Sociology concepts and applications

Sociology

Nazi Germany and how it would be analyzed by Karl Marx, Max Weber and/or Emile Durkheim

Max Weber, born in 1864, is one of the best-known and most popular scholars of 'sociology', as well as of 'economic work'. One of his best contributions to the cause of economics as well as to sociology is his work entitled "Vertstehen" or what is also known as the theory of 'Interpretative Sociology' and his thinking on 'positivism'. Weber's theory of Verstehen is often seen as being very controversial and questionable. His view is that any research that is connected to history or sociology or economics must be approached with a particular idea or concept, or what is called a 'conceptual apparatus'. This apparatus was referred to be Weber as the 'ideal type', meaning that when an individual needs to understand or comprehend a particular sociological phenomenon, the various 'actions' of the different participants of the phenomena, and not stop at merely describing the phenomenon in itself. (Max Weber, 1864-1920)

However, the problem here is that one cannot actually comprehend interpretation unless and until the individual attempts to classify that particular within the phenomenon as belonging to that previously decided upon 'ideal type'. This was probably the reason that Max Weber described the 'Ideal Type' of behavior in four broad categories. The first ideal behavior was described as the 'rational means to rational ends', the second one as being 'the rational means to irrational ends', the third one was described, as being 'guided by emotion' and the fourth one was the 'guided by custom or habit'. Max Weber himself acknowledged the fact that utilizing the 'ideal type' for describing his theories was essentially abstract, but stated that it was an important means of understanding the various social phenomena that involved human behavior in all its intricacies, wherein an ideal type would help classify this intricate behavior into several ideal types, and this in turn would make it much easier to understand and interpret various social phenomena. (Max Weber, 1864-1920)

It is important at this point to understand the person that Max Weber was. Born into a household with strictly Protestant views, and with seven other siblings competing for his parents' attention, Max Weber was constantly striving for individuality and tried to oppose authority, both parental as well as political authority in the form of Kaiser's Germany. Weber was essentially brought up in a culturally bourgeois household where quite a few politicians and academicians were frequent visitors and houseguests. There was however growing tension between his parents and this affected the young Weber deeply. In fact, it is said that Weber suffered from psychic torment at his household, and this meant that whatever he did and wherever he went, Weber was first and foremost 'his own man', meaning that he was a free and independent thinker who was not bound by any political ideals. He formulated his own thoughts and his own theories. It was in this manner that he was able to write his famous 'Verstehen'. (Max Weber, the Person)

In the four means of actions that he describes men in general will take, Weber explains by an example the 'purposeful rationality' that is exhibited by an engineer who has been given the responsibility of building a bridge across anything. This individual is using the best-known rational means of uniting one end to the other end, or means to the end. This type of value-oriented rationality is seen as being an innate striving towards a more substantive goal that is in effect pursued with certain rational means. This does not mean however that this fact is in itself the actual ration; for example, when the goal is asceticism or holiness, then the means to achieving this goal would be to lead a life of ascetic self-denial, wherein the means would be value oriented and would lead to the striving towards a substantive goal. Affective action is seen, by Max Weber, as being a part of the emotional state of a participant or an 'actor' wherein the mental state is evaluated rather than the assessment of the means and the ends towards achieving it. (Max Weber, the Person)

It is often said that Max Weber was always attempting to analyze and understand the larger structures and maybe certain traditions that sought to and served to affect the lives of individuals, and how this factor changed over time, and space. He has stated that the economic order, as it is known, is generally of great importance in determining not only the exact positions of certain communities, but also in several important structures such as religion and ideas. These, he felt, would influence peoples in several different ways, and these need not necessarily derive solely from the above-mentioned economic interests alone. Therefore, the factor of 'rational bureaucracy' became more important than the permanently seen 'class struggle'. (Sociology 250: Max Weber)

Weber was, in fact, a historical sociologist. He felt that the study and analysis of experiential and empirical data was very essential and necessary to the creation and development of a sociologist's concepts and ideas, and such data must be not only selected extremely carefully, but also interpreted with care and caution. Weber was not attracted by the various laws of the society, by which a particular society may be described; he was rather interested in the very complexity of society and its people, and the extreme difficulty in trying to understand the entire society as a whole. He was not at all concerned with the construction of an overall and general view of the society as one whole; he wanted and tried to understand the society as he saw it: as a complex and complicated body. Human action was taken as an innate part of social change and the very social structure in itself.

This concept would help bridge the gap between the large structures called 'society' and the various social actions and the interactions of the individuals who are within the society. This would enable sociologists, Weber stated, to better understand the various intricacies of the actions committed by groups and the individuals, and this in turn would help them understand the various historical processes through the years in a better manner. This sort of understanding, or 'verstehen', as he referred to it, would enable the sociologist to become empathetic towards the individual, and this would mean that he would be able to understand the meanings that the person invariably attaches to any action committed by him. Therefore, it can be seen that the two factors of understanding and meaning are the key concepts of the thinking of Weber. (Sociology 250: Max Weber)

This does not limit itself to understanding the individual, but it also includes the results of a thorough and a systematic research conducted by the sociologist on the issue on hand. This means that at the individual level, as well as at the group level, and at the structural level, all the meanings behind the actions taking place, the motivation for the actions, the limitations and restraints that were placed on these actions before they took place, all these have to be understood and a particular methodology must be developed with which this can be assessed. This is in fact exactly what Weber does: he develops a methodology with which the sociologist can base his research, and this offers a great advantage to the sociologist because he will be able to understand this very basic of natural phenomenon. When others felt that the study of human society was extremely difficult a task, Weber turned the very difficulty of analyzing the complexity of human thoughts into action a rewarding experience, as he took it as an advantage rather than as a disadvantage. Why are Weber's ideas relevant even today? It is because the power of his ideas on issue such as nationalism and independence has become guides for large groups of people all over the world, today.

