The Similarities And Differences Between Marx And Weber's Analysis Of The Origins And Characteristics Of Capitalism?

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Discuss the similarities and differences between Marx 's and Weber’s analyses of the origins and characteristics of capitalism

This essay will compare and contrast the key similarities and differences between analyses proposed by Marx and Weber in relation to the origins and characteristics of capitalism. Marx and Weber are recognised as two key sociological theorists; it is argued by many that there are very prominent similarities between these theorists work, both examined very similar ideas in sociology however drew two noticeably different conclusions.

I will discuss the similarities and differences of the ideas contributed by these two influential sociologists in order to compare their individual perceptions of society. Gathering sufficient …show more content…

Marx gained insight from the work of German philosopher, Hegel, and therefore adopted the concept of base and superstructure- the base existing as the means of production and the superstructure as anything not directly relating to production such as law and culture. The base being not just a component of the economy but the entire base of productive relationships; and the superstructure being a changing and developing component based on society’s activities that the base relations determine. (Rigby, 1998 pg. 176). Marx also took strong influence from classical political economists such as Adam Smith, creator of the labour theory of value- this is defined by (Investopedia 2015) as an economic theory that specifies ‘the value of a product or service is dependent upon the labour used in its production’ meaning that ‘the real cost of a product was determined by how much labour went into it’ as stated by (Evans, 2007 pg. 96, 97). From these key ideas and other sources, Marx was strongly influenced and consequently created his own dominant ideas about the overall …show more content…

In the opinion of Marx, the means of production is significant in the characteristics of what shapes society; he credited the means used by workers to make products as central to the conducting of the Western society. He advocated that as workers gained less control of their products, it was their labour that was forced to be sold therefore compelling them to be alienated from their work due to their inevitable exploitation. Therefore as capitalism expands, competition would increase inevitably meaning that power falls to a smaller minority- leaving an undeniable division of two classes ‘the property owners and the property-less workers’

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