- 01/12/2012
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4. What evidence is there to assess the adequacy and/or inadequacy of Marx’s predictions about the relationship between workers and large employers?
According to Marx, the essence of relations between the ruling and exploited classes is that the ruling class exploits the working class. In capitalism, property owners will buy the labor of workers.
Consequently, the idea of Marx: human history is marked by the struggle of groups that can be called social classes. Capitalist society is characterized by two kinds of contradictions, which, incidentally, referred to in scholarly works of Marx. In the center of Marx’s conception – the interpretation of the capitalist system as controversial, in which dominates the class struggle. (Adams, 2001)
He predicted that the proletarian revolution would put the end of classes and antagonistic character of capitalist society. This revolution would end at the same time the destruction of capitalism.
Marx’s prediction was wrong, capitalism has not led to results that he expected. First, there was a significant stratification within the proletariat. And secondly, now the social and economic position of working class is good, as most people identify themselves with the “middle class”, so there is no need for a revolution.
5. List and explain the four social types of Simmel
Simmel was the founder of “formal sociology”, where society according to Simmel – is a set of forms of interaction , and therefore they must be investigated on their own, and not as functional elements of the whole. (Delaney, 2003)
In works on the sociology Simmel singled out certain forms of social interaction of people remaining in all historical epochs. The study of these forms is the subject of formal sociology.
One of the categories of social forms, that Simmel studied, was a social type. A person involved in some kind of relationship, finds some of the characteristic qualities which are intrinsic to it, so that shown constant regardless of the nature of a particular interaction. Examples of social types studied Simmel – a cynic, poor man, a flirt, an aristocrat, etc. (Delaney, 2003)buy term paper
As the group grows, according to Simmel, its members are becoming less like each other. Strengthening identity is accompanied by degradation of the group. Conversely, the smaller, the peculiar the group is, the less is the individuality of its representatives.
6. Which theory or theorist did you like best and learn the most about? Explain who and why?
I would like to point out the “THEORY OF JUSTICE” by John Rawls.
Rowles set the task to study the principles of justice, which could serve as a universally valid criterion of moral evaluation of social systems. Justice, as he believes, can not be the concept that defines all the advantages of “the basic structure of society”, which they interpreted as a set of rules adopted by individuals of social cooperation.
The principles of justice are only a part, though, perhaps the most important part of such a concept. They, according to Rowles, provide rational standards by which evaluated aspects of the basic structure of society, which includes, in addition to rules, evaluated in terms of fairness, the rules that meet the criteria of efficiency and freedom. (Berberoglu, 2005)
Theory of Justice Rawls is perhaps the most significant attempt in Western ethics from a liberal standpoint to understand the moral conflicts of the modern capitalist society, to implement a rational synthesis of the conflicting demands of this society opposing social classes and groups. Rowles was trying to create the perfect design that could serve as a model of harmonization, the rational combination.
Works cited
Adams, B. N. and Sydie, R. A.. “Sociological Theory”. Pine Forge Press, 2001.
Berberoglu, B. “An Introduction to Classical and Contemporary Social Theory: A Critical Perspective”. (3rd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005
Delaney, T. “Classical Social Theory”. Prentice Hall, 2003
Macionis, John J.; Plummer, K. “Sociology. A Global Introduction”. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2005.
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