Return to Jim Thomas's's homepage
Chapter 4 - wallace wolf: Evolution and modernity: Macrosociological perspectives
Begins by noting .two revolutions. - French (political) and industrialization (social)
NEW CONDITIONS, NEW QUESTIONS, NEW ANSWERS
These kinds of transformations became the focus of social inquiry and is re-emerging
today because of globalization, technological changes, and demographic changes.
The chapter focuses on .evolutionary theories. (be cautious with that term)
W&W look at Marx, functionalism, and others more recent (Habermas, Giddens).
INTELLECTUAL ROOTS
Compte - .scientific sociology. / Spencer (social evolution)
MARX
The key to such a theory is based on the following aspects of
PRODUCTIVE RELATIONS, which focuses on:
What resources exist (ie, wood, oil, water)
HOW we produce things (ie, the TOOLS we use, such as hammers or rocks to pound, hand looms or industrial looms to weave).
SOCIAL RELATIONS (ie, How we are SOCIALLY ORGANIZED TO PRODUCE, such as in "cottage industry" or in factories).
Culture (social expectations, shared values, language, laws, etc)
The first two are called the MEANS OF PRODUCTION, the second two the MODE OF PRODUCTION.
means of production = economic base
1) resources
2) tools/etc
mode of production = superstructure
1) forms of production/organization
2) culture, language, social control, etc
Some people are able to control and benefit, and are more able to dominate the distribution of good, resources, or privileges (or which power and law are examples). Others are NOT so-able. Those who are able to control or dominate the MEANS OF PRODUCTION and therefore are more able to affect culture, wealth, or decision making, for example, are in one class, those are are not able to do so are in the other.
Marx calls these groups CLASSES. It is useful he says, to study how CLASS relations affect society. Although the concept of class DOES have problems, this nonetheless forms the basis of a
Marxian analysis, and many feel provides on useful way of looking at the TOTALITY of social interconnections between, for example, crime and other aspects of society.
===========================================
Marx's theory was in part a theory about social transformations. In brief, Marxism as formulated by Marx and Engels was:
1. A theory of history that posited the transitory nature of capitalism
2. A analysis of capitalist production that showed labor to be exploited by capital
3. An analysis of the capital accumulation or growth process that concluded that capitalism creates both wealth and poverty and, for this and other reasons, is subject to periodic crises; and
4. A theory of proletarian revolutions that alleged the inevitable victory of socialism in advanced capitalist countries (Gurley, 1982: 4).
WORLD SYSTEMS THEORY
Immanuel Wallerstein: Capitalism is essentially a globalizing force, spreading to other countries.
The question: Do societies evolve?
Return to Jim Thomas's's homepage
Page maintained by: Jim Thomas - jthomas@math.niu.edu