The Ideology of Karl Marx on Sociology

Sociology emerged from the desire of humans to understand our behaviour. However, throughout the years the way humans behave and believe has been passed through generations; and it was mainly explained in religious terms. The origins of sociology started with the social movements of the late XVIII century such as the French Revolution in 1789 and the subsequent Industrial Revolution in Europe. (Giddens, 1997)

The German thinker, Karl Marx (1818-1883), wanted to understand and explain the changes that occurred in society at the time of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. (ibid) In 1843 Marx met Engels in Paris. It marked the beginning of a lifelong of friendship and professional collaboration. In 1848 Marx and Engels published “The Communist Manifesto”. The Manifesto outlined the struggles between classes. From then onwards it has become apparent that Marx was not an economist. His theories are a combination of economics, history, sociology and politics. Marx moved to London in 1849 where he spent the rest of his life.

A social class can be defined as a large group of people sharing similar economic resources. (Giddens, 1997) Communist Marx identifies two social classes: bourgeoisie and proletariat. “Marx held that history was a series of class struggles between owners of capital (capitalists) and workers (the proletariat).”(econlib.org, 2013). Marx states that the bourgeoisie cannot exist without proletariat and the other way round. In The Manifesto Marx and Engels outline the evolution of the bourgeoisie.

The bourgeoisie “has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society” (Marx and Engels, 1848). The bourgeoisie or capitalists are those who purchase and often exploit labour power in order to maximise their surplus value. The b...

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The centralisation of capital refers to organisation that hold enough capital to produce on a large scale. Production on a larger scale offers a clear advantage over smaller organisations. Therefore small providers end up out of business or being absorbed by larger organisations. The limited availability of suppliers created a monopoly market. The biggest disadvantage of a monopoly market is pricing.(Begg,2006) An example of centralisation would be the six large energy companies in Britain. Unlike the majority of European Union Countries, in Britain energy companies are private. (James et al, 2013). The companies are free to charge as much as they want. The already high prices further increased by 8.6% in October this year. The excuse of the companies is that the government might intervene with legislation; making it hard for them to increase prices. (ibid)