Smith

Division of labour - specialization of the labour force essentially the breaking down of large jobs into many tiny
components. Each worker becomes an expert in one isolated area of production, thus increasing his efficiency.
Self-interest - is acting in the way that is most personally beneficial. Adam Smith explained that it is possible to
achieve the best economic benefit because individuals tend to act in their own self-interest. "It is not from the
benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own
self-interest."
Marx
Alienation - the process by which the worker is made to feel foreign to the products of his/her own labour. The
worker is alienated from his/her product precisely because s/he no longer owns that product, which now belongs
to the capitalist who has purchased the proletariat's labour-power in exchange for exclusive ownership over the
proletariat's products and all profit accrued by the sale of those products.
Bourgeoisie - the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of production and employers of wage labour.
The ruling class, wealthy class.
Capitalism - A socio-economic system based especially on private ownership of the means of production and
the exploitation of the labor force.
Centralization - a redistribution of already existing capital in a manner that places its ownership and control in
fewer and fewer hands. Concentration of capital.
Class - those who share common economic interests, are conscious of those interests, and engage in collective
action which advances those interests. A group of individuals who share a particular economic situation and as a
result share similar life chances. In Marx a class is defined by the relation to the means of production whether
they own property bourgeoisie, or do not own property - proletariat)
Class conflict - class struggle, is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing
socioeconomic interests and desires between people of different classes. For Marx, the class struggle is the
driven force of social change.
Class consciousness the beliefs that a person has regarding their social class or economic rank and class
interests in the society the structure of their class, and their class interests. It is an awareness that is the key to
sparking a revolution. The class is only fully realized when they attain class consciousness. Awareness of unity
of interests; common enemy, end of isolation, political organization. Proletariat and bourgeoisie are capable to
develop class consciousness.
Class in itself vs. class for itself - "class in itself - a category of people having a common relation to the means
of production, and a "class for itself - a formation organized in active pursuit of its own interests.
Class simplification - as a result of competition and centralization of capital class relations simplify and
generate a polarizated society in which there are two social classes: bourgeoisie and proletariat
Commodification - The subordination of both private and public fields to the logic of capitalism. In this logic,
such things as friendship, knowledge, women, etc. are understood only in terms of their monetary value. In this
way, they are no longer treated as things with intrinsic worth but as commodities.

Commodity fetishism economic relationships among the money and commodities exchanged in market trade.
As such, commodity fetishism transforms the subjective, abstract aspects of economic value into objective, real
things that people believe have intrinsic value. The tendency to attribute to commodities (including money) a
power that really inheres only in the labor expended to create commodities.
Crisis of overproduction
Exploitation - The process whereby the bourgeoisie expropriates the surplus value generated by workers. The
difference between necessary labor (what it takes for worker to sustain himself) and surplus value (the
additional work performed as part of wage labor). Under this definition, all working-class people are exploited.
Historical materialism - is the application of Marxist science to historical development. it is not the
consciousness of men that determines their existence, but, on the contrary, their social existence that determines
their consciousness. Marx thought that economy is the driving force of social life and that social organization
changes due to systematic contradictions between the forces of production(technology) and the relation of
production(class dynamics)
Ideology - is a collection of doctrines or beliefs shared by members of a group. For Marx, the diffusion of ideas
is conditioned by distribution of power in society. The dominant ideas of every epoch are the ideas of ruling
class. This ideological power is achieved due to the class consciousness and control of mental means of
production that ruling class has.
Industrial reserve army reserve labour army refers to the unemployed and under-employed in capitalist
society. It appears as a result of the capitalist competition and technological advancement.
Means of mental production books, presses, newspapers, more extensive distribution
Pauperization thesis
Proletariat - The "lower" or "working" classes, the members of which must under capitalism sell their labour in
order to earn a living. Since the members of the proletariat do not own the products of their labour and do not
have free access to the means of production or to the means of communication, they are alienated both from the
products they produce and from each other.
Revolution mass pauperization (expoitation) + crisis(overproduction, centralization of wealth,
polarization)=revolution. Capitalism contains the seeds of its own destruction
Species-being - Karl Marx understood species being to be the original or intrinsic essence of the species. A
simplified understanding of species being is that it is a form of self-realization or self-actualization resulting
from fulfilling or meaningful work. Marx believed that capitalism resulted in the alienation of workers from
their own labor and from one another, preventing them from achieving self-realization (species being).
Wage labour - the mode of production in which the labourer sells their capacity to work as a commodity. The
pre-condition for wage labour is a class of people who have no other way of living, and a class of people who
own the means of production as their Private Property. The capitalist who buys the labour power, and pays for it
at its value, own the labour process and the product of labour, and can sell the product in order to realise a
profit. The worker, on the other hand is alienated from her own labour.

