Summarize Max Weber's concepts of verstehen and rationalization. What will be an ideal ...

Answer to q. 1

German social scientist Max Weber acknowledged that economic interests are important in shaping human action. He thought that economic systems are heavily influenced by other factors in a society. Weber evaluated the role of the Protestant Reformation in producing a social climate in which capitalism could exist and flourish. He emphasized that sociology should be value freeresearch should be conducted in a scientific manner and should exclude the researcher's personal values and economic interests. Although he recognized that sociologists cannot be totally value free, Weber stressed that they could employ verstehen (German for understanding or insight) to gain the ability to see the world as others see it. One of Weber's most useful concepts was rationalizationthe process by which the modern world has come to be increasingly dominated by structures devoted to efficiency, calculability, predictability, and technological control.

Answer to q. 2

a

Answer to q. 3

German economist and philosopher Karl Marx stressed that history is a

continuous clash between conflicting ideas and forces. He believed that

conflictespecially class conflictis necessary in order to produce

social change and a better society. Class conflict is the struggle between

the capitalist class and the working class. The capitalist class, or

bourgeoisie, comprises those who own and control the means of

productionthe tools, land, factories, and money for investment that form

the economic basis of a society. The working class, or proletariat, is

composed of those who must sell their labor because they have no other

means to earn a livelihood. The capitalist class controls and exploits the

masses of struggling workers by paying less than the value of their labor.

This exploitation results in worker's alienationa feeling of

powerlessness and estrangement from other people and from

themselves. Marx predicted that the working class would become aware

of its exploitation, overthrow the capitalists, and establish a free and

classless society.

Answer to q. 4

d

Answer to q. 5

French sociologist Emile Durkheim stressed that people are the products

of their social environment and that behavior cannot be fully understood in

terms of individual biological and psychological traits. Durkheim set forth

the idea that societies are built on social facts. Social facts are patterned

ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual

but that exert social control over each person. He believed that social

facts must be explained by other social factsby reference to the social

structure rather than to individual attributes. Durkheim's recurring

question was: How do societies manage to hold together? He concluded

that preindustrial societies were held together by strong traditions and by

members' shared moral beliefs and values. As societies industrialized,

more specialized economic activity became the basis of the social bond

because people became interdependent on one another. Durkheim

observed that rapid social change and a more specialized division of

labor produce strains in society.

These strains lead to a breakdown in traditional organization, values, and authority and to a

dramatic increase in anomiea condition in which social control becomes ineffective as a

result of the loss of shared values and of a sense of purpose in society.

Answer to q. 6

c

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