Sociological Understanding of Contemporary Society - Essay Example

? Herbert Marcuse and Martin Luther King Contribution of Herbert Marcuse and Martin Luther King to Sociological Understanding of Contemporary Society Herbert Marcuse was born in 1878 and died in 1979. He was a Jewish sociologist and philosopher from Germany. Marcuse chose the Marxism perspective and wrote critiques about the capitalist economy. His writings had become very famous among the people of the 1960s and 1970s and he became an inspiration for that generation. Marcuse was trying to say that the capitalist states should have the aspects of repression that are pernicious like those found in communist states. Marcuse also suggested the idea that America had repressive tolerance which is found in the East in the totalitarian states. Marcuse clearly expressed his ideas about the American system in his writings. He said that they have a tolerance for dissent but the ones who dissent are removed and shut out from the political and economic system. He wrote that the ones who oppose the American system are only the ones who are unemployed. This aspect of the American system was greatly recognized and understood by Marcuse (Kellner, 2012, pp. 113). Marcuse was the member of the Institute for Social research because of which he initiated the critical theory for society. There were many interdisciplinary projects in which he was involved which included the model for the critical theory, the development of the new theory of state and monopoly capitalism and the provision of a systematic critique and analysis of the German fascism. His first work to gain immense success was Reason and Revolution in 1941 which followed the ideas of Marx, Hegel and the modern social theory. Many people were brought to the tradition of Hegelian-Marxian social analysis and dialect thinking (Reitz, 2000, pp. 3). Marcuse wrote in his book Eros and Civilization about the psychoanalysis of the society. Sigmund Freud talked about the civilization being a place where the man must be repressed. A civilized person is said to be the one who represses his nature and lives unhappily. Thomas Hobbes also wrote about how living in nature is not pretty as folks have to live brutally. The views of Marcuse had emerged from these theories and he talked about the bourgeois society that was repressed sexually and politically. Even though Freud argues in his book that civilization unavoidably involves suffering and repression, Marcuse created his own outline of how a non-repressive civilization involved open and free sexuality, non-alienated labor, and emergence of a culture which furthered happiness and freedom. The reason why Marcuse had become an important political analyst and sociologist of his time was his liberal vision (Fulk, 2008, pp. 22). Marcuse rejected the organization of the society existing at that time calling it “surplus repression” where there was unnecessary labor, strictness on sexuality and a system which was revolving around profit and exploitation. Thus he called for the repression to end and a new society to be created. He also set out on a mission to educate people about not being repressive and giving the opportunities to one another to express their opinions. These were the ideas which had inspired the people of the 1960s and 70s. Marcuse lost his popularity as the Marxism faded away because the generation of the modern America was not appealed by these thoughts; they were rather busy in making their living. They knew that criticizing the system would mean they are finished (Farr, 2009, pp. 43). Marcuse had served in the government as a specialist in communism and fascism. He published the Soviet Marxism in 1958 which was a critical study about the Soviet Union speaking about the communism. Marcuse wrote about many views in his writing but the focus remained on the critique of the Soviet culture, bureaucracy, values and differences between Marxian theory and their version of the Marxism. Furthermore in 1964, Marcuse published his work One-Dimensional Man which included a critique of the advanced capitalist society and the advanced communist society. The book mainly consisted of the impossibility of revolution in the capitalist society and also the developed new social control forms. Marcuse talked about the advanced industrial society giving his views about its critical theory. He argued that this theory had ignited such false needs of the individuals because of which they are integrated in the system of consumption and production which existed. The mass media and culture, industrial management, advertising and the contemporary modes of thought reproduced the system which existed and attempted to remove the critique, opposition and negativity. The result of this was a universe of thought which was one dimensional, and where the critical thinking and negative behavior was fading away. The capitalist society had integrated the sources of revolutionary opposition and the working class, and had new techniques which developed stabilization through the policies of the state and new forms of social control. However, Marcuse raised questions on two fundamental postulates of Marxism which was the capital crisis inevitability and the revolutionary proletariat. Marcuse also raised the demands for the minorities and outsiders who were not integrated. He also nourished and promoted the oppositional behavior through radical thinking (Miles, 2012, pp. 70). Marcuse was largely criticized by the theorists of Marxism and politicians but despite that he influenced many people creating dissatisfaction in capitalist and communist societies. In addition, Marcuse defended the revolutionary change demands and supported the radical opposition which resulted in the hatred of the established forces and the radical’s respect. Thus, Marcuse’s writings greatly provided a starting point to the theoretical and political concerns of the present day societies. Martin Luther King was born in 1929 and died in 1968. He was considered to be one of the most important voices in the American movement for civil rights which promoted equal rights for everyone. He was famous and well known because of the nonviolent