SOCI 1001

Lecture 3
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CARE FOR, AND TEACHINGS ABOUT, OUR EARTH AND OUR
RELATIONS. MAY WE HONOUR THOSE TEACHINGS.
Conceptualizing Society: The Classical Tradition
_____________________________________________________________________________

 Introduction to ‘macro-level’/founding sociological theorists

 Understanding Society
systems of production, distribution and consumption
‘mode of production’ (means of production and relations of production)

 Capitalist Mode of Production

means of production (advanced tools, capital investment)
relations of production (private ownership/collective labour)

 Characteristics of Capitalist Society

commodities/profit/commodification
(complex) ‘division of labour’
rationalization/bureaucracy
authority (from traditional to legal-rational)
the “iron cage” of rationalization
 Introduce key foundational
Introduce the foundational
concepts & characteristics
ideas of the classical theorists
that define the type of
regarding these
capitalist society/structure we
characteristics
live in
Founding/Classical Sociological Theorists:

Karl Marx
Emile Durkheim
Max Weber
Sociology (as a discipline) emerged out of the transition to industrial
urban-based capitalism, to systematically begin to make sense of the
massive social changes occurring, and their possible implications.
Sociology at the ‘macro level’

• Introduce a key analytical concept used to

distinguish different types of society

• Present distinguishing characteristics of “capitalist

society” in particular
 Basis of the Social Organization of a Society

Systems of:

 Production  Distribution  Consumption

How these processes of production/distribution/consumption are socially organized

determines, to a great extent, the macro structures of the society
 Mode of Production
(Karl Marx)

Consists of the:

Means of Production
(e.g., technologies, materials, property)
+
Relations of Production
(social relations: how people are organized around production)
Conceptualizing Society: The Classical Tradition
_____________________________________________________________________________

 Introduction to ‘macro-level’/founding sociological theorists

 Understanding Society
systems of production, distribution and consumption
‘mode of production’ (means of production and relations of production)

 Capitalist Mode of Production

means of production (advanced tools, capital investment)
relations of production (private ownership/collective labour)

 Characteristics of Capitalist Society

commodities/profit/commodification
(complex) ‘division of labour’
rationalization/bureaucracy
authority (from traditional to legal-rational)
the “iron cage” of rationalization
Capitalist Mode of Production
Karl Marx
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Means of Production
(advanced technologies, large-scale capital, private property)

Relations of Production
(means of production are privately owned by a few, collectively worked
upon by many for a wage – 2 central ‘social classes’)
 In a Capitalist Social System:
(Karl Marx)

Relations of Commodities are The process of

production are produced based on commodification
organized around the exchange for a expands throughout
principle of private profit the society
property
10-minute break!
Conceptualizing Society: The Classical Tradition
_____________________________________________________________________________

 Introduction to ‘macro-level’/founding sociological theorists

 Understanding Society
systems of production, distribution and consumption
‘mode of production’ (means of production and relations of production)

 Capitalist Mode of Production

means of production (advanced tools, capital investment)
relations of production (private ownership/collective labour)

 Characteristics of Capitalist Society

commodities/profit/commodification
(complex) ‘division of labour’
rationalization/bureaucracy
authority (from traditional to legal-rational)
the “iron cage” of rationalization
Division of Labour (Karl Marx):
The ‘division of labour’ in the theories by Karl
Marx refers to work/labour being subdivided into
many specialized operations, to be performed by
separate workers.
Division of Labour (Emile Durkheim):
For Emile Durkheim, the understanding of ‘division of labour’
was broader, referring to the increasingly specialized roles people
took on in modern capitalist society

It was tied to his concept of “anomie”

Anomie refers to a state of ‘normlessness’, or lack of social

standards to regulate behaviour

Related to poor ‘social integration’

Looked to ‘functional interdependence’

(mechanical v. organic solidarity)
Conceptualizing Society: The Classical Tradition
_____________________________________________________________________________

 Introduction to ‘macro-level’/founding sociological theorists

 Understanding Society
systems of production, distribution and consumption
‘mode of production’ (means of production and relations of production)

 Capitalist Mode of Production

means of production (advanced tools, capital investment)
relations of production (private ownership/collective labour)

 Characteristics of Capitalist Society

commodities/profit/commodification
(complex) ‘division of labour’
rationalization/bureaucracy
authority (from traditional to legal-rational)
the “iron cage” of rationalization
Rationalization Refers to the process in which
every aspect of human action
(Max Weber): becomes subject to calculation,
measurement and control – in
the pursuit of efficiency.
Conceptualizing Society: The Classical Tradition
_____________________________________________________________________________

 Introduction to ‘macro-level’/founding sociological theorists

 Understanding Society
systems of production, distribution and consumption
‘mode of production’ (means of production and relations of production)

 Capitalist Mode of Production

means of production (advanced tools, capital investment)
relations of production (private ownership/collective labour)

 Characteristics of Capitalist Society

commodities/profit/commodification
(complex) ‘division of labour’
rationalization/bureaucracy
authority (from traditional to legal-rational)
the “iron cage” of rationalization
 Concerns the organization
Bureacracy of people into hierarchical
(Max Weber) positions, each with its own
area of jurisdiction, guided
by a general set of rules.
Conceptualizing Society: The Classical Tradition
_____________________________________________________________________________

 Introduction to ‘macro-level’/founding sociological theorists

 Understanding Society
systems of production, distribution and consumption
‘mode of production’ (means of production and relations of production)

 Capitalist Mode of Production

means of production (advanced tools, capital investment)
relations of production (private ownership/collective labour)

 Characteristics of Capitalist Society

commodities/profit/commodification
(complex) ‘division of labour’
rationalization/bureaucracy
authority (from traditional to legal-rational)
the “iron cage” of rationalization
Authority With modern industrial
capitalism, there was a shift
from:
(Max Weber)
“traditional authority” to
“legal-rational authority”
(Max Weber)

Modern bureaucracy would create an:

“Iron Cage”
Alienation
as a central theme in the
classical tradition