What is social stratification according to Karl Marx and Max Weber?

What is social stratification according to Karl Marx and Max Weber?

Max Weber took issue with Marx’s seemingly simplistic view of stratification. Weber argued that owning property, such as factories or equipment, is only part of what determines a person’s social class. Social class for Weber included power and prestige, in addition to property or wealth.

What does Max Weber say about social class?

Max Weber (1864 – 1920) argued that stratification and social class were more complicated than this. He argued that social class was based on a person’s market position which is basically how much money or wealth they have and their bargaining power to get this.

Does Weber disagree with Marx?

Weber disagreed with Marx on many important issues. The main difference between the two theories is that Marx believed class relations to have their roots in exploitation and domination within production relations.

How does Karl Marx define social class?

To Marx, a class is a group with intrinsic tendencies and interests that differ from those of other groups within society, the basis of a fundamental antagonism between such groups.

How does Karl Marx define class?

For Marx, classes are defined and structured by the relations concerning (i) work and labour and (ii) ownership or possession of property and the means of production. These economic factors more fully govern social relationships in capitalism than they did in earlier societies.

How did Karl Marx view social stratification?

In Marx’s view, social stratification is created by people’s differing relationship to the means of production: either they own productive property or they labor for others. In Marxist theory, the capitalist mode of production consists of two main economic parts: the substructure and the Superstructure.

What are the three main classification of social class?

Sociologists generally posit three classes: upper, working (or lower), and middle. The upper class in modern capitalist societies is often distinguished by the possession of largely inherited wealth.

What is the difference between Max Weber and Karl Marx’s class theory?

• According to Max Weber, a class is based on three important factors, namely, wealth, power, and prestige. • According to Marx there are only two classes, but it is not so for Weber. • The philosophy of Marx saw communist revolutions. • This was not the case for Weber.

What is the difference between Weber and Marx’s view of religion?

In ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’, Weber argues that the ideas within the Protestant faith, combine with technology to shape society (Weber). In contrast, Marx believes that religion is nothing more than a method used to spread the ruling class ideology to the working class.

Why do Marx and Weber fail to consider gender differences?

Therefore as a whole, Marx and Weber fail to consider individual differences and perhaps gender differences also. During the time in which Marx wrote his theories, the majority of workers were male and therefore it could be argued that Marx’s theories cannot be generalised to women and as such cannot be generalised to the population as a whole.

How does Weber define the different classes of society?

Weber defines the different classes though their economical relationships but unlike Marx, Weber believed that there are more then two important classes that need to be taken into account to understand the workings of society, some of these classes are broken down to other strata, which still have an important effect on social interaction.

author

Back to Top