These ideas are above economic factors, and taken in the context of Nazi Germany, these ideas show that struggles against certain groups of people who exploit other people for gain and for various other purposes may eventually become associated with the inevitable emergence of newer groups of oppressors and tormentors, and though the concepts of religion and language may become predominant to most of these types of exploitative movements and events in history, the entire situation may eventually be decided by an idea of independence. Weber also concentrates on the ways and means, in which multiples of individuals act and behave in a given situation, and the base from which their power is generally derived from. Therefore, not only are economic factors important, but the language and culture of the people are also equally important, and when taken in terms of the Nazi oppression and torture of Jews in Germany, this seems to be extremely relevant, especially because of the nationalistic fervor attached to the struggle. Though Weber appeared to be an opponent to socialism and also of Marxism in Germany, it is not the exact truth, as some of the happenings in history, like for example, the events of Eastern Europe, are seen as being relevant to the ideas of Max Weber, and the world will always see him as a sociologist with an independent style of thinking. (Sociology 250: Max Weber)

Karl Marx, born in the year 1818, has been stated as being one of the most important and influential socialist thinkers of the time in which he was living, and even today. His political and social and economic ideas all gained importance during the socialist movement that occurred, unfortunately, after his death in the year 1883. Some people are of the opinion that the ideas of Karl Marx were adapted later on to suit the people of today, and this is true to a certain extent. The great thinker has at times even been compared to the great Darwin who discovered the theory of Evolution of organisms; the theory is that Karl Marx, in a similar way, managed to discover the basic law of the development of human history. This theory states a very simple fact: that man must, first of all, be able to eat and drink and have shelter and have clothing before he can even think about setting off in the pursuit of high ideals and various solutions to the existing problems. (Karl Marx, 1818-1883)

This very simple truth was extremely endearing to the people of the time, and it was therefore understood that the production of immediate material benefits and the amount of economic development attributed to the people of a certain epoch are in fact the foundations upon which the various institutions of the state, and the various legal ideals, and the thoughts on religion have all been evolved from this basic truth. Marx has also been credited with having discovered the 'law of motion' that generally governs the capitalist method of production that exists in today's world, and the inevitable bourgeois society that has been created because of this. Since Marx was in essence a revolutionist, he spent all his time in trying to overthrow the innate capitalist society of his time, and try to bring about the liberation of the common man or what was known as the 'proletariat'. His approach was 'dialectical', and it was open ended or unrestricted, and the fact that he laid a lot of stress on the economic factor of the society in which he lived, and the existence of the class system in class conflicts led to the fact that he exerted an enormous amount of influence on not only history and the study of people, but also on sociology and politics. (Karl Marx, 1818-1883)

Karl Marx initiated the theory of 'uniformitarianism' and Darwin's theory of the 'survival of the fittest' was adapted to his theory on class welfare. This theory underlines the dialectical and historical materialism that states the logic of the problem of dealing only with the material benefits of the world. This meant that one particular society would inevitably fight with another society, and this would finally result in the formation of yet another third society, and this example can be taken to examine the fact that communism inevitably clashes with Capitalism, and the result of the clash would be the formation of the third state, the socialist state. It is a fact that the average person of today expects a brand new secular order, or what is generally referred to as the 'New World Order' wherein the efforts of the United Nations to bring to fruition the ideals of this group of individuals is taken as the formation of a new world, where it actually is nothing but a socialist plan. The truth is that socialistic things such as holding all things in 'common' will not function well in a large group of people; it would function in maybe a small group, a family. (Dialectical and Historical Materialism)

When the idea of socialism was tried out in America, it was seen that it only produced laziness and total unproductiveness. In the same manner, the free enterprise system that was tried out in America as well as in Russia has in fact done well for Americans but not for the Soviet who is starving. In America, it has become the opposite, wherein people demand more and more from their government, and forget the fact that 'nothing is free' in this world. Nikolai Lenin used this theory of Karl Marx in his military treatment of his people in the Russian society that was based on communism, and managed to slaughter and torture and kill numerous people not only at home but also abroad all in the name of Marx' theories. Adolph Hitler was another individual who felt that the theories of Karl Marx applied to him in his treatment of the individual and of the group, and adapted the "new Age' theory to suit his own purposes.

This theory became a rabid philosophy that was based on race and religion and cost more than millions of innocent people their lives to satisfy the inner madness of this person who created his own brand of logic and theory that only he could comprehend fully. Germans did not practice what they believed in, and this was that they would not accept theories of 'humanism'. This meant that the normal German citizen had become a mere biological entity that was easily disposable or expendable. Therefore, it became a matter of complete ease to start to blame the innocent Jews for all the many problems that they were facing in their hometowns, at the hands of the manic Hitler. Nazism has been seen as a form of socialism, and it is said that socialist leaders rise to prominence only because of the gullibility and the ignorance of the people of the country. (Dialectical and Historical Materialism)

There are some theorists who suppose that Max Weber and Karl Marx may have spent some time chatting with each other about topics such as economic determinism, and the relationship of various developments to the materialistic base, and also on the topic of the extent to which various economic factors can be at the root of the very social structure of the world. The fact remains that both the philosophers have many similarities as well as dissimilarities, and while Marx based his theories on the individual as being within a framework of a structure, Weber also felt the same; while Marx attempted to understand the large structures that would affect the lives and the behavior of individuals, Weber also sated that people were innately tied up with the structure of larger things, and this affected not only their lives but also affected the behavior over time and space. Marx felt that these structures were basically economic, and productive forces such as ownership and non-ownership and possession and non-possession were the basic means to production. (Sociology 250: Max Weber)