Similarities Between Randall Collins And Habermas

Marxist thought influenced the work of both Randall Collins and Jürgen

Habermas, but Habermas makes a more convincing argument than Collins when explaining society through a Marxist interpretation. Karl Marx and his ideology have been influential for decades and have always led conversations on controversial, yet elementary issues concerning class dynamics. Even though Marxism influenced both Randall Collins and Jürgen Habermas, their ideologies went in opposing directions with Habermas having a stronger and more in-depth analysis of Marxism in contemporary society.

Karl Marx was born in Germany in 1818 and was educated in philosophy, law and history. Marx grew up in Germany in the age of Enlightenment, but the German Enlightenment differed

Seidman describes Collin’s conflict theory as the following: “Social life is structured by conflicts that produce domination and subordination as people struggle for scarce but valued goods- power, prestige and wealth” (Seidman 88). Collins claims that people will use whatever material and cultural resources available to them to satisfy their needs or wants, which leads to all social encounters evolving into relationships of domination and subordination. Collins states that social stratification then is divided into three dimensions: economic, cultural and political (Seidman 89). Collins also focuses on levels of sexual stratification and relates that to a relationship or subordination and domination as well. Every sexual relationship is a power struggle. There are two patterns of sexual stratification, which include the degree of force and the economic status of men and women (Seidman

Habermas believed that the tendency of Marxism to favor one-sided “materialist” social explanations accounted, in part, for its growing obsolescence in Western sciences” (Seidman 125). Habermas’ ideology better describes contemporary society in part because it attempts to look at society from as many different outlets as possible, whether it be economic, political, cultural or more. His ideology is ever changing and Habermas’ work is dynamic. His ability to abandon work he has already done in hopes of working towards ideas that are more in-depth shows his dynamism. Because Habermas’ reformed Marxist ideology is always changing and because he tries to look at society through a holistic lens, his work does a superior job than Collins in explaining society.

In conclusion, Karl Marx and his views have influenced a countless amount of sociologists, political scientists, historians and more, including Randall Collins and Jürgen Habermas. Through Collins and Habermas, it is clear to see how studying Marxism can lead to two different interpretations of society. Collins promotes conflict theory, which is very similar to Marxism in that it can be very one-dimensional. On the other hand, Habermas’ theories are always changing while simultaneously trying to reinvent Marxism and in the end; this allows him to explain society on a larger scale