Marx, Weber, And Durkheim's Perspective On Inequality

1. Compare and contrast Marx, Weber, and Durkheim’s perspective on inequality. For each theorist, discuss the origins, social purpose, and consequences of inequality. Note important similarities AND differences. Each theorist has a certain way of looking and processing how they see the world around them such as explaining inequalities. Let’s begin with Marx, one of the most influential sociologists in the field. His theory was influenced primarily by Hegel’s idea of idealism, or his idea of a God dialectic. Hegel’s dialectic consisted of God (infinite) versus People (finite) who were in conflict. The whole point for Hegel, was to prove that God existed by showing the conflict that arises between the thesis and the antithesis can be solved
Weber sees sociology as a science/value free system through the inspiration of Durkheim. Durkheim also introduces the idea that religion creates a value system that lays down the foundation for how society behaves. For Marx it is the idea of change in the means of production (i.e. the printing press) that resonates with Weber. Technology (means of production according to Marx) not only allows a new version of Christianity to exist, but it adds a new fundamental step to the equation. Martin Luther’s printing press allowed for the individual to have their own relationship with god instead of being confined to only having it at
Stuart Hall walks a very fine line between ideology and discourse in his work, The West and the Rest. Hall expresses his opinions in the example between the West and the New World. He explains that since the encounter could not be defined as innocent, therefore the discourse that develops could not be innocent either. First, he discusses how Europe brought along its own cultural means to describe the New World including their languages, images, and ideas. The West tried to fit the New World into a pre-determined box of frameworks according to The West’s means of functioning and their wester traditions. Not surprisingly though, everyone has preconceptions about all that we encounter in life. That is how we learn and grow as not only a culture, but as individuals as well. Much of how we interpret the world is based upon what we already know about the world, which varies immensely based off of our material surroundings and upbringings. The second reasoning the encounter was far from innocent, was due to the simple fact that Europe had set objectives and motives for setting out to discover what lay behind the barriers that held them in. These barriers included both cultural and material components. During the renaissance there was a steep increase in production due to the development of Capitalism, which lead to an increase in demands for goods and natural resources. Europe being rather small at this