Module 3.

Main
Theoretical Methods of
Social Sciences
Human Being in Society
Montserrat Gómez
Topic 11. Historical Materialism
O Socialism emerged as an alternative
vision for the worker, one in which
wealth is distributed equitably.

O Historical materialism is the theory

proposed by Karl Marx (1818-1883)
and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895).
Who was Marx?
http://
www.biography.com/people/karl-marx-9401219

Marx became increasingly focused on

capitalism and economic theory, and in 1867,
he published the first volume of Das Kapital.

Socialism and communism are alike in that

both are systems of production for use based
on public ownership of the means of production
and centralized planning.

Socialism grows directly out of capitalism; it is

the first form of the new society.

Communism is a further development or

"higher stage" of socialism.
 Communists Socialists
Believe that as soon as the Believe that it is possible to
working class and its allies make the transition from
are in a position to do so capitalism to socialism
they must make a basic without a basic change in the
change in the character of character of the state. They
the state; they must replace do not think of the capitalist
capitalist dictatorship over state as essentially an
the working class with institution for the
workers’ dictatorship, as the dictatorship of the capitalist
first step in the process by class, but rather as a
which the existence of perfectly good piece of
capitalists as a class (but not machinery which can be
as individuals) is ended and a used in the interest of
classless society is whichever class gets
eventually ushered in. command of it.

Socialism can be made step

by step within the framework
of the democratic forms of
the capitalist state.
O Marx sought a philosophy that focused on the study of
social reality, that is, that the life of people, their
development and transformation is a materialistic
philosophy.

O In 1844, Marx met Engels and in 1848 together they

published the Manifesto of the Communist Party.

O Historical materialism seeks to end capitalism because

it is considered as a way to restrain, exploit, and control
the population.

O Materialistic thinking refers to the theory that had as

principle of material life the existence of individuals.

O In terms of the historical quality, is related to periods or

stages that, according to Marx, have elapsed, and to
the fact that men and societies are shaped historically.
 POWER
POWER

Producti
on

Class
Class Social
Social
conscienc
conscienc Relations
Relations
e
e

Marx's analysis continually centers on how the relationships between

men are shaped by their relative positions in regard to the means of
production, that is, by their differential access to scarce resources and
scarce power.
 Dialectical Materialism
O According to how man is organized to
carry out the production is how they
generate social classes.
O These social classes are repeated and
determined by each individual
participation in society.

O “It is not the consciousness of men that

determines their existence, but, on the
contrary, their social existence that
determines their consciousness”
O Historical materialism, had the early
developments of economic relations,
through a dialectical struggle
between the owners of the means of
production and the dispossessed and
exploited workers.
 The dialectical method
 The history of past societies is the history of
class struggle, the lower social class and in
the synthesis of the historical process.

 This illustrates the dialectical method, which

uses the philosophical thought, because it is
based on dialogue to reach a conclusion in
which a thesis or truth is established.

 It also establishes the rules and roles of all

that is (relations productive) and
(ideological, social and political) relations.
O To explain the
evolution of
humanity, Marx
and Engels state
that the historical
development of
human society is
due to the
materials, primarily
economic and
technical facts.

O Mankind can
achieve
development in
their economic and
social activity,

O These
indispensable and
independent
Topic 12. Structural Functionalism
O Theory that tries to explain how the social
conducts are related to social processes,
roles, functions and status of members
interacting in any society.

O Structure: the distribution of parts of a

body. The concept comes from Latin
structura, which refers to the arrangement
and order of all.

O For sociology, social structure is the

population with a particular association,
which lives and develops in an environment.
 What is the theory about?
O Started by Talcott Parsons.

O This theory seeks to analyze society through

a general theoretical system using multiple
disciplines of social sciences to create a
single general theory of human relations.

O The Social reality is considered as a whole.

O Systems can be static or dynamic, that is a

constant change to help either stability or
change.
1. Parsons was interested in the role that norms and values
play in society.
2. In the socialization process, society inculcates individuals
with a perspective that they can search for their own
interests while serving the system’s interests.
3. It is through socialization that Parsons said the individual
embraces the norms of society.
Merton:
O Analyzes society based on whether the
social and are well integrated or not.
O He focused primarily on the relationship
between structures and functions,
discarding Parsons’ idea that all parts are
functional, integrated and indispensable.
O He created a system of concepts to deal
with the ways in which structures may
relate to the whole.
O He suggested that some social facts could
be dysfunctional, which means they can
have negative consequences for other
social facts.
O In summary, Merton said that dysfunctional
structures could exist within systems, depending on
their relationship with other systems. Thus, not all
structures are positive, nor all of them are essential.

O Parsons was influenced by capitalist ideas, sought

to analyze society as a whole to determine what it
does in each of its members.

O Society’s vision under structural functionalist theory

is like a biological system in which each element has
a specific function.

O For this theory, the status and the role of the

individual are basic elements, so it accepts social
stratification according to the wealth or status of the
society members.
 Status & Role
O The role is the part that
each person plays in society
and is a consequence of a
certain status; a person can
have different status and,
therefore, have different
roles to play.

O The status is determined

by many variables,
including income,
education, the importance
of employment and
personal prestige.