Marxism and Durkheim Theory - Essay Example

Task Marxism and Durkheim Theory Introduction There existed numerous noticeable changes in the industrial era to counter the functionality of tasks during the pre-industrial era. There was a realized slow development rate in the pre-industrial society that limited its development and general completion of duties that bettered individual’s lifestyle. This period limited the development of the entire society because most individuals had little knowledge of what happened beyond their boundaries with poorly developed communication methods. Production of materials had been at a reduced pace with inadequate skills and technological knowledge to boost overall services applied in agriculture. There was a realized increase in loses because there existed poor agricultural techniques and storage method that could have preserved the yields experienced in the farms. Another attribute of this system was a minimal realization of the social classes within the society and most individuals experienced similar or less development. Individuals struggled to develop their livelihood in this society as a comfortable life led sought to revolve around agriculture and less on technology. Rural societies embraced this format of societal functioning and worked on improving the general family yield to support individual development. With the emergence of new technologies and a need to accelerate development especially in trade patterns, towns developed into trading centers. Here, knowledge and skills needed to control the general development impacted people’s creativity and agility in development. These impairments sought to the development of the industrial society where advanced adjustments were created to tackle problems that hindered productivity and development (Lee, 1982, 115). The industrial society was driven by technological advancements that improved productivity and supported more individuals who had then started specializing in various development sectors. Satisfaction in production was channeled from family basis to an industrial level that boosted overall development in societal technology and production. With the development of industries, labor force in the industries was boosted to accommodate required changes sufficient to support the growing economy. Industrialized societies brought much competition within individual and companies as urbanization took shape to improve the lifestyles that had been created by the capitalists. My essay dwells on two theories that may relate to these developments in the society in the struggle for development, Marxism and Durkheim’s theory. Marxism In this theory, Karl Marx believes that all the components of the universe are natural and are based on nature’s law basing his theory in philosophical materialism. This theory disputes the presence of supernatural composition of the environments believing that all constituents are tangible and can be altered (Biorseth, 2009). Marx and Engels who invented Marxism generated the theory commonly known as dialectical materialism merging these two concepts to explain their resolve in the identification of the universal components to be materialistic (Marx, 1998, 68). They further stress on facts proving that there is continued evolution in the natural components and boundaries crated by people are virtual They further believe that the world consists of various elements that are all related and dependent. A change in one entity may result in an alteration in the other and all restrictions are majorly created by the human imagination limiting freedom. According to Marx and Engels, science is greatly applied in the quest to solve mysteries impacting major revelations in obtaining explanation to difficult questions presented by nature (Jonathan, 2011). In Metaphysical type of materialism, Marx states that the type of idea or resolve within a particular individual is influenced by his brain components without stressing on anything else. In his work, Marx explained the development of a capitalist economy and principles applied to run this type of economy with the emergence of a wage-labor system (Parker, 2011). The capitalism system had developed as a result of the individuals to improve their livelihood with increased demand by the society for their overall individual developments (Clayton, 2006). Marx articulated the development of wage-labor from the attribute in the exchange of product to labor sales. Capitalism led to a major system of governance that saw labor traded instead of the specific products acquired from applying physical efforts (Brewer & Brewer, 2002, 27). Marx explains that profits are a value emanating from surplus obtained from sales of the products though not enjoyed by the worker (Mandel, 2002, 4). This extra profit is the constituent of the surplus-value that is not enjoyed in any form by the laborer. All the profits made define the capitalists in the society for they apply means to deprive development to the laborers making them to dominate the market industry. Labor and natural elements normally affect an object’s use-value which is applied to indicate the usability of an entity in want/need satisfaction. Exchange-value on the other hand, is the value the community possesses in the market that is mainly generated by the environmental setting. Most products normally have variable qualities in the society and their exchange value determined by external factors that constitute to the overall composition of the final product, especially in its production. The backbone of this theory lies in the presence of differentiated social classes mainly impacted by their methodology applied towards material production. Marxism negates the poor/rich terminology and classifies individuals according to their ability to produce products when considering the scope of labor that they possess. He uses the terms bourgeois and proletariat, where the former meaning individuals in society that own the resources capable of product generation. These people, mainly capitalist, employ the wage-laborers attribute to maximize on the profit. The later are the individuals in the society who struggle to gain power and thrive in the environment hence apply their labor-power to gain services that aid in improving their lifestyle (Schmidt, 1977, 389). According to Marx, there is a group that he refers to as Petty bourgeois who fail to exercise their dominance over their means of production as they offer their products directly to the market. Marx provided that a capitalist society was important to the development of a communist society because it presents a phase in development where individuals would eventually merge to embrace communism. However, a capitalist society may lead to an imbalance in power that may lead to temporal cases of economic developments (Ball & Far, 1984, 96). This theory promoted free trades and talked against tariffs imposed on particular items because these had been means used by capitalists to favor their own interests (Goldstein, 2005, 26). There exist different classes in the society who often compete to gain a favorable spots in society. Amongst the entities available are dominant facilities that favor the dominant individuals amongst these social classes. Individuals will often struggle to meet expectations the society needs, but