Criticism of Ralf Dahrendorf - Essay Example

What criticism did Ralf Dahrendorf have about us sociologists and how would his criticism be relevant to the Davis Moore analysis for explaining the rise of inequality and stratification in modern societies? The main criticism that Ralf Dahrendorf had about sociologists was that realities of social conflicts were given very little attention and class was defined too narrowly with respect to advanced society. According to him, modern societies are more complex than what it is portrayed by the sociologists. He also believes that integration and consensus that are present in modern social structures have been ignored. Dahrendorf criticised the socialists for assuming a utopian and false representation of consensus, stability and social harmony1. He believed that in modern societies, hierarchies of authority were inevitable. Dahrendorf suggests that exercise of authority must be criterion for formation of class and not possession of private property. He is of the view that the society must be split up among those who command and those who obey and the conflict would be the struggle between those with and without authority2. This criticism is relevant to the Davis Moore analysis for explaining the rise of inequality and stratification in modern societies. According to Davis and Moore, members of a society must be distributed among a variety of social positions. Members in different positions enjoy different levels of authority. Dahrendorf’s argument that hierarchies of authority are inevitable can be used to explain rise of inequality and stratification in modern societies. Davis and Moore argue that social inequality is necessary and universal3. 2.What is the difference and similarity between Karl Marx and Max Weber's approaches for analyzing social stratification in capitalism? (Make sure you define clearly Weber’s and Marx’s definitions of class). How did Weber approach the study of stratification in capitalism and how did Marx approach it. The explanation of Marx and Weber are the most powerful explanations of social conflict. The explanations have some similarities and difference. According to Marx, ownership of property is what defines the class of an individual. There are three main classes according to Marxism: The bourgeoisie (own the means of production and profits is their source of income), the proletariat (labours who sell their labour for wage) and landowners (rent is the source of their income). But it is the conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat that mainly characterises the class structure4. Marx’s capitalistic approach was that the conflict between bourgeoisie and proletariat was a conflict between capitalists and wageworkers respectively. That is, control over the means of production (social production) also gave the capitalists control over the class that was involved in the production of goods. That the capitalists exploited the wage works. Weber’s theory of stratification was different from that of Marx as it was rooted in the belief that the education and skill of a person is what determines the class position and not their relationship to the means of production. Weber believed that the solution to stratification was in creation of equal opportunities within a capitalist competitive system. According to Weber social structure depended on three main factors: class, status and power5. Unlike Marx, Weber did not believe that ownership of capital was alone responsible for stratification. Weber defined class as the economic position of a person. 3.What does Marx mean by the circuits C-M-C to M-C-M? Explain what C AND M mean, what two characteristics does C have? What does Marx mean by exploitation and how does it relate to his analysis of the source of profit in capitalism? C-M-C and M-C-M are abstract circuits of exchange according to Marx which explains the transformation of money into capital. C means commodity and M means money in the circuit6. Something that can be bought and sold in a market, or even exchanged, is known as a commodity and it has following two characteristics: Use Value: Value mainly represents labour. That is due to its internal characteristics, a commodity satisfies certain wants or needs which can be either ideal or physical. It is useful to both producer and others. Exchange Value: A commodity can be exchanged for another. This gives the owner the benefits of others labour. . That is, the effort that has gone into the production of the exchanged commodity. According to Marx, exploitation is the non-reciprocal benefit that one enjoys. That is one person benefits from another person without the latter being benefited from the former. Marx believed that capitalists could make profits only by exploiting their workers. Capitalists make profits by appropriating the surplus value that the workers have created without them being reciprocated with benefits7. That is, profits are made by capitalists by making the workers produce sums of value that is more than what they are being paid. Therefore, the surplus work that the workers do for which they are not paid is the source of profit in capitalism. 4. What are three strategies we have to follow for the study of stratification according to the text book......"the structure of social stratification in the USA, fifth edition by Leonard Beeghley." Following are the tree strategies that we need to follow for the study of stratification according to the text book8: 1. Asses the historical and cross national dimensions of stratification: While the amount of change in the level of inequality in a society that has occurred over time is revealed by historical data, the levels of inequality in other nations are indicated by cross-national data. Productive questions can be raised by using cross-national and historical data. 2. Distinguish levels of analysis individual and structural - necessary for understanding stratification: To distinguish levels of analysis in very important as at different levels different perspectives is adopted and hence it leads to better understanding of the actions of the individuals at different levels. 3. Describe how the system of domination (power and authority) affects the distribution of resources in modern societies: Without focusing on the class basis of power, structure of stratification cannot be understood. In a society where a surplus exists, distribution or power is determined by power. According to Weber, power is the ability to achieve goals and goals of an individual are influenced by ethnicity, race, class and gender, and people with similar interest discriminate others even though there is no formally organised group. Therefore, it is important to understand power to understand stratification. Read More