Capitalism and Socialism Capitalism Socialism Social Institutions

The debate over Capitalism and Socialism is one of the most important debates in the modern era. It has caused countless wars and political movements, which still drives political debate today. However, both models arise from common shifts in the our society's dominant social institutions. Thesis: Capitalism was aided by the decline of religious institutions, replacing those institutions with economic institutions. However, economic institutions, though dominant, demonstrate the serious void in ethics and compassion left by the decline of religious institutions.

Key Tenets of Capitalism

Karl Marx, the icon of Socialist economic theory, believed that society evolved through a progression of discrete stages, where the level inequality and exploitation diminishes until the economic organization of the society makes exploitation unnecessary. (Singer, 10) This exploitation was considered by Marx to be rooted in the ownership of property and the means of production, which encouraged some individuals to accumulate as much property as possible in order to provide basic human needs such as food, shelter, and security. (Singer, 10) This accumulation necessarily comes at the expense of other individuals. (Singer, 10)

Marx theorized that society would undergo four stages: the Tribal stage, where property is owned and tilled communally by extended family units, the Feudal stage, where property is owned by a few individuals who compel the property-less to till the land for them, the Capitalist stage, where the property-owners (those possessing the means of production, e.g. A factory) compelled the property-less (those without the means of production) to work for wages, the Communist stage, where all property, and its bounty, is collectively owned by all individuals and administered through the state. (Singer, 12) With his theory of social evolution established, Marx predicted intense class struggle and revolution resulting in the collapse of the capitalistic system through society's abandonment of individual property ownership, bringing society into its final stage of economic organization. (Singer, 12)

Key Tenets of Socialism

Unlike Marx, Weber did not offer an explicit theory of social evolution to explain the course of society's organization. Also, Weber did not believe, as Marx did, that the Capitalist phenomenon could be explained by economic factors alone, believing cultural factors to be important as well. (Merton, 12) Weber believed that the Protestant values of hard work and self-denial encouraged the accumulation of property.
Social Institutions and Capitalism

Unlike Marx, Weber believed that money, or "class" as he defined it, was not the only factor determining social relationships and authority within a society. (Merton, R. 195) According to Weber, class was just one of three factors, along with status and power. Weber predicted that the Capitalist system, which was dominated by non-familial, non-religious organizations, would promote increasing rationalization in the individual's experience with her environment. (Merton, R. 202) The individual's behavior would be increasingly motivated by rational goals influenced by organizational interests such as efficiency, over traditional factors such as kinship or moral conventions. (Merton, R. 203) This rationalization would lead to a bureaucratization of society, where individuals pursue prosperity and fulfillment through calculated, instead of the traditional channels of family and religion.

Religious Institutions

Formerly, religious institutions, such as churches, were the dominant social institutions guiding behavior. Religious institutions did this through promoting ethical guidelines and more general standards of behavior. They enforced these standards through their authoritative predictions as to the consequences of non-compliance, e.g. "sin," or through their ability to disaffiliate from "sinners" through ex-communication or public condemnation.

Social Institutions

The Preeminence of Reason, Rationalization, and Profit

Economic institutions, such as corporations and firms, became the most viable economic institutions since…