There are key classical sociology theorists within the study of sociology whose work acts as a basis for the discipline.
- We will introduce you to three key classical sociologists.
- We will briefly go over the backgrounds and worldviews of the theorists.
- Then, we will look at their main contributions to sociological theory.
- Finally, we will compare the theories of classical sociologists with contemporary sociologists.
For more detailed information on each of these theorists and their ideas, refer to their dedicated explanations.
List of classical sociological theorists
Sociology, like many other disciplines, is built on the work of its founding fathers. The classical sociologists who established sociology are:
- Karl Marx
- Émile Durkheim
- Max Weber.
Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, and Max Weber are considered the founding fathers of sociology in their own right, due to their incredibly influential and far-reaching theories that have inspired countless branches of sociology.
Karl Marx primarily developed his ideas during the 19th century, a time which is now known as the Industrial Revolution. Émile Durkheim and Max Weber emerged later, in the late 19th century to the early 20th century.
The industrial revolution was a time of rapid social change across the world. Source: Pixabay.com.
Classical sociologists and their theories
While it may seem that these sociologists were active a long time ago, people engage with, debate, and dispute their ideas in subjects from sociology to economics to cultural studies to this day.
We will list classical sociological theorists below, beginning with Karl Marx, moving on to Émile Durkheim, and finally discussing Max Weber.
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) was born and raised in industrial Germany. Following a period of exile, in 1849, he moved to England to study the workings of capitalism. Marx founded and developed Marxism, a conflict theory that positions capitalism as the root of modern-day oppression.
According to Marx, to understand the past, present, and future; it is necessary to examine the means of production and people's relationships with them.
The means of production refers to materials, machinery, and the individuals who use the machinery to produce goods within a capitalist system. They include factories, capital, land, etc.
Social Classes
Marx differentiates between different social classes that have emerged under capitalism – the bourgeoisie, the petty bourgeoisie, the proletariat, and the lumpenproletariat. Below, you will find definitions of each class.
- The Bourgeoisie: the capitalist class who owns the means of production and private property.
- The Petty Bourgeoisie: the owners of small businesses.
- The Proletariat: the working class who own nothing but their means of labour, which they sell for wages to the bourgeoisie.
- The Lumpenproletariat: the dropouts, vanguards, and criminals who comprise the “bottom” layer of society. They are sometimes referred to as the underclass.
The relationship between the classes
Karl Marx argued that the relationship between the classes is based on exploitation. The bourgeoisie exploits all the classes below them in order to make profits and hoard wealth for themselves, which is the goal of capitalism. They take particular advantage of the proletariat, who work for a salary. One of the easiest ways to exploit the proletariat is to keep wages low.
Over time, conflict will arise between the two groups as the proletariat become aware of their conditions and revolt. According to Marxist theory, the only way for the proletariat to be free of oppression is to overthrow the bourgeoisie and create an egalitarian, communist society. Only within this communist epoch is a classless society possible.
We will now move on to examine another key sociological theorist, Émile Durkheim.
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim (1857-1917) was a key classical sociological theorist from France. His ideas are central to the perspective of functionalism, which views social institutions (education, religion, healthcare, and the criminal justice system) as beneficial to society. One of the key theories Durkheim contributed to sociology is social solidarity.
Social Solidarity
Social solidarity is the necessary process of making individuals feel as though they are integrated into society. In pre-industrial societies, social solidarity could be built via religion.
Let's consider a make-believe town as an example and examine how religion could be used to build social solidarity. All individuals of a town would congregate at a church, synagogue, mosque, etc., and would be guided to behave in a certain way.
In modern industrial societies where organised religion is less popular, other methods must be used to create social solidarity e.g., through the education system.
Education
According to Durkheim, the education system benefits society in numerous ways. One way it does this is building social solidarity through the formal and hidden curricula.
The Formal Curriculum: the curriculum specifically designed for student learning.
The Hidden Curriculum: the unwritten rules and patterns a child picks up within the education system.
Durkheim argued that the education system also plays other important roles. These include teaching students the skills necessary to function in society and acting as a “miniature society”.
Functionalists view social institutions, such as the healthcare sector, as beneficial to society. Source: Pixabay.com.
Max Weber
Max Weber (1864-1920) was a Prussian (German) sociologist who, like Marx, was intrigued by the concepts of capitalism and class. Weber agreed with Marx that property ownership was one of the largest dividers in modern society. However, when looking at social class as a form of social stratification, he had some different ideas.
Social Class
Unlike Marx, Weber did not believe class distinctions arose entirely out of economic distinctions/ownership. He suggested that skills and qualifications also contributed to an individual's class position.
Let’s consider a doctor as an example. While a doctor may not own the means of production, their knowledge base distinguishes them from the general population.
Another occupation with specialist skills that distinguish them from the rest of the population would be architects.
Power
Another aspect of social stratification that Weber was interested in was power. He argued that individuals and groups exercise power when they can get other groups to behave as they please.
Can you think of any specific ways in which groups and individuals exercise power?
The emphasis of classical sociologists vs. contemporary sociological theorists
As can be seen above, most classical sociologists focused on class, institutions, and power. This differs from the topics studied by contemporary sociologists. Some examples of modern topics in sociology are as follows:
- George Ritzer examined the processes of McDonaldization.
- Judith Butler explored the concepts of gender and modern forms of gender inequality.
- Stuart Hall developed reception theory, exploring how different audiences perceive the media in different ways.
Key Classical Sociologists - Key takeaways
- Sociology like many other disciplines builds on the work of the founding fathers.
- Karl Marx’s work was primarily written during the 19th century during a time which is known as the industrial revolution. Émile Durkheim and Max Weber wrote later in the late 19th century to the early 20th century.
- Marx saw the relationship between the classes as based upon exploitation. In order to make a profit, the bourgeoisie must exploit all the classes below them particularly, the proletariat who work for a salary.
- According to Durkheim, the education system benefits society in a number of ways. One way is it builds social solidarity through the formal and hidden curriculum.
- Weber did not believe class distinctions were primarily based upon economic distinctions/ownership. He also believed that skills and qualifications contributed to an individual's class position.
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