The social and intellectual forces in the development of sociology

The social forces in the development of sociology

The Dual Revolution Industrialization & pauperization Urbanization Scientific progress Modernity & secularization Transformation of the traditional structure of family and gender roles

The Dual Revolution / transformation of 1789 - 1848

The twin upheaval: The French Revolution & The Industrial Revolution Took place in and spread outwards from Great Britain and France

The French Revolution (1789)

1789-99:

a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe Collapse of the absolute monarchy in France Feudal, aristocratic and religious privileges under attack from liberal political groups and the masses in the streets Replacement of old ideas of hierarchy and tradition by Enlightenment principles of citizenship&inalienable rights Most controversial legacy: the concept of NATION

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (ca. 1780-1800/1840s)

Start: Britain, late 18th century Quickly spread across Europe and North America Not a single event; a broad spectrum of social and economic transformations New technology & inventions transformation of the agricultural and commercial way of life into modern industrial society Take-off into self-sustained growth

Fundamental changes
Demographic change: remarkable increase in population (This rapid population growth also stimulated the economy immensely and became thus sustainable) 2) Change in communications (railways, road network; the sheer improvement in speed and carrying capacity) 3) Change in the sheer bulk of commerce and migration
1)

World-historical consequences of the Dual Revolution

Viewed mostly as: The triumph of secular ideas and values, such as liberty and equality, over the traditional social order (French Revolution) The start of a powerful and dynamic force that has since spread across the entire globe and became the staple of the modern world (Industrial Revolution)

YET
The triumph of Not the industry as such, but of capitalist industry Not of liberty and equality in general, but of middle class or bourgeois liberal society Not of the modern world economy or modern state, but of the economies and states in Western Europe

MOST PROFOUND AND LASTING OF ALL THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE AGE OF DUAL REVOLUTION:
Took the form of European expansion established a domination of the globe by a few western regimes (esp. by the British) Created a sharp division between the advanced and the underdeveloped countries

Scientific Progress
The launching of a series of new inventions such as James Watts steam engine or Eli Whitneys cotton gin or Henry Bessemers steel making process stimulated the Industrial Revolution and made a historical rupture with the traditional society possible gave way to new and highly optimistic mode of thinking, which viewed scientific progress as cumulative and promoting progress in society in general

Industrialization
Creation of a mechanized factory system Production in vast quantities and at diminishing costs No longer dependent on existing demand, but capable of creating its own market

Urbanization
The development of cities and towns Peasants and villagers migrating to cities because of lack of opportunities in rural areas and apparent advantages and attractions of cities Cities becoming concentrated areas of financial and industrial power Change of habits and modes of behavior as well as of patterns of thought and feeling

Fount of dynamism, cultural creativity and economic development or smoking inferno riddled with crime, violence and corruption?

Pauperization
A process related to the processes of industrialization and urbanization The increasing impoverishment of urban workers who are devoid of all means of production, had nothing to sell but their labors and forced to live on an existential minimum

Modernity & Secularization

Modernity: coined to capture the changes in progress, that were brought about by the twin revolutions, by contrasting traditional with modern Refers to a world constructed anew through active and conscious intervention of individuals A new sense of freedom combined with a basic anxiety about the uncertainty of the future

3 elements of modernity:

Traditional modernity: a historical consciousness, a sense of breaking with the past, and a post-traditional consciousness of what is going on in the world Institutional modernity: concerned with capitalism, industrialism, urbanism, and the democratic nation-state Cultural modernity: entails new beliefs about science, economics, and education. It involves a criticism of religion and separation of religion from politics and education.

Secularization:
A process of decline in the influence of religion Secularization can refer to a) levels of involvement with religious organizations (such as rates of church attendance) b) the social and material influence wielded by religious organizations c) the degree to which people hold religious beliefs

Transformation of the traditional structure of family and gender roles

The gradual replacement of the big families by nuclear family usually consisting of mother, father (or one of these) and dependent children The traditional European family, basically an economic rather than a sentimental institution, began to evolve in the direction of greater sentimentality

The intellectual forces in the development of sociology

The 18th century European Enlightenment The rise of the positivist paradigm The ideal of progress

The 18th century European Enlightenment

a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and man were synthesized into a worldview that gained wide assent and instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics Central to Enlightenment thought: the use and the celebration of reason The first modern secularized theories of psychology and ethics Emergence of a relatively neutral notion of man as a creature interested principally in his own survival and maximization of pleasure The demystification of the state The idea of a social contract an evolving critique of the arbitrary, authoritarian state and to sketching the outline of a higher form of social organization, based on natural rights and functioning as a political democracy Major thinkers: John Locke and Jeremy Bentham (England); Rousseau, Montesquieu and Voltaire (France); Thomas Jefferson (U.S. America)

The rise of the positivist paradigm

Positivism = the view that the study of the social world should be conducted according to the principles of natural science Major postulate: objective knowledge can be produced through careful observation, comparison and experimentation

The ideal of progress

the belief that, in general, history proceeds in the direction of improved material conditions and a better (i.e., healthier, happier, more secure, more comfortable) life for more and more people In the long run, most things get better first proponent: Francis Bacon The material changes and prosperity brought about by the Industrial Revolution of the early 18th century inspired further confidence in the idea of progress, and before long a great wave of optimism

Most important results of the 19th century developments:

The bourgeoisie, or the capitalist strata, started to feel a sense of great threat from the subversive potential of the masses Widespread acceptance of the normality of change 3 responses to the normality of change: (1) anti-systemic movements; (2) ideologies (conservatism, liberalism, socialism); (3) social sciences

The development of sociology

Developed under the influence of the 3 different views on social change (conservative, liberal, radical/socialist) The conservative wing: French sociology (Saint-Simon, Comte, Durkheim) The liberal wing: British sociology (Herbert Spencer) The radical/socialist wing: the revolutionary strand of German sociology (Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels) Mainstream sociology: middle ground German sociology (Max Weber & Georg Simmel)

Major difference between various strands of classical sociological theory:

Their view on social change Their world view (static? dynamic?)

French Sociology

A story of progression from the Enlightenment and the French Revolution to the conservative reaction

Claude Henri Saint-Simon (1760-1825)

Significant for both conservative and radical theory Conservative side: (1) aimed at preservation of the existing society; (2) positivist Radical side: emphasis on the need for social reforms (centralized planning of the economic system) Heavy influence on Auguste Comte

Auguste Comte (17891857)

Coined the term sociology Positivist Despised the anarchy in French society Counterrevolutionary; reformist Social physics/sociology social statics (=existing structures) and social dynamics (=social change) Evolutionary view of the world history (theological, metaphysical, positivistic stages) Idealistic view (intellectual disorder seen as the main cause of social disorder) Sociologys task:accelerating the arrival of positivism and promoting social order

Emile Durkheim (18581917)

Ambigious relation to the Enlightenment (politically liberal, intellectually conservative) Reformist Subject matter of Durkheimian sociology: social facts (=forces&structures external to and coercive of the individual; can be empirically studied) Social facts: (a) material (bureaucracy, law etc.); (b) non-material (culture, social institutions) Reform suggestions to strengthen collective morality

German Sociology
Fragmented from the beginning Split between the radical revolutionary wing represented by Marx (and, later, the Marxians) and the early representatives of mainstream sociology (Weber and Simmel)

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Never saw himself as a sociologist Simultaneously influenced by and critical of both Hegel and Feuerbach Hegels dialectic + Feuerbachs materialism dialectic materialism Interest in political economy (Adam Smith & David Ricardo; labor as the source of all wealth)

Labor theory of value:

profit of the capitalist based on the exploitation of the laborer Simple trick by the capitalists: paying the workers less than the value of what they actually produced in a work period SURPLUS VALUE (=the basis of the entire capitalist system) Inner dynamic of capitalist growth: continually increasing the level of exploitation of the workers (and hence the amount of the surplus value) and retaining and reinvesting the profits

Main features of Marxs theory

A theory of capitalist society based on his image of the basic nature of human beings

Marxs view on basic human nature

productivity as the basic activity and the perfectly natural way of expressing basic creative impulses Sociality as an inherent trait Subversion of this natural process throughout history Most acute breakdown of the natural process: capitalist society

Capitalism
Capitalism = a structure (or better: a series of structures) that erects barriers between an individual and the production process, the products of that process, and other people Alienation!!!

Alienation:
The breakdown of the natural interconnection among people and between people and what they produce Occurs because of the 2-class system 2-class system: capitalists (owners of the means, process, and products of production) and workers (disposable labor force)

Marxs analysis of capitalist society

Starts with an analysis of commodity Continues with the contradiction between the use value and exchange value of commodities Exchange value predominates the actual usefulness in satisfying human needs commodities appear separate from human need&labor and gain power over humans commodity fetishism!!!!

Profit through exploitation of the proletariat CLASS CONFLICT 2 main elements of capitalist enterprise: 1) Capital = any asset (incl. money, machines, factories), which can be used or invested to make future assets 2) Wage-labor = the pool of workers devoid of the means of their livelihood and must find employment provided by the owners of capital

Max Weber (1864-1920)

At some points in opposition to Marx, at other points extending Marxs ideas Emphasis on ideas and their effect on the economy Ideas: not just simple reflections of economic factors, but autonomous forces capable of profoundly affecting the economic world Main interest: the impact of religious ideas on economy (The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism)

Webers main issue:

Why did institutions in the West grow progressively more rational while powerful barriers seem to have prevented a similar development in the rest of the world? Bureaucracy as the classic example of rationalization

Main differences between Marx and Weber

Views on stratification (Marx: economic dimension/social class; Weber: various factors/status, power) Theoretical frame (Marx: a theory of capitalism; Weber: a theory of the process of rationalization) Publics reception (Weber more acceptable, because conservative, dry&academic, in the cause&effect-style of the Kantian tradition, broader scope of interest)

Georg Simmel (1858-1918)

Smaller-scale issues, esp. action and interaction Major task of sociology for Simmel: understanding interaction among people Thesis on modernity: expansion of the larger culture leads to a growing insignificance of the individual

British Sociology
Herbert Spencer: Liberal side: proponent of the laissez-faire doctrine (state kept out of individual affairs, functioning only as a protector) Conservative: positivist, social Darwinist (coined the term survival of the fittest), follows the organism-analogy of Comte and Durkheim Evolutionary theory on world history interested neither in revolution nor in reform Individualist (methodologically as well as politically)