Introducing Western Sociologists

The Enlightenment (European intellectual movement of the late 17th/18th century) provided the intellectual foundation for sociology.

• Reason over Tradition: It emphasized that the world could be understood through reason, logic, and scientific observation rather than religion or tradition.
• Human Agency: It established the idea that humans could shape their own society. If society is human-made, it can be studied and improved.
• Empiricism: The belief that only the observable is real paved the way for measuring social phenomena scientifically.

The Industrial Revolution created the social chaos that sociology sought to explain and solve.

• Urbanization: Massive migration from villages to overcrowded cities led to new problems like slums, crime, and disease.
• New Class Structure: The rise of the factory system created distinct classes—the factory owners (Bourgeoisie) and the workers (Proletariat)—leading to new forms of conflict.
• Loss of Community: Traditional bonds of family and kin broke down. Early sociologists like Durkheim and Marx studied how social order could be maintained in this new, impersonal world.

For Marx, the Mode of Production is the economic base of any society. It has two main components:

1. Forces of Production:

• The tools, technology, raw materials, land, and factories used to produce goods.
• Labor power (human skills and strength).

2. Relations of Production:

• The relationship between those who own the means of production (e.g., masters, capitalists) and those who work for them (e.g., slaves, workers).
• It defines who controls the surplus produced.

According to Marx, class conflict is inevitable because the interests of the two main classes are fundamentally opposed:

• Opposing Interests: The Capitalist (Bourgeoisie) wants to maximize profit, which requires keeping wages low. The Worker (Proletariat) wants higher wages and better living conditions.
• Exploitation: The wealth of the capitalist comes from “surplus value”—the value created by the worker that is not paid back to them.
• Class Consciousness: Conflict erupts when workers realize they are being exploited (move from being a “class in itself” to a “class for itself”) and unite to overthrow the system.

Social Facts: According to Durkheim, social facts are aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. They are “things” that exist outside the individual but exert influence over them. Examples: Law, Custom, Language, Currency.

How to recognize them:

• Externality: They exist outside the individual (e.g., the law exists whether you agree with it or not).
• Constraint: They exercise coercive power. If you try to resist a social fact (e.g., speak a gibberish language or break a law), you face social or legal punishment.
• Generality: They are general throughout a society, not unique to one person.

Feature	Mechanical Solidarity	Organic Solidarity
Society Type	Pre-modern / Simple / Rural	Modern / Complex / Urban / Industrial
Basis of Unity	Similarity. People feel connected because they live the same life, do the same work (agriculture), and share beliefs.	Difference/Interdependence. People are connected because they need each other’s specialized skills (like organs in a body).
Laws	Repressive (Severe punishment to show anger of the community).	Restitutive (Meant to restore order or compensate, like civil law).

Durkheim believed that the type of law (moral code) a society has reveals its type of solidarity.

• Repressive Law (Indicator of Mechanical Solidarity): In traditional societies, a crime is seen as an offense against the whole community’s “Collective Conscience.”
  Example: In some ancient tribes, breaking a religious taboo might result in the offender being banished or stoned by the entire village. The severity shows the tight moral bond.
• Restitutive Law (Indicator of Organic Solidarity): In modern societies, a crime is seen as a harm to an individual or a breach of contract.
  Example: If a builder fails to complete a house, the court orders him to pay damages or finish the work. The goal is to fix the relationship so the complex economic system keeps running.

Weber defined Bureaucracy as the most rational and efficient form of organization. Its key features are:

• Hierarchy of Authority: Clear levels of command (e.g., Manager $\to$ Supervisor $\to$ Worker).
• Rules and Regulations: Operations are governed by written, standardized rules, not personal whims.
• Division of Labor: Specialized tasks for each official.
• Impersonality: Decisions are made based on rules, without hatred or passion (Sine Ira et Studio).
• Technical Competence: Recruitment is based on qualification and merit, not nepotism.

Weber argued for “Value Neutrality”.

• The Challenge: Unlike natural sciences, social scientists study humans and have their own moral/political values.
• The Solution: A sociologist can choose a topic based on their values (Value Relevance), but once the research begins, they must set aside their personal preferences and report facts as they are, even if the facts contradict their beliefs (Value Neutrality).
• Empathetic Understanding (Verstehen): Objectivity in sociology also means understanding the *subjective* meanings people attach to their actions, not just observing them from the outside like rocks or atoms.

• Marxist Theory: The idea of class struggle and land rights directly influenced the Naxalite/Maoist Movement and various Trade Union movements.
• Ambedkarism (Social Justice): The theories of caste oppression and the need for annihilation of caste fueled the Dalit Rights Movement.
• Gandhian Theory: Ideas of non-violence (Satyagraha) and decentralized development influenced the Chipko Movement (environmental) and the Anti-Corruption movements.

• Marx on India: He wrote about the “Asiatic Mode of Production.” He argued that traditional Indian villages were self-sufficient, stagnant communities (“little republics”) with no private land ownership, which prevented historical progress until British colonialism introduced capitalism (which he saw as painful but historically necessary).
• Weber on India: He wrote “The Religion of India.” He explored why capitalism did not originate in India despite its wealth. He argued that the Hindu caste system and the belief in Karma/Rebirth (Samsara) discouraged the entrepreneurial “spirit” and rational innovation required for modern capitalism (unlike Protestantism in Europe).

Reasons to Study:

• Foundational Concepts: Concepts like “Class,” “Bureaucracy,” and “Solidarity” invented by them are still the primary tools we use to analyze today’s society (e.g., Amazon’s structure is a bureaucracy; the gig economy is a new form of class struggle).
• Historical Context: They help us understand the origins of the modern world.

Reasons Not to Study (Critique):

• Eurocentrism: Their theories were based on European history and often misrepresented non-European societies (like Marx/Weber on India).
• Outdated: They could not foresee modern issues like the Internet, Artificial Intelligence, or Climate Change.
• Patriarchy: These “Founding Fathers” largely ignored the role of women in society.