Compare and Contrast the approaches of Marx and Weber to Social Class and Stratification.
Social Stratification refers to the hierarchically organised layers of social inequality .
Such as status groups, classes and ranks. Two of the most well known sociologists Max Weber (1864-1920) and Karl Marx (1818-1883) studied the concepts of stratification and class in great detail, many of their ideas still have profound influences on people studying sociology today, in this, the modern society.
Karl Marx was born in Trier in the Rhineland. He was later educated at the universities of Berlin, and Bonn it was here that he studied Law and Philosophy. As well as having a great interest in the political economy he also went on to study sociology, interestingly he had acquired experience of social conditions during his travels through Europe.
Much of Marx's work was to do with Social stratification, but it was mostly concerned with class. Marx believed that societies such as hunters and gatherers existed in a Primitive Communist state. Here there was equality and no stratification within the society. However in later years came the introduction of agriculture, thus creating the concept of ownership. The lord of the manor owned the land and employed free labour whereby the workers, worked on the land and sold their produce plus producing extra produce to give to the lord-the feudal society. This became a co-operative society; Marx called this the pre-capitalist era. .
Marx also went onto discuss the next line of development in society, whereby the concept of ownership and control of the means of production became even more apparent. The first capitalist industry was the cotton industry; this was present in "cottage work". This society was called a capitalist society; here Marx made the point of class. .
Two types of class emerged, the first being the Bourgeoisie, these were the capitalists who owned the land and the means of production.
