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Sociology For IAS: 4. Sociological Thinkers:

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SociologyForIAS
Ashortandconcisewayofstudyingsociology

THURSDAY,JULY7,2011

4.SociologicalThinkers:
4.SociologicalThinkers:
(a)KarlMarxHistoricalmaterialism,modeofproduction,alienation,class
struggle.

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Marxsgeneralideasaboutsocietyareknownashistheoryofhistorical
materialism.Materialismisthebasisofhissociologicalthoughtbecause,for
Marx,materialconditionsoreconomicfactorsaffectthestructureand
developmentofsociety.Histheoryisthatmaterialconditionsessentiallycomprise
technologicalmeansofproductionandhumansocietyisformedbytheforces
andrelationsofproduction.

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Historicalmaterialismisbaseduponaphilosophyofhumanhistory.Butitisnot,
strictlyspeaking,aphilosophyofhistory.Itisbestunderstoodassociological
theoryofhumanprogress.Asatheoryitprovidesascientificandsystematic
researchprogrammeforempiricalinvestigations.Atthesametime,italsoclaims
tocontainwithinitarevolutionaryprogrammeofinterventionintosociety.Itisthis
uniquecombinationofscientificand

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revolutionaryfeaturewhichisthehallmarkofMarxsoriginalformulation.
Hesaysthatnewdevelopmentsofproductiveforcesofsocietycomeinconflict
withexistingrelationsofproduction.Whenpeoplebecomeconsciousofthestate
ofconflict,theywishtobringanendtoit.ThisperiodofhistoryiscalledbyMarx
theperiodofsocialrevolution.Therevolutionbringsaboutresolutionofconflict.It
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meansthatnewforcesofproductiontakerootsandgiverisetonewrelationsof
production.Thus,youcanseethatforMarx,itisthegrowthofnewproductive
forceswhichoutlinesthecourseofhumanhistory.Theproductiveforcesarethe
powerssocietyusestoproducematerialconditionsoflife.ForMarx,human
historyisanaccountofdevelopmentandconsequencesofnewforcesofmaterial
production.Thisisthereasonwhyhisviewofhistoryisgiventhename

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ofhistoricalmaterialism.

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HISTORICALMATERIALISMISNOTECONOMICDETERMINISM

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Marxrecognisedthatwithoutculturetherecanbenoproductionpossible.For
him,modeofproductionincludessocialrelationsofproductionwhichare
relationsofdominationandsubordinationintowhichmenandwomenarebornor
involuntarilyenter.Thereproductionbothoflifeandofthematerialmeansoflife
cannotbeunderstoodwithoutturningtotheculture,normsandtheritualsofthe
workingpeopleoverwhomtherulersrule.Anunderstandingofworkingclass
culturecontributestoanunderstandingofthemodeofproduction.Classisa
categorythatdescribespeopleinrelationshipsovertime,and

1.SociologyTheDiscipline:

thewaysinwhichtheybecomeconsciousoftheserelationships.Italsodescribes
thewaysinwhichtheyseparate,unite,enterintostruggle,forminstitutionsand
transmitvaluesinclassways.Classisaneconomicandalsoacultural
formation.Itisimpossibletoreduceclassintoapureeconomiccategory.
CONTRIBUTIONOFHISTORICALMATERIALISMTOSOCIOLOGICAL
THEORY
Marxsintroducedanentirelynewelementtounderstandthestructureofeach
society.Itwasderivedfromtherelationsbetweensocialclasses.Theserelations
weredeterminedbythemodeofproduction.Itwasthisfeatureofhistorical
materialismwhichwaswidelyacceptedbylatersociologistsasofferingamore
promisingstartingpointforexactand
realisticinvestigationsofthecausesofsocialchange.
Secondly,historicalmaterialismintroducedintosociologyanewmethodof
inquiry,newconcepts,andanumberofboldhypothesestoexplaintherise,
development,anddeclineofparticularformsofsociety.

