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Marx Vs. Weber: A Comparative Analysis

Karl Marx v. Max Weber: Comparitive Analysis

C. Wright Mills places both Weber and Marx in the great tradition of what he calls the "sociological imagination" a quality that "enables us to grasp both history biography and the relationship between the two within society". (Mills, 12) In other words both theorists were dealing with the individual and society not either one to the exclusion of the other. Mills further writes that both Marx and Weber are in that tradition of sociological theorizing that leans towards sociology as "a theory of history,"(Mills, 30) sociology as (in this tradition) an encyclopedic endeavour, concerned with the whole of man's social life. Thus these two giants of sociology have a considerable amount in common but how do they differ? Karl Marx and his sociological theories have proven invaluable to sociological thinkers throughout history, as many who followed would use Marxist theories as a foundation on which to build their own, including Max Weber. However, this is not to say that influential thinkers such as Weber did not develop their own theoretical practices and ideals regarding society and the individual, in fact, Weber's work, though influenced by Marxist thought, would bring him to conclusions that differed greatly from that of Karl Marx. Max Weber, a Germany political economist would become a man later proclaimed as one of the "fathers of sociology" focused mostly on the influence of religion on society, however also wrote influential work in the fields of economics and politics, which had extremely large affects on his sociological theories. Though appreciative of Marx's theoretical formulations, Weber also became highly critical of the Austrian thinker. Like Marx, Weber had a wide ranging set of interests: politics, history, language, religion, law, economics, and administration, in addition to sociology. His historical and economic analysis does not provide...