COMPARISON BETWEEN WEBER, DURKHEIM AND MARX

COMPARISON BETWEEN WEBER, DURKHEIM AND MARX
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Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc311667154 \h 3ESSAY PAGEREF _Toc311667155 \h 4Weber`s Understanding of Social Action PAGEREF _Toc311667156 \h 4Durkheim`s Notion of Social Fact PAGEREF _Toc311667157 \h 6Marx`s Conception of Historical Materialism PAGEREF _Toc311667158 \h 8Comparison between Weber, Durkheim and Marx PAGEREF _Toc311667159 \h 10CONCLUSION PAGEREF _Toc311667160 \h 12REFERENCES PAGEREF _Toc311667161 \h 14
INTRODUCTION
Many people understand the term Sociology as the study which focuses on how individuals related to one another and how they reside in their different environments. Sociology however refers to the science which makes an effort of understanding social action in order to arrive at an explanation of why it exists and how it affects people (Selef, 1997: p.15). Being social refers to the interaction that takes place between people in any given community and tends to incorporate ethnical, cultural as well as economic aspects. Action on the other hand is the human behavior to which the acting person gives subjective meaning (Neckerman, 2004: p.45). The history of social action has been in existence since early 18th Century and is not considered a foreign concept in this day and age. Social action can be defined as a conscious effort by members of a community directed at influencing the main policies and social condition (Hadden, 1997: p.28). In other words social action are efforts focused on bringing about change or preventing it in current situations and social practices via persuasion, pressure, propaganda or education on behalf of goals believed by social scientists to be socially desirable (Morrison, 2006: p.78).
Under the field of sociology there are a number of approaches that are considered under the study of social relationships that tend to affect human growth and relationships for instance social facts (Hughes, Martin & Sharrock, 2003: p.101). Social facts refer to expectations or ideas that do not emerge from personal responses as well as preferences but emerge from a given social community that tends to socialize each of its members (Shepard, 2005: p.40). Social facts are generally external to every living individual and are considered conditioning of behavior and thinking.
ESSAY
Historical Materialism is also a concept found under sociological studies and refers to an application of Marxist science to historical development (Hughes, et al., 2003: p.105). In simpler terms it is the notion or belief that a society`s economic framework be it communism or capitalism determines the nature of its cultural as well as social structure (Neckerman, 2004: p.46). Historical Materialism is believed to determine the economy of a given community. There have been a number of sociologists and professors in the recent past who have tried to understand social action and sociology as a whole for instance Max Weber, Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx, all of whom have come up with different theories in an effort of not only understanding how a society works under a given environment but also help others to understand their attitudes and behaviors in such environments.
Weber`s Understanding...