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2.SociologyasScience:
3.ResearchMethodsandAnalysis:
4.SociologicalThinkers:
4.SociologicalThinkersI
(c)MaxWeberSocialaction,ideal
types,authori...
(d)TalcoltParsonsSocialsystem,
patternvariab...
SocialThinkerRobertKMerton
5.StratificationandMobility:
6.WorksandEconomicLife:
7.PoliticsandSociety
8.ReligionandSociety:
9.SystemsofKinship:
10.SocialChangeinModernSociety:
A.IntroducingIndianSociety:
(i)RuralandAgrarianSocialStructure
(a)TheideaofIndianvillageand
villagestudies...
(ii)CasteSystem:
(iii)TribalcommunitiesinIndia:

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Thirdly,originalityofhistoricalmaterialismwasinitsimmenseefforttosynthesise
inacriticalway,theentirelegacyofsocialknowledgesinceAristotle.Marxs
purposewastoachieveabetterunderstandingoftheconditionsofhuman
development.Withthisunderstandinghetriedtoacceleratetheactualprocessby
whichmankindwasmovingtowardanassociation,inwhichthefreedevelopment
ofeachwastheconditionfor
thefreedevelopmentofall.
Lastly,historicalmaterialismnotonlyprovidesamethodtounderstandthe
existingsocialrealityitisamethodtounderstandtheexistenceofother
methods.Itisapersistentcritiqueoftheaimsandmethodsofsocialsciences.

(iv)SocialClassesinIndia:
(v)SystemsofKinshipinIndia:
FamilyandMarraige

FOLLOWERS
Followers(93)Next

PRODUCTION
Peopleneedfood,clothing,shelterandothernecessitiesoflifeinorderto
survive.Theycannotgetallthesethingsreadymadefromnature.Tosurvive,
theyproducematerialgoodsfromobjectsfoundinnature.Materialproduction
hasalwaysbeenandstillisthebasisofhumanexistence.ForKarlMarx,the
historyofhumansocietiesisthestoryofhowpeoplerelatetooneanotherintheir
effortstomakealiving.Hesaid,Thefirst

