Marx and Weber: Conflicting Conflict Theories

Two names that are repeatedly mentioned in sociological theory are Karl Marx and Max Weber. In some ways these two intellectuals were similar in the way they looked at society. There are also some striking differences. In order to compare and contrast these two individuals it is necessary to look at each of their ideas. Then a comparison of their views can be illustrated followed by examples of how their perspectives differ from each other.

Karl Marx was born in Trier, Germany in 1818. He came from a middle-class German-Jewish background. He attended first the University of Bonn, and later the University of Berlin. At the University of Berlin he was linked to the Young Hegelians. The Young Hegelians was a group that criticized German politics using Hegelian philosophy as their guide. (Farganis 2004, 23) Hegel’s philosophy involved viewing “things as they are and as they have the potential to become in the future.” (Farganis 2004, 23) Throughout Marx’s works he looks at the relationships between wealth and power and the conflict that exists between the capitalist bourgeoisie who own the means of production and the proletariat that is the labor force behind production.

In Marx’s Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, he begins to draw the line between the capitalist owner and the laborer class. As a result of the competition that is necessary for capitalist interests, society divides itself into two classes: