Max Weber and Karl Marx: theories of class, power, and social domination

¶ … Marxist or Neo-Marxist Research

Theorist

Theory Summary

Critique of Theory

Max Weber

According to Max Weber the state is a special entity that possesses a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. Weber believes politics is a required activity of government used in order to influence and control the relative distribution of force and power in the country.

Weber wrote of three main types of authority and political leadership domination that is present in society. These three types are charismatic, traditional and legal domination.

Weber also developed a theory of stratification where he explained and used such ideas as class, status, and party. According to his theory class is determined by an individual's economic situation. The notion of status is similar to prestige and honor. And the main purpose of parties is to gain domination in certain spheres of life. Like Weber, Marx saw society as the struggle for class dominance, the confrontation between oppressors and oppressed.

Some of the ideas of Max Weber were criticized due to the lack of flexibility in his theories and conceptions.

There are also critics who disagreed with Weber's understanding of capitalism and its origin. There is much evidence in today's news to support Weber's portrayal of social order. Entities in positions of power seem have their interests protected by the government. The recent scandal on Wall Street has yielded very few criminal charges and the government stepped in to bail out the financial institutions that got into trouble. The banks then raised fees to cover their losses and passed the cost on to the people.

Mao Zedong

Marxism identifies only 2 types of production, Two types of production can be used, human and material. These two aspects have interrelation and they depend on each other. However, Mao tried to prove that such an interrelation is not essential. In his opinion both types of production should be included in the economic plan. He also took care and observed the process of population growth. Initially, China's post-1949 leaders were ideologically disposed to view a large population as an asset. Mao said an army of people is invincible. During Mao's rule, from 1949 to 1976, China's population increased from around 550 to over 900 million people. Mao believed that family planning should be integrated as a part of the overall plan for the development of the national economy, and that people should learn how to manage material production and how to manage themselves.

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