Marx and Weber's Theory of Modern Domination - Essay Example

Modern Domination Karl Marx was a famous nineteenth century German philosopher and political scientist. He is called the father of communism. His achievements include a wide variety of writings on history, philosophy, sociology and political science. Marx believed that history of societies is filled with class struggles. Capitalism was doomed to destruction because of internal tensions and contradictions. He believed that communism would eventually replace capitalism with a classless society ruled by the dictatorship of the proletariat. His theory of modern domination states that social relationships inside capitalist societies are transformed into relationships between money and goods. Marx argued that this is main feature of capitalism. Markets existed in Europe before the advent of capitalism where commodities were bought and sold. Capitalism developed as peasants became free to sell their labor power. They no longer possessed their own land. In return they received money which allows them to survive. He termed the peasants who sold their labor as “proletarians”. Marx stated that the struggle between capitalists and workers determines the wages in which victory is for the capitalists. The capitalists are more united and can live longer as compared with the workers (Tucker, 48). The wage rate determined by the capitalist is very low for the worker because it is at the subsistence level. It allows the worker to survive and support his family only. Capitalism also leads to production of men as commodities. The worker is treated like a commodity under the capitalist system. An excess supply of workers leads many to become beggars or starve. The life of the worker is dependant on the whims and desires of the rich and capitalists. Any fluctuations in the market price make the worker lose everything. The capitalist can direct capital into another channel which forces the workers to submit to every demand of the capitalist (Tucker 52). Karl Marx stated the worker does not gain anything beneficial when the capitalist does, but he always loses when the latter loses. Marx explained that workers are eventually the losers because of the monopolies and trade secrets of the capitalist. The prices of labor are constant as compared with the prices of other commodities. The wages of the labor are different when compared with the profits of the capitalists. Marx believed that individual activity should be rewarded but capitalism denies that reward and is indifferent to individual activity. Generally Karl observed that workers have to struggle for their physical interest and work if there is a loss in any capitalist mode of production. Marx argued that even in favorable conditions for workers, the inevitable result of the work is overwork and premature death. Capitalism made workers into machines and the massing of capital increases the amount of industry. This leads to a larger amount of products which leads to overproduction. This results in the termination of employment of workers or reduced wages. Marx declared that workers suffer most severely during a decline of society. However if society is in a state of progress, the workers are ruined by essence of labor itself (Tucker, 234). Karl Marx believed that production combines the means of labor and subject of labor used by workers to made products. Machines and other tools are the means of labor while the subject of labor is the materials taken from the environment. Marx stated that class consciousness is the awareness which the social class possesses to act in its own interests. This is the prerequisite for a successful revolution. The ruling class dominates the society’s means of production and its ideology is derived from the ruling’s class’s best interests. The ideology of a society is very important because it confuses groups by creating false consciousness (Tucker 152). Marx stated that capitalists have no interest in employing workers unless the profits were to bear some proportion to the extent of his stock. The capitalist makes profit on the wages and raw materials. The more a commodity becomes manufactured, the more it price resolves into wages. The number of profits increases with the manufacture of a commodity. Human labor according to Marx, converts natural products into manufactured products which increases the profit of capitalist investments. The capitalist profits from the division of labor and the transformation of raw materials into manufactured goods. The greater the human share in commodity, the greater the profit of dead capital. Marx talked of free trade as speculating on the famine of people. He lashed out at the industrialists for nibbling at the wages of workers by using regulations. Marx explained that labor becomes a commodity when they sell their services to the capitalists. Most workers don’t have the means to become the masters of production, therefore they continue to be exploited and dominated by capitalists. Marx described capitalism as a monster which multiplies as the capitalist converts value into value big with value. Workers according to Marx can work according to their needs and desires. Within the span of twenty four hours, man can only work for a specific period of time. Workers need time for society, family and other tasks. The capitalist needs to thrive due to surplus of labor. The requirements of the workers pose a significant challenge to the capitalist. Maxmilian Weber was a German political economist and sociologist who deeply influenced modern sociology. His theory of modern domination postulated that ascetic Protestantism was the major factor which led to the development and evolution of capitalism. He also considered the modern state to have a monopoly on the use of physical violence. The state can use anything to influence the distribution of force in society which is termed as politics. Politicians could not be models of Christian virtue and ethic since that is reserved only for saints. A politician can only seek to achieve the ends and responsibility with personal charisma and capacity. Weber characterized domination and authority into three types. Charismatic domination was influenced by religious groups and traditional dominations were dominated by feudal lords, tribal chieftains and other patriarchs. The modern state is dominated by law and bureaucracy which are known as legal domination. Societies throughout history have been characterized by elements of this tripartite domination. Weber said that legal domination usually evolves from the other types of domination with a bureaucratic structure. Weber defined power as the triumph of the will of an individual against the resistance of others. He suggested domination as a defined concept. He defined domination that certain commands will be obeyed by a group of people. Obedience, interest, belief and regularity were features of domination. Dominance becomes a structured phenomenon integrated with society (Weber, 42). Domination eliminates other powers which might be based on force. Force does not lead to acceptance of the dominant group or party by a group of citizens. Customs can become established within a society because of continued interaction. Some sort of sanctions also exists to enforce discipline. Violation of any rules might result in the application of sanctions (Weber, 53). Max stated that the rational-legal authority derives its domination from rational grounds because of the belief in the legality of rules and the right of the authorities to issue such commands. There are many ways in which legal authority