General Sociology-101
Select one Sociologist that is from the class notes and also in our textbook chapter one:
Karl Marx
Instructions:
Write a three page essay that explains whether their social theories apply to today’s society.
Give examples based on your personal observations or even experiences in American Society?
“If a fair list were given, …, it would seem reasonable to say that he was bad tempered, caustic, fierce, vain, self-sacrificing, selfish, whining, capable of great love, a good father, a lover of mankind, fatherly to all, honest, scrupulous, tender, brilliant, eminently rational, racist in an off hand manner, irony as an art, a person obsessed with irony, obsessive in general, flexible, a brilliant politician, but a candid one as they go.”(Olson 11)
Hopefully we have all heard the name Karl Marx at some time or another, but what did he do that’s so important? Marx was a great influence from before 1900, but his influences are also felt throughout this century. Marx was the most influential person in world history before 1900 because he developed a new form of government, Marxism influenced several world leaders, and Marxism can be linked to such important events as the Russian Revolution and the Cold War.
The main reason Marx is so important is because of the political philosophy that he developed, appropriately dubbed Marxism and commonly called Communism. Marx’s goal was to spiritually release mankind by freeing him of his economic chains and allowing him to find harmony with his fellow man and with nature (Fromm 3). Marx’s interests in economics started when he wrote two extensive essays on the position of Eifel peasants and Moselle vinegrowers (Leonhard 4). His interests were also engaged by the labor movement, which the effects of were just becoming apparent (Leonhard 4). As talk about communist ideas first began to rise, Marx was reserved about his opinions (Leonhard 4). In spite of his...