In this essay i will compare various aspects of sociological theories as outlined by two key sociological thinkers, Kark Marx and Max Weber by drawing similarites and diffrences. Both Marx and Weber in their wrightings saw the rise of capitalist society as emergiging during the industrial revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries in western Europe and aimed to understand the impact of such changes on society. i will begin by giving a breif outline of some of marx's writing concerning the the rise of capitalism and then i will outline some of Weber's thories, drawing comparisons and difftences.
Karl Marx was a German philosipher who looked at french politics and english economics as his main influences in his wrightings.
The British sociological journal looks at Marx and Weber's conflictiong interpretations of the rise of capitalism. Weber saw the function of ideology as an independant variable in social development, he struck upon this theme into his course of enquiry into the emergance of capitalism in the west, focusing on England. in comparison to to Marx, who saw historical materialism as the driving force in historical development. both Marx and Weber were deeply influenced by the historic tendancy of German social thought, which was found in the wrightings of Hegal, who held that social existance is a process that each historical epoch and social structure is unique and to be only understood by laws referable only to theirself. Both Marx and Weber in their own ways broke up with such postulates, Marx rejected idealistic interpretations in the context of social process, asserting that such decisive events are in the realm of social relationships, but not in the sphere of the evolution of ideas. He therfore fashioned a theory which looked at underlying regularities in social change, whilst retaining the historicism's sence of process and transformation. Weber attempted to formulate some general categories that would apply to all historical epochs, this too constitutes a break with hostoricism, thus both worked in the historist temper. marx gave emphasis to the scientific character of this materialist philosophy, taking on the idea that ideas and institutions are determined by matertioal unditions under which men work. According to this theory and understanding of the organisation of production would provide us with a major clue as to what drives development in society. hence, he undertook an ecomomic analysis of capitalism. page 150 ASR class and status
Both reconise the importance of private property marx proposed that capitalists abd workers would become nation-wide classes, as the