can develop. Conventions, laws and regulations in many societies lead to different principles of legality. The West is unique because a legal system was established with written legal codes, legal rights and professional administration of justice. Weber says the alliance between rationality and bureaucracy has led to the domination of the rational-legal order. A rational legal system leads to the development of a political system which rationalizes in some way. Constitutions, documents, representations and political procedures form the basis of the rational-legal system in the West. These were developed in response to other political systems like dictatorship and monarchies. The evolution of the political and legal system in a rational manner eventually leads the authority of the state to take a legal form. The ruling class has the power to govern or rule according to the legal procedures of the country (Weber, 29). The citizens of the state accept the legality of the rulers because they believe that they have the legitimate right to exercise power. In ancient societies, a dominant group would exercise its domination by using coercion and intimidation. On the contrary a rational-legal state maintains control using a systematic and encompassing set of laws and regulations. The ruling group can also take many more administrative tasks. The collection of taxes and military is centralized by the government. Weber stated that challenges to authority in a rational-legal system would not be class based but could be based on nationalism and ethnic struggles. Weber predicted that every modern state would be dominated by the rational-legal type of authority because organizations would become rational and bureaucratic (Weber 23). Weber was well known for his critique of bureaucratization of society and he is credited with a model of organized civil service. Weber stated that an organization with traditional authority and charismatic authority must be transformed into a goal oriented organization with legal authority. This results in which human beings are trapped in a rule based rational control system. He correctly predicted that Stalin’s rule in the USSR would transform the country into a trap pf rational control (Weber 43). Weber argued that a modern state can exist only if the political community possesses certain attributes. They must have an administrative and legal system which can be changed by laws. Further there must be administrative machinery which runs the affairs of the state according to the laws of the nation. The state must have jurisdiction and authority over the citizens living in its area. Force must be legitimate and allowed if it is prescribed by the legislation of the government. Weber defined bureaucracies as the defining features of modern states. Most of the nations in the twentieth century would eventually witness the triumph of rational-legal authority as the characteristic features of their political systems. The leaders of a rational-legal domination system must pass judgment in the service of a higher authority. They must sacrifice their personal decisions if it is against the laws of the country. The leaders of a rational-legal order are free and appointed on the basis of merit. They apply the rules of authority according to remote rules. Their loyalty depends on the execution of their duties. They work full time with a monthly salary and incentives which can advance their careers. Devotion is a unique feature of rational-legal leaders. They must have the ability to independently launch actions which are beneficial for the society. They must have charisma to win elections based on universal suffrage. Weber was a leading proponent of democracy which could be used to elect strong leaders. He was strongly opposed to the German aristocracy (Weber, 54). Both Karl Marx and Max Weber were leading German political scientists and philosophers of their times. Karl Marx believed that capitalism is the main dominating theory of the modern nation state. Capitalism is based on exploitation in which the peasants or workers have to sell their labor as commodities. Marx said that the industrial revolution had eliminated the creativity of the workers and alienated them. Max Weber on the other hand regarded bureaucracy and the legal order as the modern form of domination. He classified domination into three types. Traditional domination included feudal lords and tribal chieftains. Charismatic domination included religious groups. Rational-legal domination consisted of centralized authority supported by an efficient administrative machinery and bureaucracy. This system also had a legal order which allowed the state to legitimize the use of intimidation, coercion or force against others. Max Weber made a more detailed analysis of capitalism than Marx. He ignored labor exploitation as due to the class struggles. Weber also believed that Calvinism was the driving force behind capitalism because of its emphasis on the Protestant work ethic. Marx said that the working classes are exploited and oppressed by the capitalists to exercise control. Weber said that bureaucratic organization was a means to exercise control by using power and influence. Marx explained the domination of modern society in purely economic terms. Weber on the other hand used sociology to study the domination of modern societies. Marx believed that groups like trade unions and organizations can be used for action. Weber emphasized the need for social action and interaction to counter the domination of the rational-legal authority. According to Karl Marx, greed and exploitation were the driving factors for capitalism’s domination of modern society. Weber insisted that motivation was a function of technical problems that needed to be overcome. Marx also said that religion gives justification for maintaining the status quo and for suffering in the modern world. Weber suggested that religion allows followers to gain salvation based on their good deed and work in the material world. Marx believed that capitalists are motivated by greed and exploitation with religion providing the justification. Weber on the other hand believed that individuals can overcome problems by using religious work ethic to do good for the better of society. Both Karl Marx and Max Weber criticized capitalism with major differences. Marx said that capitalism can be overcome using a socialist revolution of the proletarians. Weber was a fatalist because his stand towards capitalism was ambivalent and contradictory. Weber rejected any socialist idea and was sometimes apologetic towards capitalism. He was not interested in economic crisis and did not question colonial expansion. However he did find a contradiction between bureaucracy and private enterprise. He was sensitive towards the limits of modern rationality. He saw a crisis in the modern state with the bureaucratization and rationalization of human activities. The modern state has become a rational-legal form of domination as it emphasizes the loss of freedom and individual autonomy. Both Weber and Marx tried to understand the theories of modern domination. Marx viewed domination in purely economic terms as capitalism being the main form of exploitation. Weber on the other hand believed that a legal order and bureaucracy are the main forms of domination in a modern state. Works Cited: Weber, Max . The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism . New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2003. Tucker, Robert C. The Marx-Engels Reader . New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999. Read More