Theories of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx and Max Weber Essay Example

Eg: Emile Durkheim’s study of Suicide, Max Weber’s Protestant ethics and spirit of capitalism.

(5) Max Weber’s Ideal Type solved one of the biggest problem in sociology. The primary problem faced by sociology is that various concepts are not linked firmly to a particular description or explanation. Eg. What Hegel calls civil society, Marx calls it capitalism; what Hegel calls state, Marx calls it socialism. According to T.B. Bottomore, if Max Weber’s ideas, esp. his concept of Ideal Type, had been followed in sociology, much of this confusion and aimless discussion could have been prevented. According to Max Weber, all definitions are in part arbitrary and the value of a definition is only determined by its fruitfulness in research.

(6) Social Relationship – Durkheim has classified Social Relationships on the basis of “Solidarity” between Mechanical Solidarity and organic solidarity. Max Weber –SR are vast, unorganized, chaotic. Based on S.A. (based on subjective meanings)

But he is more concerned about Social Relationships based on political system - he made distinction between Traditional, charismatic and Bureaucrat type of authority.

Thus, while Emile Durkheim gave primary important to “solidarity” in sociology, Max Weber gave important to “Social Action”. This concept has been celebrated and widely used in contemporary sociology by Talcott Parson, Robert K. Merton and later Sprott.

(7) The contemporary sociology is much less concerned with the construction of all embracing theories than during the time of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. For this development, sociology owes much to Max Weber who considered reality as vast, unorganized, chaotic which cannot be studied entirely .Therefore one should not develop “Grand theories” (like Karl

Marx and Emile Durkheim) but use ideal type to study social phenomena.