Marx states that the means to kill the element of struggle would be in eliminating the concepts of social classes (Giddens, 1971, 37). The theory suggests that a capitalist society would be difficult to eliminate because it may find a means to adopt in a crisis situation implemented to its downfall. Marx explains that labor markets are the solution to regulating the capitalists’ profits because an increase in the wages the laborers acquire, the reduced rate of profits realized in these dominant entities (Blackledge,2006, 69). However, to adapt to these changes and revert back their profit margin, capitalists would in turn employ a laborsaving technology to compete with the labor market to alter the wage level to their favorable condition (Cohen, 2000, 101). These technologies would employ using machines to regulate production, which the capitalist could personally maintain in their quest to establish their dominance in the market (Cox, 1998). These changes would eventually accumulate to a state where the good production would be at a surplus. Since the labors are not part of the raw products ownership, they find difficulty in acquiring them for consumption. The rate of unemployment would lead to poverty states making products prize higher for individuals to purchase hence a surplus. The change of the world’s industries from pre-industrialization to industrialization saw the rise of the capitalist class that controlled the majority of the markets. The system changed from individual ownership of property to a system that favored the emergence of a dominant class in the society (Holmes, 2011). Industries were created to process the raw materials leading to urbanization which eventually improved technological advancements. Marxists believed in eliminating the struggle in the two classes in the society he terms as bourgeois and proletariat. With advancements in technology, a capitalist society is created where the dominant individuals gain ownership of property that favors profit and incorporating a fixed wage-labor system employing individuals according to their technical ability (Musto, 2011). Marx articulated the demise of a capitalist society with a reduction in competing entities. As the society develops in production of quality products, the large corporations with the higher technological advancements and sufficient labor force would eventually surface the smaller companies limiting the competition experienced that they need to survive (Torrance, 1995, 48). This process to eliminate the smaller industries would greatly reduce the competition needed by the capitalist society to develop, leading to communism. Durkheim Theory This theory seeks to investigate the social composition of a society and how individuals influence the constituents of their boundaries. It further provides an understanding of the relationship between individuals in the society and their relation to each other in completing their desires. Durkheim provides a platform that identifies the overall constitution of the societal life and its eventual creation (Dubeski, 2001). The accumulation of various qualities and traits within individuals in a society gives an identity to their social society, an attribute that is shared and accumulates to bring the overall image of the societal traits (Breathnach, 2002, 7). Though individuals possess different traits, there exists a unique feature defining their societal setting that a singular individual may not reflect to the other social groups (Joiner & Rudd, 2000, 10). The theory indicates that each social setting exists for a purpose to maintain stability within its environment. He believed that societies hold mechanical and organic methods of organization in their particular setting that brings individual together to identify their specific setting. Individuals will find a form of unifying factor to help adjust to changing societal implications. Common beliefs would exist in individuals possessing a small scope in their level of labor specialization and in highly competitive market societies; their desire to depend on the various resources would build unity (Alexander & Smith, 2005, 75). Durkheim insists that the societies in the pre-industrialization era had a more integration strength than the industrialized one with minimal labor specialization promoting the development of shared beliefs. The advancements of societies to accommodate a more specialized individual group would promote materialized production. However, Durkheim argues that as the technology developed from the pre-industrialization to the industrialization period, the unity that ha been based on common beliefs seizes to exist paving was to an interdependence integration societal practice. People seek to interact with their societal counterparts to acquire the goods they are unable to self generate to complete their satisfaction of product acquisition. Labor division promotes social consistency leading to individuals seeking personal social values that are not limiting to their specific group setting. It further impacted anomie where the rules in the work environment dominated their activities less leading to a reduction in their commitment rate to the production process (Rock & Downes, 2007, 90). These developments brought by industrialization further led to Durkheim’s concept of egoism where individuals sought to improve their own lifestyle reducing societal cohesion (Merton, Adler & Laufer, 1999, 10). Durkheim’s theory explained that with the changes in the societal setting to embrace labor-markets, normative duties that had been practiced by social institutions especially in religion and family obligations, would be replaced by individual development virtues (Turner, 1993, 167). The population would be ambition driven and reduce societal integration that had acted as a unifying entity. Durkheim explains the development of an economical relationship within the work environment to dictate their wage and labor situations. He believed that this ability to organize themselves in societal groups against a cause could be applied in sharing a sense of individual belonging by interacting socially. This would change the system to the former pre-industrialized era where ideas and sentiments had been supported by religious affiliations and family settings (Breault, 1986). The developments of the modern technology should not limit the societal integration development that had been realized before and people ought to establish their roots that boost unity and better relations. Conclusion The development in technology and the desire to boost productivity and knowledge improved the society into an industrialized state. Most individuals had become distant to their societal practices aiming to promote individual progress. This provided the emergence of classes in society that dictated the production of goods and technological advancements. Marx’ argument against the capitalist environment provides that the elimination of the social classes would eliminate this concept and individuals would find comfortable development platforms free of profit regulation. Durkheim further stresses on the need to find a purpose to boost individual integration which would act as a unifying entity in establishing a pattern within the society. 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