Gramsci
Civil society- (all other social institution) - sustains hegemony through the creation of consent. the hardest but
the more important target for revolution. The state uses civil society to spread its cultural ideals(civil society is
an extension of the state).Need to subvert hegemony through control of civil society.
Ethical state the state is an educator who creates economically useful citizens through rewards (education) and
punishments (law).
Hegemony cultural dominance of particular ideas, institutions, norms and forms of social organization.
Hegemonic ideas are treated as common sense and are distributed through educational systems. The dominant
class tend to benefit.
Political parties are central to the creation of the organic intellectuals and are vehicles for class interests. Act as
educational institutions; Help identify and develop organic intellectuals; Act as venues where organic and
traditional intellectuals can meet
Political society - (the state, law, formal politics) - sustains hegemony through coercion, it is a necessary but
not sufficient target for revolution.
Organic and traditional intellectuals - Intellectuals emerge from all social classes; there are traditional and
organic intellectuals. Organic intellectuals are an organizing element of any social class: - agents of economic,
political, social awareness; - develop ideas that benefit their class; -working class leaders must have organic
origins. Traditional intellectuals (writers, philosophers) set apart from class relations and have great social
prestige.
War of maneuver and war of position War of Position and War of Manoeuvre indicate two different phases
in the class struggle, and thus the appropriate strategies for revolutionaries to take. The War of Manoeuvre open conflict between classes, where the outcome is decided by direct clashes between revolutionaries and the
State. War of position, - slow, hidden conflict, where forces seek to gain influence and power.
Weber
Bureaucracy - As the most efficient and rational way of organizing, key process in rationalization. Weber does
agree that bureaucracy constitutes the most efficient and (formally) rational way in which human activity can be
organized, and that thus is indispensable to the modern world.
Calculability - modern capitalism is a rational mode of economic life because it depends on a calculable process
of production. one can, in principle, master all things by calculation. It is part of the rationalization process
that implies regular, predictable, impersonal life and decline of feelings, values, personal relationship.
Calling a religious conception, that of a task set by God. Serve god through your daily work The concept of
calling that was new involved "the valuation of the fulfilment of duty in worldly affairs as the highest form
which the moral activity of the individual could assume" (Weber, p. 40). This gave "every-day worldly a
religious significance" and the individual was to fulfil the obligations of his or her position in the world in order
to be acceptable by God.
Capitalism distinctive for rational organisation of business practices. Goal: maintain the constant profit.
Featureds: separation of work and home, wage labor, calculating practices

Class individuals interests are varied and not reductible to class interests.
Disenchantment - is the cultural rationalization and devaluation of mysticism apparent in modern society.
Describse the character of modernized, bureaucratic, secularized society, where scientific understanding is more
highly valued than belief, and where processes are oriented toward rational goals,
Elective affinity - a term that describes the relationship between Protestantism and capitalism. It refers to the
resonance or coherence between aspects of the teachings of Protestantism and of the capitalist enterprise,
notably the ethos of the latter. The relationship was unconscious so far as the actors involved were concerned.
The connections between beliefs, actions, and the unintended consequences of action.
Ideal-type - EX Benjamin Franklin attempt to capture what is essential about modern capitalism through use
of an exemplary exemple.
Instrumental rationality - a type of rationality. It is related to the expectations about the behaviour of other
human beings or objects in the environment. These expectations serve as means for a particular actor to attain
rationally pursued and calculated ends.
Iron Cage/Shell as Hard as Steel - the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western
capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on teleological efficiency,
rational calculation and control.
Legitimacy - beliefs in a legitimacy of a political system go beyond philosophy and they directly contribute to
the state system stability and authority. All rulers have an explanation for their superiority, an explanation that is
commonly accepted during a crisis can be questioned. the belief that a rule, institution, or leader has the right to
govern.
Party
Predestination Calvinism - election by grace. Acting like you are saved by glorifying god trough hard work
and abstaining for plesure
Protestant ethic - The set of values embodied in early Protestantism, which has been linked to the development
of modern capitalism. Weber's argument is that, whilst capitalism had existed elsewhere in elementary form, it
had not developed on anything like the scale seen in modern Europe. Its emergence here was a result of the
relatively wide endorsement of the idea of accumulating capital as a duty or end in itself. This, in itself, is an
irrational attitude: there is no rational reason why we should choose work against either leisure or consumption.
It includes: ascetism, frugality, working hard.
Rationalization - development of rules, regularity, calculability at the expanse of traditional and personal
dynamic.
Routinization of charisma (inherently unstable, based on emotional ties, no stable economic foundation,no
rules.) Charismatic authority must therefore be transformed into traditional or rational authority.
Science Spirit of Capitalism it is the continuous, systematic striving for more and more of profit.=transform the
economy. Appear due to religion.

