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Marxist Comparison with Durkheim

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PART 3: Explain, in as much detail as you believe necessary, class-consciousness, as offered by Karl Marx. Discuss the similarities and differences of class-consciousness and collective conscience and indicate to what, if any, extent, the two concepts are interchangeable. Do you believe class-consciousness is a useful tool for understanding social relations among classes, today? Use examples to illustrate your answer and thoroughly explain why or why not. *
One very complex issue of today is the idea of social change. This paper will introduce the lives of Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim and how they both use different theories to introduce the structure of modern society. Each special theory explains how society stays stable and what …show more content…

Therefore, organic solidarity is based on difference and change where the norms are frequently changing creating confusion making it look like there are no norms anymore. Today’s example of organic solidarity can be Iraq. Looking at Iraq, you had a strong authoritarian government undone of power. The government in place has little power. What would Durkheim say is the reason? It's in the collective consciousness. Iraq doesn't have a collective consciousness anymore. It has a bunch of different elites all of whom follow their own norms and do what they want. These norms are different. There is nothing to guide the whole nation into solidarity, there’s no unity and no reason to pull the nation’s society together.

Karl Marx, a German philosopher, sociologist, economist and revolutionary socialist who’s work in economics laid the basis for the current understanding of labour and its relation to capital. He’s more of a social conflict. He believed that workers should demand more just treatment and ask for higher wages. He introduces the term class-consciousness where the proletariats realize and become aware of exploitation. They would become conscious of one’s place in a system of social classes and where the capacity to act on its own rational interests. Marx believed that the main point of social struggle was based on the leader of the ruling class whom where the bourgeoisies.

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