Sociology of Marxism: the main characteristics

The influence of Marxism on sociology in the 20th century was very great. Karl Marx strove to create a strictly objective theory of social development, based on historical facts. Of course, he succeeded.

The sociology of Marxism in Russia has its own history. However, not only in our country, this teaching has become very popular. Marxism is one of the largest trends in sociology of the 20th century. Many well-known researchers of public life, as well as economists and other adherents of this teaching, have contributed to it. At present, there is extensive material on Marxism. In this article, we will describe the main provisions of this teaching.

What is the basis of Marxism

In order to better understand what the sociology of Marxism is, we will briefly trace its history. Friedrich Engels, Carl's companion and friend, singles out three traditions that influenced this teaching. This is German philosophy, French historical science and English political economy. The main line that Marx followed was classical German philosophy. Karl shared one of the main ideas of Hegel, which consists in the fact that society as a whole passes through successive stages in its development. After studying English political economy, Karl Marx (pictured above) introduced into his teaching terms from it. He shared some of his modern ideas, in particular, the theory of labor value. With socialists and historians from France, he borrowed such a notorious notion as the class struggle.

Having perceived the theories of all these scientists, Engels and Karl Marx reworked them qualitatively, as a result of which a completely new doctrine emerged-the sociology of Marxism. In short, it can be defined as a fusion of economic, sociological, philosophical and other theories that are closely interrelated and are a single whole that expresses the needs of the working class. Marx's teaching, more specifically, is an analysis of capitalist society, which is contemporary to it. Karl explored its structure, mechanism, the inevitability of change. At the same time, it is indisputable that for him the analysis of the formation of capitalism was an analysis of the historical development of society and man.

The Method of Marxism

The method used by the sociology of Marxism is usually defined as dialectical-materialistic. This method is based on a special understanding of the surrounding world, according to which both human thinking and the phenomena of society and nature are subject to qualitative changes. These changes are explained by the struggle of these or other internal opposites and are interrelated.

The sociology of Marxism asserts that the idea is not a creator, not a creator. It reflects the material reality. Therefore, in the knowledge and study of the world, one must proceed from reality itself, not from an idea. More specifically, when examining the structure of human society, it is necessary to proceed not from the way of thinking inherent in a given society, but from the historical movement.

The Principle of Determinism

The sociology of Marxism is one of the main recognizes the principle of determinism, according to which in social phenomena and processes there is a cause-and-effect relationship. Scientists before Karl found it difficult to determine the main criteria that determine all other social relations and phenomena. They could not find an objective criterion for such a separation. The sociology of Marxism asserts that it is economic (production) relations that should be considered as such. Karl Marx believed that the development of society - a change in the stages of production.

Being determines consciousness

Social life, according to Marx, is determined both by the historical development of the given society and by social and historical laws. The latter act regardless of the will and consciousness of people. People are not able to change them, but they can open and adapt to them. Thus, the idealistic idea that the development of society is determined by the will of people, that is, consciousness determines the being, is refuted in Marxism. Being determines consciousness, not otherwise.

The influence of Marxism on sociology

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels made a significant contribution to understanding what should be considered a subject of general sociology. This science, in their opinion, should analyze the real life of people, what they really are, and not who they represent themselves. Classics of Marxism advocated such a certainty, in which the subject of general sociology would be a society regarded as the totality of various practical relations that develop between people and are associated with the so-called generic essence of the individual. In this regard, for a correct understanding of its subject matter, the definitions given by K. Marx, as the essence of man, nature, labor, society, are of great importance. Let us briefly examine each of them.

The essence of man

Marx and Engels, considering the individual from the standpoint of materialism, tried to determine what is its difference from the animal. They also wanted to understand what is its specificity as a generic being. Karl noted that man is not only a natural being, but also a social being that realizes the conditions of his social and material existence by means of an active attitude towards the world. The essence of man, according to Marx, is his labor, production activity. He believed that his production life was a generic life. Karl stressed that when people begin to produce the items they need, they begin to isolate themselves from the animal kingdom.

Work

Let us now tell you how sociology of Marxism relates to work . K. Marx and F. Engels regarded it as a conscious activity of the individual, aimed at the exchange of substances with nature. Carl notes that a person, in order to appropriate a natural substance in a form suitable for his life, sets in motion the natural forces that belong to his body. By influencing the external nature with the help of this movement, changing it, a person simultaneously changes his own nature. Labor, according to Marxism, created not only a separate individual, but also society. It emerged as a result of the interconnection of people formed in the process of labor.

Nature

Representations of nature and its relationship with society in pre-Marxist sociology were mainly related to one of the following categories:

• Idealistic (society and nature do not depend on each other, have no connection, since these are qualitatively different concepts);
• Vulgar-materialistic (all social processes and phenomena are subject to the laws prevailing in nature).

