Visions of Society. Gerhard Lenski. Karl Marx. Society and technology. Society in conflict Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcription

1 Chapter 4 Society

2 Visions of Society Gerhard Lenski Society and technology Karl Marx Society in conflict

3 Visions of Society Max Weber The power of ideas shapes society Emile Durkheim How traditional and modern societies hang together

4 Gerhard Lenski Sociocultural evolution The changes that occur as a society gains new technology Societies range from simple to the technologically complex

5 Gerhard Lenski Societies simple in technology tend to resemble one another More technologically complex societies reveal striking cultural diversity

6 Sociocultural Evolution Technology shapes other cultural patterns Simple technology can only support small numbers of people who live simple lives The greater technology a society has, the faster cultural change will take place

7 Sociocultural Evolution High-tech societies are capable of sustaining large numbers of people Who are engaged in a diverse division of labor

8 Lenski s Five Types Of Societies Hunting and gathering The use of simple tools to hunt and gather Horticultural and pastoral Horticulture Use of hand tools to raise crops Pastoralism The domestication of animals Postindustrialism Information made using computer technology

9 Lenski s Five Types Of Societies Agriculture Large-scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources Industrialism The production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery

10

11

12 Karl Marx Social conflict Struggle between segments of society over valued resources Capitalists People who own & operate factories & other businesses; pursuit of profits Proletariat People who sell their productive labor for wages

13 Karl Marx Social institutions Spheres of social life or societal subsystems organized to meet needs Infrastructure Society s economic system Superstructure Other social institutions: family, religion, political

14 Karl Marx Believed that workers must replace false consciousness with class consciousness Recognition of themselves as a class unified in opposition to capitalists & capitalism itself Rejected false consciousness Explanation of social problems as shortcomings of individuals, not flaws of society

15 Karl Marx Believed the history of all existing society is the history of class conflict Conflict between entire classes over the distribution of a society s wealth and power

16

17 Capitalism and Alienation Alienation The experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness. Marx: To the capitalists, workers are nothing more than a source of labor. Another contradiction of capitalist society: As people develop technology to gain power, capitalist economy gains control over people

18 Capitalism and Alienation Capitalism alienates workers in four specific ways: From the act of working Workers have no say in production; work is tedious and repetitive From the products of work

19 Capitalism and Alienation Workers have no ownership in the product that is sold for profit From other workers Work is competitive rather than cooperative From human potential Workers deny, not fulfill themselves in their work

20 Revolution The only way out of capitalism is to remake society Socialism is a system of production that could provide for the social needs of all Marx believed the working majority would realize they held the key to a better future

21 Revolution The change would be revolutionary and perhaps even violent Marx believed a socialist society would end class conflict

22 Max Weber Rationalization of society Historical change from tradition to rationality as the main type of human thought Willingness to adopt latest technology Indicator of how rationalized a society is Why are some societies more eager than others to adopt new technology?

23 Max Weber Claimed the key to the birth of industrial capitalism lay in Protestant Reformation Industrial capitalism is the major outcome of Calvinism The Calvinist idea of predestination Worldly prosperity is a sign of God's grace Poverty is a sign of God's rejection

24

25 Weber s Rational Social Organization Seven characteristics: Distinctive social institutions Large-scale organization Specialized tasks Personal discipline

26 Weber s Rational Social Organization Awareness of time Technical competence Impersonality Expressed in bureaucracy and capitalism

27 Emile Durkheim Society More than individuals Society has a life of its own, beyond our personal experiences Social facts Any patterns rooted in society rather than the experience of individuals

28 Emile Durkheim Society has an objective reality beyond our own subjective perceptions of the world Examples: Norms, values, religious beliefs, and rituals Power to guide our thoughts and actions Warned modern society creates anomie A condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals

29 Emile Durkheim Mechanical solidarity Social bonds based on common sentiment and shared moral Values that are common among members of preindustrial societies

30 Emile Durkheim Organic solidarity Social bonds based on Specialization and interdependence that are strong within industrial societies Key to change is an expanding division of labor Specialization of economic activity

31 Four Visions of Society: What Holds Societies Together? Gerhard Lenski: A shared culture Karl Marx: Elites force an uneasy peace Max Weber: Rational thought, large-scale organizations Emile Durkheim: Specialized division of labor

32 Four Visions of Society: How Have Societies Changed? Gerhard Lenski: Changing technology Karl Marx: Social conflict Max Weber: From traditional to rational thought Emile Durkheim: From mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity

33 Are Societies Improving? Gerhard Lenski: Modern technology offers expanded human choice But leaves us with new sets of dangers Karl Marx: Social conflict would only end once production of goods and services Were taken out of the hands of the capitalists and placed into the hands of all people.

34 Are Societies Improving? Max Weber: Saw socialism as a greater evil than capitalism, as large, alienating Bureaucracies gain more control over people Emile Durkheim: Optimistic about modernity & possibility of more freedom For individuals, but concerned about the dangers of anomic feelings.