What do you make of Karl Marx’s contributions to sociology? What perceptions of Marx have you been
exposed to in your society, and how do those perceptions influence your views?
To say that Karl Marx had baseless perspectives on society’s interactionism would be ludicrous, as it is
well-established that “social class,” now artfully re-coined “socioeconomic status,” impacts every aspect
of life for human beings (speaking from experience in the United States). Perhaps this depends on who
you ask, a fact which further proves the root of the argument - that later wealth, opportunity, and
perspective are dependent on the social class one is born into. This idea gives human beings the benefit
of the doubt, that it is out of our control how we view the world based on which side of the society we
are part of (Harris, 2021). Further, Karl Marx argues that this means we should all get a fair chance at
resources in a community, based on our own personal abilities and needs (Wolff, 2020).
Marxism has undoubtedly had an extraordinary impact on the development of sociology and intellectual
thought, which causes his legacy to be both controversial and iconic (Wolff, 2020). My personal opinion
is that ideas put forth by Karl Marx, especially in his work The Communist Manifesto, can be easily
observed in society, but should not be taken as static rules as the way a society functions. Naturally, the
functionality of mankind has changed significantly since Marx’s time, but in many ways, he’s right about
a lot. I assume Marx would agree that mass incarceration is cyclic within social classes, and he would
definitely agree with the importance of critical race theory.
It is typical in the United States to hear disdain against communism as a school of thought, when it is
likely that 98% of the population knows nothing of the actual philosophy behind his ideas. This stigma
negatively impacted my view of Marx prior to this week’s deep-dive into his importance to sociology,
politics, law, and civil rights.
References:
Harris, E., & La Croix, S. (2021). Understanding the gains to capitalists from colonization: Lessons from
Robert E. Lucas, jr., Karl Marx and Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Journal of Economic Behavior &
Organization, 187, 348-359. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2021.04.030
Wolff, J., & Leopold, D. (2020, December 21). Karl Marx. Retrieved February 01, 2022, from
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/marx/
exposed to in your society, and how do those perceptions influence your views?
To say that Karl Marx had baseless perspectives on society’s interactionism would be ludicrous, as it is
well-established that “social class,” now artfully re-coined “socioeconomic status,” impacts every aspect
of life for human beings (speaking from experience in the United States). Perhaps this depends on who
you ask, a fact which further proves the root of the argument - that later wealth, opportunity, and
perspective are dependent on the social class one is born into. This idea gives human beings the benefit
of the doubt, that it is out of our control how we view the world based on which side of the society we
are part of (Harris, 2021). Further, Karl Marx argues that this means we should all get a fair chance at
resources in a community, based on our own personal abilities and needs (Wolff, 2020).
Marxism has undoubtedly had an extraordinary impact on the development of sociology and intellectual
thought, which causes his legacy to be both controversial and iconic (Wolff, 2020). My personal opinion
is that ideas put forth by Karl Marx, especially in his work The Communist Manifesto, can be easily
observed in society, but should not be taken as static rules as the way a society functions. Naturally, the
functionality of mankind has changed significantly since Marx’s time, but in many ways, he’s right about
a lot. I assume Marx would agree that mass incarceration is cyclic within social classes, and he would
definitely agree with the importance of critical race theory.
It is typical in the United States to hear disdain against communism as a school of thought, when it is
likely that 98% of the population knows nothing of the actual philosophy behind his ideas. This stigma
negatively impacted my view of Marx prior to this week’s deep-dive into his importance to sociology,
politics, law, and civil rights.
References:
Harris, E., & La Croix, S. (2021). Understanding the gains to capitalists from colonization: Lessons from
Robert E. Lucas, jr., Karl Marx and Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Journal of Economic Behavior &
Organization, 187, 348-359. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2021.04.030
Wolff, J., & Leopold, D. (2020, December 21). Karl Marx. Retrieved February 01, 2022, from
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/marx/
