distorted ideology and communism would replace capitalism and 'humans can return to creating things that expressed their true humanity'. (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004. pg. 795) WOMEN Power is greatly enjoyed by men that women because it is the men that own the resources of production, or earn the wages.

Inequalities would be reduced between women and men through capitalism. Proletariat women in the family, status and power would rise at the demand of wages; this would give them liberty from husbands and male dominance in the family. Communism would bring true equality between men and women. Means of production, socialization of housework and childcare would go together. There would be no sexual inequalities.

COMPARISON OF DURKHEIM AND MARX SS Durkheim was always talking about what must be done for society to run smoothly but it seems that he never thought that conflicts exist. SS In his theories he strongly promotes complexity in the society. SS Marx on the other hand is the opposite of Durkheim he sees conflict at every point. His main point was conflict occurs because of economic class division. SS In his theories Marx is trying to bring back the simple society. BIBLOGRAPHYBOOKSHaralambos and HoldbornSociology: Themes and Perspectives 6th Edition.

2004 Anthony Giddens and Mitchell Dune ier Introduction to Sociology 3rd Edition 2000 WEBSITES web Durkheim web.