19 Socio 171

EMILE DURKHEIM

Durkheim uses the organic analogy as a metaphor for division of labor in society. He likens thedifferentiated organs as individuals performing specialized services – as the “hearts and thelungs...remain identifiably separate, each carrying out its specific function for the body (Cuff, 1998)”,so will individuals that perform different services live in harmony. Each organ and occupation has adifferent objective to fulfil but as a collective, biological order and social order are achieved,respectively.

Durkheim assumes a duality in human nature: a biologically impulsive side and a 'socialized'side which conforms to societal norms. To achieve ultimate psychological freedom, humans mustachieve mastery and control of their unending desires. To address this Durkheim emphasizes the needfor moral education wherein the concept of the 'holistic man' is being actualized.

The sociology of Durkheim recognizes social facts as external and coercive, meaning there is anobservable reality in society in which regularities and social laws can be derived from. His intellectualdebt to Comte gave rise to him using the positivist approach – the negativity of the Enlightenmentphilosophy in the social sciences would, according to them, only bring confusion and unending debate.and to emphasize what things are and not what they ought to be. His sociology is descriptive ratherthan prescriptive. (<<wrong! First, know what they ARE to know what they OUGHT to be)

Aside from this, Durkheim believed in the universality of social facts – that these will bepresent in all types of societies. For example, the notion of crime and punishment is external andcoercive to the members of a certain society, and the notion of labeling a certain act as deviant or a“crime” which warrants a particular punishment is something that is present in all kinds of societies.

As Durkheim believed in social facts as external and coercive (Craib), so does he also believethat society has power over the individual in terms of shared values, beliefs, and norms. As a society'spopulation grows in density, so does the interaction among its members – resulting to changes in thecollective conscience and solidarity. The shared values and beliefs have an external and coerciveproperty that would dictate the order of society. However, the very same order can also give rise to theconcept of placing importance in the individual's action and decision – meaning society can stillcontain members that choose to respect individual differences.

Durkheim is mainly a consensus theorist since his idea of society being coercive requires thatthere be consensus in society on which values to uphold. Social solidarity is a social fact and theregulation of norms will need consensus.

II. For Durkheim, division of labor naturally comes when a society's population and density hasgrown enough. Division of labor helps a society function more efficiently provided constituents withdifferent tasks and abilities.

Religion for Durkheim is a social fact which involves totemism and distinguishing between thesacred and profane. For him, the use of rituals is important to establish religion as a collective symbolthat would represent a group.

MAX WEBER

Weber is mainly concerned about social action – action with subjective meaning and oriented toat least another member of society. Social order is created from interactions between individuals withthe values they choose to adhere to. These values correspond to a certain type of domination and willthus spell social order anchored on this. His sociology is a study of individual events and history; hestates that social development is multicausal.

Humans are valuing beings – this implies that humans have the freedom to choose what to valueand what “gods and demons to adhere to”. There is also an assumption that human beings are rationalbeings – meaning the rationality that is behind the social action can be traced back to it.

Weber's sociology frequently deals with subjective human action – humans place meaning intotheir actions. However, despite his acknowledgment of the human agency and the ability to placemeaning – Weber also considers structures that can be out of human control, such as the immediatereligion one is born into. Even though humans are free to exercise her agency, the fact that they are stillcapable of creating potentially coercive systems remains.

This leads to an particularist account of society; the dominant rationality varies from society tosociety because whichever rationality and dominance will depend on whoever wins the struggle overmeaning. For example, the development of competitive Calvinism is only specific for modern Westernsociety because the charismatic dominance of Calvinism has not been observed in other counties.

Weber believes that scientific judgments should be value-free, especially if one is in a positiionto easily sway others on important decision. For Weber, it is the sociologist's job to show what societyis and it is the politician's role to choose whichever need would be prioritized.

The individual's subjective point of view of things is also given importance through hisconception of verstehen – one can understand humans in such a way that we cannot do for inanimateobjects.

Consensus is important in this conception of social order because consensus in beliefs (forexample, in a certain religion) will make the belief system powerful enough to drive a group of peopleinto action according to those beliefs. Conflict, on the other hand, exists in society when there iscompetition over the dominant type of authority that reigns in a society.

II.The division of labor in modern society is a manifestation of the legal-rational authority that is

dominant today. This kind of authority gives rise to bureaucratic system which requires division oflabor. This would imply that the iron cage in modern Western society would have a greater grip on themembers of society.

For Weber, religion has greater appeal compared to magic because of its rationalizing force:there is now a consistent doctrine, specialized leaders, and tangible basis for the teachings of religion.Aside from this, religion has charismatic leaders that urge their followers to question reality – whichgives them some sense of control over their beliefs and the appeal of religion as rational. Magic hasnone of these and religion has persisted through time.

KARL MARX

Marx's metaphor for society is that of the “economic base and an intellectual and institutionalsuperstructure” (Cuff 27) as he places primacy on its material, economic conditions. Men obtainrelations of production as they enter “definite relations that are indespensable and independent of theirwill”. These relations determine the economic base of society which conditions the institutionalsuperstructure composed of ideology and the state.

Human nature is to labor and to labor is “logically prior to other activities” (Cuff 21) as aperson's material conditions is of primacy. Work frees us of need for food, water, and shelter – andenables us to engage in intellectual thought once this is obtained.

Marx defines ideology as a “system of ideas that systematically misrepresent reality” (Cuff 26).It is used by the ruling class to propagate false consciousness in society and for them to retain theirhold over the relations of production. As long as members of society do not achieve consciousness,they will continue to subscribe to the ideology promoted by the ruling class. An example of this is thenotion of human nature being unchangeable, self-interested and selfish – a notion that promotes thestatus quo of competitive capitalism. Marx considers this an objective fact and prescribes thatproletariat consciousness with Marxist theory will break this problem. There will be no true conscioushuman action (agency) unless the ruling-class ideology is defeated because humans themselves are notaware that their thinking and actions are actually products of the ideology and a false consensus ofvalues.

History for Marx is driven by class conflict – that social order is actually brought about byconflict and change. Dialectical logic would state that opposing forces can be “reconciled andcombined” in order to achieve a new unity. In Marx's account of history, it is the clash between theproleteariat and the bourgeoisie that will drive history's progress. Economic conditions separate thesetwo groups.

The base-superstructure analogy is universal in the sense that all societies are formed by itsmaterial conditions, regardless of geographical or cultural differences. Material conditions are alwayspresent in any society.

II.Marx saw the division of labor in a capitalist society as unnatural and as an impediment to

humans from fulfilling their human nature. It is employed in favor of the capitalist class – moreeffeciency and profit to the capitalists and more exploitation for the working class.Instead of seeing themselves in their work as a whole, the workers now are made to repetitivelyperform the same portion of the task needed to be done. They never see the whole product and as aresult do not see themselves in their work – a case of alienation. This goes against human nature whichis to labor, and the potential of humans to be truly free.

Religion is just one of the tools the ruling class uses to maintain the existing order of capitalism.The current suffering of the working classes in this world is justified with a utopian world in the futureor afterlife. However, for Marx this is still the deployment of false consciousness and ideology.

ReferencesCuff, E.C. Et al. Perspectives in Sociology 4th Ed. London and New York: Routledge, 1998 (HM 66 C 84 1998 SS

4398)

Craib, Ian. Classical Social Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (HM 24 C66 SS-4556)