Status - as a group of people who, within a society, can be differentiated on the basis of non-economic qualities
such as honour, prestige, and religion. Weber said that status groups emerge from "the house of honor.
Theodicy - a social problem, a "problem of meaning". why good people suffered and evil people prospered.
Puritanism wealth is a sign that you are saved.
Values
Theorist-Specific:
1. According to Smith, why does the division of labor exist? Why does it lead to generally
positive outcomes?
It emerges from self-intrested behaviour and it creates a regulatory mechanism for markets(invisible
hand)
Wealth from labour and it is increased through specialization of tasks
Increasing wealth will lead to universal opulance
2. What is historical materialism? What are its general principles, according to Marx?

economy is the driving force of social life

social organization changes due to systematic contradictions between the forces of
production(technology) and the relation of production(class dynamics)

3. According to Marx, why does alienation occur?

4. How does Marx define classes?

In Marx a class is defined by the relation to the means of production whether they own property
bourgeoisie, or do not own property - proletariat). A class is determined by class consciousness and by
the source of income. Class antagonistic interests generate social change.

5. Why does Marx believe that capitalism must inevitably lead to class conflict? Why does he believe that it will
ultimately lead to revolution?
Profit comes from exploitation , encouraging the pauperization of the proletariat
Capital concentrates in ever-fewer hands, leading to class simplification and crises of overproduction
Increased scale of production + centralization of wealth + pauperization of masses = overproduction
and market fail/ crisis.
Market crisis + mass pauperization = conditions bad enough for revolution
6. According to Gramsci, what is the difference between political and civil societies?

Political society(the state, law, formal politics) - sustains hegemony through coercion
Civil society(all other social institution) - sustains hegemony through the creation of consent
Political society - a necessary but not sufficient target for revolution
Civil society the hardest but the more important target

What role does each play in sustaining hegemony and class power?

State and civil society work in tandem to sustain capitalist interests

The state uses civil society to spread its cultural ideals(civil society is an extension of the state)
The state is an educator who creates economically useful citizen through rewards (education) and
punishments (law)
Need to subvert hegemony through control of civil society

7. What role do political parties and intellectuals play in social change, according to Gramsci?
Intellectuals:

Intellectuals emerge from all social classes

There are traditional and organic intellectuals
Organic intellectuals are an organizing element of any social class: - agents of economic, political,
social awareness; - develop ideas that benefit their class; -working class leaders must have organic
origins.

Parties:
Political parties are central to the creation of the organic intellectuals and are vehicles for class interests.

Act as educational institutions

Help identify and develop organic intelectuals
Act as venues where organic and traditional intellectuals can meet

8. According to Weber, how are the theological ideas of Protestantism related to the development of modern
capitalism? Why was Calvinism in particular so important?

9. What are the differences between class, status, and party for Weber?

Class Distribution of economic power (market power) based on economically determined relationship
in the house of the marketplace;
o Individuals interests are varied and not reducible to class interests
o Class interests must be defined through political processes
o They are not necessarily the major source of conflict, collective action and social change, but
they may be.
o do not necessarily form communities for collective action
Status Distribution of social power (prestige, honour and privilege)
o Defined by the social estimation of honour
o Status expressed via lifestyles and restrictions on outgroups interactions

Status more powerful during stable times; Class during periods of rapid economic and technological
change

Party Distribution of political power (access to the state). Groups bound together by pursuit of social
power. based on affiliations in the political domain, or the house of power.
o Always orientated toward a goal (unlike class, status groups)

o No necessary relationship to class or status

10. What does Weber see science as being able to do, and not being able to do?

Science is the most important aspect/ key driver of societal rationalization

Does not have an inherent meaning or moral orientation
Science can show us how to achieve a given goal, but it cannot tell us whether that goal is worth
pursuing
Science can provide us with clarity and knowledge(disenchantment) but meaning and values must be
found in the world of faith