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historicalactistheproductionofmateriallife.
FORCESOFPRODUCTION
Theforcesofproductionexpressthedegreetowhichhumanbeingscontrol
nature.Themoreadvancedtheproductiveforcesare,greateristheircontrolover
thenatureandviceversa.Youcansaytheforcesofproductionarethewaysin
whichmaterialgoodsareproduced.Theyincludethetechnologicalknowhow,
thetypesofequipmentinuseandgoodsbeingproducedforexample,tools,
machinery,labourandthelevelsoftechnology
areallconsideredtobetheforcesofproduction.
RELATIONSOFPRODUCTION
Therelationsofproductionarethesocialrelationsfoundamongthepeople
involvedintheprocessofproduction.Thesesocialrelationsaredeterminedby
thelevelandcharacterofthedevelopmentofproductiveforces.
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MODESOFPRODUCTION
InMarxswriting,stagesofsocialhistoryaredifferentiatednotbywhathuman
beingsproducebutbyhow,orbywhatmeans,theyproducethematerialgoods
forsubsistence.Inthisway,wecansaythathistoricalperiodsarefoundedand
differentiatedonthebasisofthemodesofmaterialproduction.Inotherwords,at
thebasisofhistoryaresuccessivemodesofmaterialproduction.
Amodeofproductionistherelationshipbetweentherelationsofproductionand
theforcesofproduction.Modesofproductioncanbedistinguishedfromone
anotherbydifferentrelationshipsbetweentheforcesandrelationsofproduction.
DIFFERENTMODESOFPRODUCTION
AncientModeofProductionReferstoaproductionsystemwherethemaster
hastherightofownershipovertheslaveandappropriatestheproductsofhis
labourthroughservitude,withoutallowingtheslavetoreproduce.
SlavesClassofproducersintheancientmodeofproduction,whoaredirectly
controlledbythemastersastheirprivateproperty.
CapitalistModeofProductionReferstoaproductionsystemwheretheowners
ofmeansofproduction,capitalists,extractsurpluslabourfromtheproletariatsin
theformofprofits.
CapitalistsTherulingclassincapitalismwhocontrolthemeansofproduction.
BourgeoisieTheclassofcapitalistswho,inalldevelopedcountries,arenow
almost
exclusivelyinpossessionofallthemeansofconsumptionandofalltheraw
materialsandinstruments.
WorkersClassofproducersinthecapitalistmodeofproductionwhohave
nothingexcept
theirlabourpowerastheironlymeansoflivelihood.Theirsurpluslabouris
appropriatedbythecapitaliststhroughprofit.
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FeudalModeofProductionReferstoaproductionsystemwherethelords
appropriatesurpluslabourfromtheserfsintheformofrent.
LordsTherulingclassinfeudalism,whoexerciseindirectcontroloverserfs.
SerfsClassofproducersinthefeudalmodeofproductionwhosesurpluslabour
is
appropriatedthroughrent.
AsiaticModeofProductionReferstocommunitybasedproductionsystem
whereownershipoflandiscommunalandtheexistenceofisexpressedthrough
therealorimaginaryunityofthesecommunities.
CLASSSTRUCTURE
ThewordclassoriginatedfromtheLatintermclassiswhichreferstoagroup
calledtoarms,adivisionofthepeople.
Marxrecognisedclassasauniquefeatureofcapitalistsocieties.Thisisone
reasonwhyhedidnotanalysetheclassstructureandclassrelationsinother
formsofsociety.
InCapital(1894),UnderthetitleofSocialClassesMarxdistinguishedthree
classes,relatedtothethreesourcesofincome:(a)ownersofsimplelabour
powerorlabourerswhosemainsourceofincomeislabour(b)ownersofcapital
orcapitalistswhosemainsource
ofincomeisprofitorsurplusvalueand(c)landownerswhosemainsourceof
incomeisgroundrent.Inthiswaytheclassstructureofmoderncapitalistsociety
iscomposedofthreemajorclassesviz.,salariedlabourersorworkers,capitalists
andlandowners.
Atabroaderlevel,societycouldbedividedintotwomajorclassesi.e.thehaves
(ownersoflandand/orcapital)oftencalledasbourgeoisieandthehavenots
(thosewhoownnothingbuttheirownlabourpower),oftencalledasproletariats.
CriteriaforDeterminationofClass
Forthisexercise,onecouldsaythatasocialclasshastwomajorcriteria:(i)
objectivecriteria(ii)subjectivecriteria.
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i)ObjectiveCriteria:Peoplesharingthesamerelationshiptothemeansof
productioncompriseaclass.Letusunderstanditthroughanexampleall
labourershaveasimilarrelationshipwiththelandowners.Ontheotherhandall
thelandowners,asaclass,haveasimilarrelationshipwiththelandand
labourers.Inthisway,labourersononehandandlandownersontheotherhand
couldbeseenasclasses.However,forMarx,thisrelationshipaloneisnot
sufficienttodeterminetheclass.Accordingtohimitisnotsufficientforclassto
beclassinitselfbutitshouldalsobeclassforitself.Whatdoesthismean?By
classinitselfhemeanstheobjectivecriteriaofanysocialclass.Obviously,Marx
isnotsimplysatisfiedwithobjectivecriteriaabove.Henceheequallyemphasises
upontheothermajorcriteriai.e.,Classforitselforthesubjectivecriteria.
ii)SubjectiveCriteria:Anycollectivityorhumangroupingwithasimilar
relationshipwouldmakeacategory,notaclass,ifsubjectivecriteriaarenot
included.Themembersofanyoneclassnotonlyhavesimilarconsciousnessbut
theyalsoshareasimilarconsciousnessofthefactthattheybelongtothesame
class.Thissimilarconsciousnessofaclassservesasthebasisforunitingits
membersfororganisingsocialaction.Herethissimilarclassconsciousness
towardsactingtogetherfortheircommoninterestsiswhatMarxcallsClassfor
itself.
CLASSANDCLASSSTRUGLE
Thechangesinthemodeofproductionareessentiallychangesintheforcesof
productionandrelationsofproduction.Inprimitivecommunalstagetherewasno
surplusproduction