The philosophy and sociology of Marxism are critical of both these theories. The doctrine suggested by Karl suggests that natural communities and human society have a qualitative identity. Nevertheless, there is a connection between them. It is impossible to explain the structure and development of the laws of society, based only on biological laws. At the same time, it is impossible to completely neglect biological factors, that is, to turn exclusively to social factors.

Society

Karl Marx said that a person distinguishes from an animal expedient labor activity. He defined the society (taking into account the fact that there is a metabolism between man and nature) as a combination of people's relations to each other and to nature. Socium, according to Marx, is a system of interaction between individuals, the basis of which is economic relations. People enter into them with necessity. It does not depend on their will.

It is impossible to state unambiguously whether the sociology of Marxism is right or not. Theory and practice show that certain features of society, described by Marx, do indeed occur. Therefore, to this day, interest in the ideas proposed by Karl does not fade.

Basis and superstructure

In any society, the basis and superstructure are distinguished (according to such a theory as the sociology of Marxism). The main characteristics of these two concepts we will now consider.

The basis is the sphere in which the joint production of material goods takes place. It ensures the social and individual existence of man. The production is considered by Karl Marx as the appropriation of nature by means of expedient activity within the framework of society. The scientist singled out the following elements (factors) of production:

• Labor, that is, an expedient activity of the individual, aimed at creating certain material wealth within the society;
• Objects of labor, that is, those that are affected by a person with their labor (these can be either processed materials or given by nature itself);
• Means of labor, that is, with the help of which people act on certain objects of labor.

The means of production include objects and means of labor. However, they will be only dead things until people connect them with their work. Therefore, as K. Marx noted, it is man that is the decisive factor of production.

The basis of society is the means and objects of labor, a man with his skills and labor experience, as well as production relations. The social superstructure is formed by all other social phenomena that appear in the creation of material goods. These phenomena include political and legal institutions, as well as forms of social consciousness (philosophy, religion, art, science, morals, etc.).

The economic basis, according to the teachings of Karl Marx, determines the superstructure. However, not all elements of the add-on basis determine in equal measure. The superstructure, in turn, has some influence on it. As F. Engels pointed out (his portrait is presented above), only in the final analysis the influence of the basis can be called decisive.

Alienation and its types

Alienation is the objective separation of one or another subject from the very process of activity or from its result. Marx regards this problem in the most detailed way in his work titled "Philosophical and Economic Manuscripts", created in 1844, but published only in the 30s of the 20th century. In this work the problem of alienated labor is considered as the main form of alienation. Karl Marx shows that the most important part of the "generic essence" (human nature) is the need to participate in creative, free labor. Capitalism, according to Carl, systematically destroys the individual's need for it. This is exactly the position held by the sociology of Marxism.

Types of exclusion, according to Marx, are as follows:

• From the result of labor;
• From the labor process;
• From its essence (man is "ancestral essence" in the sense that as a free and universal essence he builds himself (kind) and the surrounding world);
• From the surrounding world (nature, people).

If the worker does not own the result of his labor, then there must exist what it belongs to. Similarly, if the process of work (activity) does not belong to the worker, there is its owner. Only another person, called the exploiter, can be this alien being, not nature or god. As a result, private property appears, which is also explored by the sociology of Marxism.

The types of alienation (according to Marx) listed above can be eliminated by creating a new society that would be freed from greed and selfishness. At least, so say socialists who believe that economic development can not be stopped. The ideas of Karl Marx, as is known, were used for revolutionary purposes. The sociology of Marxism played an important role not only in science, but also in history. It is not known how our country would develop in the 20th century, if the Bolsheviks did not accept these ideas. Both positive and negative phenomena brought to life Soviet people the sociology of Marxism, and modernity is not completely freed from them.

By the way, not only the socialists used the ideas proposed by Karl. Are you familiar with such a direction as legal Marxism? Below you will find basic information about it.

Legal Marxism

In the history of Russian sociological thought in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the sociology of legal Marxism was very prominent. Briefly it can be described as an ideological and theoretical trend. It is an expression of bourgeois liberal thought. Legal Marxism in sociology was based on Marxist ideas. They mainly concerned economic theory, to justify the fact that the development of capitalism in our country is historically inevitable. His adherents opposed the ideology of populism. The most famous representatives of legal Marxism: M. Tugan-Baranovsky, P. Struve, as well as S. Bulgakov and N. Berdyaev. The sociology of Marxism subsequently evolved towards a religious and idealistic philosophy.

Of course, we only briefly talked about the doctrine created by Karl. The sociology of Marxism and its significance is an extensive topic, but its main concepts were revealed in this article.