11. What are the advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracy, according to Weber?
Advantages:

Efficient and technically superior

Impersonal rules and regulations
Since employees are bound to follow the rules the management process becomes easy.
The duties and responsibilities of each job are clearly defined; there is no question of overlapping or
conflicting job duties.
Meritocratic recruitment. It assists in putting right persons on right jobs. There is optimum utilisation of
human resources.
The division of labour assists workers in becoming experts in their jobs. The performance of employees
improves considerably.
The enterprise does not suffer when some persons leave it. If one person leaves then some other
occupies that place and the work does not suffer.

Disadvantages:

This system suffers from too much paper work;

The employees do not develop belongingness to the organisation.
The excessive reliance on rules and regulations inhibit initiative and growth of the employees. They are
treated like machines and not like individuals. There is neglect of human factor.
The employees become so used to the system, they resist to any change and introduction of new
techniques of operations.

12. What are the major forms of legitimate domination? What is the basis of their legitimacy? What makes
charismatic domination different from the other kinds?

Three types of legitimate domination:

o Traditional
rule based on habit, custom, tradition
obedience is a form of personal loyalty to the leader
tend to be irrationally organized
o Rational
Rule based in the belief of law
Obedience is given to the impersonal order(not to a person)
Typically organized rationally

 Legitimacy derives from the impersonal application of the law

o Charismatic
Rule based on the belief in the extraordinary qualities of a leader
Obedience owned by the virtute of personal trust in leader
Tend to be revolutionary(power lies in breaking existing rules)
Compare/Contrast
4. Compare and contrast Marx and Weber on the nature of capitalism. What are its
central characteristics?
(Some) convergences:

Capitalist society is stratified (huge inequalities exist)

The relationship to the means of production is a crucial driver of social inequality
Classes define different economic interests that influence individual action

(Some) divergences:

Classes are defined by the position in the market (and not by the existence of exploitation in the
production sphere)
Weber makes a distinction between class situation and social class (mobility is key)
Class is only but 1 of the 3 factors of stratification (class, status and party)
Differences in skills are a crucial source of class differentiation
Classes are not the engine of history but a modern market phenomenon
Capitalist development needs not lead to increasing polarisation and pauperisation, but to a
complex and divers class structure
Politics is not a mere reflection of the economic structure but a stratification factor on its own
Marx: ideas result from peoples material condition ; Weber: material interests can also be
conditioned by their ideas
Core of capitalism:
Marx: wage labour
Weber: spirit of capitalism
Different approaches to capitalism:
Weber: calculability, rational business practices and search for profit,
Marx: exploitation, alienation and class struggles
Status:
Weber: independent dimension
Marx: ideological complication

Weber argues that the Reformation was not the result of historical necessity (as Marx argued), and the
capitalistic spirit not merely the result of the Reformation and its effects. Rather, Weber regards the
Reformation as emerging independently of economic factors but examines the ways that ideas from the
Reformation are connected with the capitalistic spirit.
5. Compare and contrast Marx and Weber on the nature of social stratification. What
types of groups exist in society? Which are most important? What defines a class?

For Marx, there were two primary groups in society and these were classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat,
whose contradictory social relationship is the motive force for change in capitalism. Marx considers these
classes to be defined and determined by whether they own the means of production (bourgeoisie) or whether
they do not.

Classes are defined by the position in the market and not by the existence of exploitation in the
production sphere
Weber makes a distinction between class situation and social class (mobility is key)
Class is only but 1 of the 3 factors of stratification (class, status and party)
Differences in skills are a crucial source of class differentiation

Weber speaks of 4 big social classes (each comprising lots of different class situations):
1.
2.
3.
4.

Dominant entrepreneurial and propertied groups

Specialists with formal credentials and skilled professionals (i.e. the middle class)
The petite (or petty) bourgeoisie (small shopkeepers, self-employed artisans, etc)
The working class

In opposite to Marks Weber thinks that classes do not necessarily form communities for collective action

Class interests, class consciousness and political action do not necessarily follow from class situation
They are not the ultimate engine of history (>< Marxs historical materialism). They are not necessarily the
major source of conflict, collective action and social change, but they may be.
6. Compare and contrast Marx, Gramsci, and Weber on the role of ideas in social change.