andhenceithadnoinequalityandexploitationcausedbytheprivateownership
ofmeansofproduction.Themeansofproductionwerecommonpropertyofthe
community.Withthedevelopmentandimprovementsintheforcesofproduction
therewasincreasedproductivity.Thiscausedprivateownershipofmeansof
productionandchangeintherelationsofproduction.Thismarkedtheendof
primitivecommunalsystemandthusbeganthelonghistoryofinequality,
exploitationandclassconflict,coincidingwiththeemergenceofslaveowning
society.
Intheslaveowningsocietytheclassconflictbetweentheslaveownersand
slavesreachedapeakcausingachangeinthemodeofproductionfromslavery
tofeudalisticmodeofproduction.Marxhassaidthatthehistoryofhitherto
existingsocietyisahistoryofclassstruggle.Thismeansthattheentirehistoryof
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societyisstuddedwithdifferentphasesandperiodsofclassstruggle.Thishistory
ofclassstrugglebeginsintheslaveowningsocietyandcontinuesthroughfeudal
societywherethisclassstruggleisbetweenclassesofthefeudallordsandthe
landlessagriculturallabourersorserfs.Duetochangeinmodeofproductionand
classstruggleanewstageofsocietyi.e.,capitalismreplacestheageoldfeudal
system.
Inthecapitalisticmodeofproductiontheclassantagonismacquiresmostacute
dimensions.Theworkingclassmovementbeginstoconcretiseandreachesits
peak.Throughaclassconflictbetweentheclassofcapitalistsandtheclassof
industriallabourers,thecapitalistsystemisreplacedbysocialism.Thisviolent
changehasbeentermedasrevolutionbyMarx.
CLASSSTRUGGLEANDREVOLUTION
Marxsaidthattheclassantagonismandsubsequentlytheclassconflictinthe
capitalistsystemwillusherinsocialisminplaceofcapitalismthrougha
revolution.Herethequestionariseswhatisthebasisofthisantagonism?Marxs
answeristhatthecontradictionbetweentheforcesandtherelationsof
productionisthebasisofthisantagonism.Thebourgeoisieisconstantlycreating
morepowerfulmeansofproduction.Buttherelationsofproduction
thatis,apparently,boththerelationsofownershipandthedistributionofincome
arenottransferredatthesamerate.Thecapitalistmodeofproductioniscapable
toproduceinbulk,butdespitethismassproductionandincreaseinwealth,
majorityofthepopulationsuffersfrompovertyandmisery.Ontheotherhand,
thereareafewfamilieswhohavesomuchwealththatonecouldnotevencount
orimagine.Thesestarkandwidedisparitiescreatesometinyislandsof
prosperityinavastoceanofpovertyandmisery.Theonusofthisdisparitylieson
theinequal,exploitativerelationsofproductionwhichdistributetheproduceinan
inequalmanner.Thiscontradiction,accordingtoMarx,willeventuallyproducea
revolutionarycrisis.Theproletariat,whichconstitutesandwillincreasingly
constitutethevastmajorityofthepopulation,willbecomeaclass,thatis,asocial
entityaspiringfortheseizureofpowerandtransformationofsocialrelations.
MARXSCONCEPTOFALIENATION
Marxhasconceivedofalienationasaphenomenonrelatedtothestructureof
thosesocietiesinwhichtheproducerisdivorcedfromthemeansofproduction
andinwhich
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deadlabour(capital)dominateslivinglabour(theworker).Letustakean
exampleofashoemakerinafactory.Ashoemakermanufacturesshoesbut
cannotusethemforhimself.Hiscreationthusbecomesanobjectwhichis
separatefromhim.Itbecomesanentitywhichisseparatefromitscreator.Class
andClassConflictHemakesshoesnotbecausemakingshoessatisfiesmerely
hisurgetoworkandcreate.Hedoessotoearnhisliving.Foraworkerthis
objectificationbecomesmoresobecausetheprocessofproductionina
factoryisdecidedintoseveralpartsandhisjobmaybeonlyatinypartofthe
whole.Sinceheproducesonlyonepartofthewhole,hisworkismechanicaland
thereforeheloseshiscreativity.
InMarxssensealienationisanactionthroughwhich(orastateinwhich)a
person,agroup,aninstitution,orasocietybecomes(orremains)alien)
a)totheresultsorproductsofitsownactivity(andtotheactivityitself),and/or
b)tothenatureinwhichitlives,and/or
c)tootherhumanbeings,andinadditionandthroughanyorallof(a)to(c)also
d)toitself(toitsownhistoricallycreatedhumanpossibilities).
Alienationisalwaysselfalienation,i.e.,onesalienationfromoneself
throughonesownactivity.
Dealienation
MerecriticismofalienationwasnottheintentionofMarx.Hisaimwastoclearthe
pathforaradicalrevolutionandforaccomplishingcommunismunderstoodas
thereintegrationofonesreturntooneself,thesupersessionofonesself
alienation.Mereabolitionofprivatepropertycannotbringaboutdealienationof
economicandsociallife.Thissituationoftheworker,ortheproducerdoesnot
alterbytransformingprivatepropertyintostate
property.Someformsofalienationincapitalistproductionhavetheirrootsinthe
natureofthemeansofproductionandtherelateddivisionofsociallabour,sothat
theycannotbeeliminatedbyamerechangeintheformofmanagingproduction.

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InfrastructureAccordingtoMarx,thematerialisticstructureoreconomic
structureisthefoundationorbaseofsociety.Inotherwords,itisalsocalledthe
infrastructure.Thesuperstructureofsocietyrestsonit.Infrastructureincludes
modeofproductionandhenceforcesofproductionandrelationsofproduction.
SuperstructureAllsocial,politicalandculturalinstitutionsofsocietiesexcepting
economicinstitutionsconstitutethesuperstructureofasociety.

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1comment:
swapnilias September19,2014at8:50PM
sir,wellcompilled.....keepiton.thnks
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