way of resistance that he used to overcome the injustice. He never gave up on trying eliminating the segregation laws that prohibited blacks to enter certain places like hotels and restaurants. He believed that all men are created to be equal and he tried his best to make people realize this. He had done such great work which was recognized throughout and he was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, being the youngest person ever to have received this honor. He was assassinated when he was just 39 years old. Martin Luther King carried out his leadership in the American Civil Rights Movement for less than 13 years and in those years the African Americans progressed more than the last 350 years genuinely towards their mission of securing their racial equality in America. For his efforts in the movement King is regarded as the greatest nonviolent leaders ever seen in world history. King was inspired by his Christian faith and Mahatma Gandhi to promote peaceful movements to achieve his goals for legalized equality in rights for African Americans. Alongside him were many other leaders who were using violent ways of getting freedom. King maintained his values and principles believing that men and women are equal despite their creed or color (Carson, 1997, pp. 164). King’s speech “I Have a Dream”, his lecture after Nobel Peace Prize and his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” are few of the most revered writings in English. His principles, achievements and work are still taught to the students in schools as important teachings for all races and nations. His teachings are considered to be relevant for the progress of the entire humankind and he is recognized as one of the world’s best leader. Americans have a national holiday in his honor and hundreds of streets, parks, statutes, churches and other facilities are memorialized in his regard. He shaped the American society freeing it from segregation and creating a new society which was free from racism. His contribution was important in the human rights that are followed worldwide. Some of his important works were as the spokesman of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to force the integration of African Americans in the bus lines. After this, the Supreme Court had ruled off the racial segregation in the bus lines as unconstitutional. King was also elected as the president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference which was an organization that provided the civil rights movement with new leadership. He also led a campaign which formed a coalition in 1963 of all the civil rights groups in Alabama since it was the most segregated city of America at that time. The brutality of the police was shown on national television which resulted in an outrage in favor of the civil rights (King, 2008, pp. 19). In 1963 King had also drove the March on Washington in which a quarter million people were drawn. He delivered his famous speech I Have a Dream here and as a result of which he was recognized as the social change leader inspiring the whole nation to stand up for their civil rights. After that in 1964 King had become the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and his acceptance speech is considered as the most inspiring remarks delivered in the event. His speech ended with the line “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant” (Birt, 2012, pp. 109). In 1964 the effective March on Washington had led to the Congress passing the Civil Rights Act where racial segregation was eliminated from the United States legally. Under this legislation it was illegal to discriminate against the African Americans and other minorities in education, hiring, transportation and many other areas. The year following Congress also passed the Voting Rights Act which was also an important part of setting laws against the racial inequalities. The Act eliminated all barriers in the voting procedure of the African Americans which had been present since many years. For three years from 1965 to 1968, King focused in the economic justice in the society for which he led campaigns in various places (Mathur, 2010, pp. 228). King leaded for less than thirteen years nonviolently and his leadership ended tragically when he was assassinated in 1968. His body was sent to his hometown in Georgia and his funeral was attended by a huge number of leaders from all races. King’s principles had included many ethical decisions which he believed could not be possible without understanding the faith and truth of God. He worked hard in bringing back the faith in God that many people according to him had lost. His sermons had helped in bringing the notion of God and humanity and raising it in the people’s minds and actions. He had also brought forward the African American traditional history which led to many people believing and following him. His work and beliefs greatly helped in revolutionizing the contemporary society (Sunnemark, 2003, pp. 72). References Birt R. 2012. The Liberatory Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Critical Essays on the Philosopher King. NY: Lexington Books Carson C. 1997. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the African-American Social Gospel. London: Routledge Farr A. 2009. Critical theory and Democratic vision: Herbert Marcuse and recent liberation philosophies. Texas: Lexington Books Fulk K. 2008. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Herbert Marcuse, the Frankfurt School and the West German Student Movement. London: ProQuest Kellner D. 2012. Art and Liberation: Collected Papers of Herbert Marcuse. NY: Taylor & Francis King C. 2008. The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Second Edition. NJ: Newmarket Press Mathur J. 2010. Contemporary Society: A Gandhian Appraisal. Delhi: Gyan Publishing House Miles M. 2012. Herbert Marcuse: An Aesthetics of Liberation. NY: Pluto Press Reitz C. 2000. Art, Alienation, and the Humanities: A Critical Engagement with Herbert Marcuse. NY: SUNY Press Sunnemark F. 2003. Ring Out Freedom!: The Voice of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the making of the Civil Rights Movement. NY: Indiana University Press Read More