Perspectives on Social Change by Karl Marx, Max Weber & Emile Durkheim (Research Paper Sample)

Perspectives on Social Change by Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim
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Institution
Social change is the transformation of behavior patterns and cultural values and norms in society. It results in the creation of a new cultural environment dictated by new values and ways of thinking or doing things. Different sociological perspectives provide varying views on the forces that lead to social change. This paper compares the idea of Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim on social change.
Karl Marx’s perspective on social change is arguably the most popular owing to its relevance in explaining the nature of capitalism, the dominant economic model in the world today. According to Marx, social change is triggered by class conflict as a result of unequal distribution of resources between the rich and the poor (Kendall, 2018). Marx suggested that due to the exploitation of the working class by the business class, the former will revolt and forcefully alter the modes of production from capitalist to socialist model. In this regard, it is arguable that Marx viewed social change as inevitably disruptive and violent, since it can be achieved through a revolution as opposed to social reforms. He argued that unequal distribution of resources can incite class conflicts, leading to the overthrow of the minority business class by the majority but economically marginalized working class.
On his part, Emile Durkheim viewed social change as a process of society adapting to existing challenges to function effectively. Thus, he argued from the point of view of functionalism, which emphasizes the need for societal equilibrium (Kendall, 2018). He suggested that if something happened to disrupt the existing order, society adjusted through social change to regain stability. For instance, society embraces new norms and values in response to changing times. A good example is the division of labor in response to industrialization and economic growth, which transformed agrarian societies into industrial ones.
However, Durkheim was critical of social change because of what he termed as “anomie” resulting from modern individualism promoted by division of labor. He defined anomie as the lack of moral norms, caused by rapid social change and division of labor (Kendall, 2018). Thus, he characterized social change as undesirable because the transition from traditional to modern society promoted to the decline of moral values. Unlike Marx who viewed social change as a positive force in terms of promoting equal sharing of resources, Durkheim viewed it as having a negative impact on society. For Durkheim, anomie disrupted society by causing a breakdown of societal norms, thus suggesting that social change is not desirable.
Max Weber advanced the idea that social change was a function of certain social structures in society, such as religion (Kendall, 2018). While agreeing with Marx that capitalism reflected the dominant cultural norms, he differed on his take on the forces that can lead to social change. For instance, instead of attribut