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Marx Durkheim Weber

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Devin Young Marx, Durkheim, and Weber: Understanding Modernity’s Implications on the Evolution of Labor The nature of modernity is grounded in the exploration of social change by Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. Each theorist discovered a distinct link between history and society, creating separate theories based on their unique situations in the face of the emerging modern, capitalistic world. Their concepts of Alienation, Anomie, and Rationalization find the division of labor a key component of social change but see differently the way in which labor participated and evolved at the hands of social conflict. According to Marx, the division of labor helps to fuel modernity but is ultimately a product of capitalism; therefore …show more content…

The specialization of careers and developing social differentiation in capitalist societies will lead to a new order characterized by an organic solidarity, the modern society to Durkheim. In a society of mechanical solidarity, “the individual is not his own master; solidarity is” (McIntosh, Durkheim 193) and individuals discover lasting unities through the family and religion. They then establish repressive laws and institutions all around a standardized moral order held together by individual economic independence and the acceptance of other’s positive contributions to society. However, as the division of labor increases, workers dependent upon each other are produced due to a specialized system requiring the goods and services of other laborers. The collective efforts of the work force become blurred and abstract, forming an organic solidarity between them and a decline in Durkheim’s concept of the conscience collective. Interdependence becomes emphasized with the state having a larger role in organizing society and taking away solidarity of the family and religion. Durkheim prefers this form because “society becomes more capable of collective action at the same time that

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