Karl Marx and Max Weber have agreed and disagreed on numerous issues during their years as sociologists and political economists. An issue that they both discuss in great length, and disagree upon is the rise of capitalism. Marx thought that economic factors and the use of exploited and alienated labor were the causes of the rise of capitalism. In “Capital”, Marx discusses the Labor Theory of Value and Surplus Value, and how they have influenced the rise of capitalism.
In the Labor Theory of Value, Marx analyzes what makes a commodity valuable, which leads to a capitalistic society. On the other hand, Weber stated that religious beliefs associated with the Puritan religion led to the rise of capitalism. Puritans continuously worked hard, because the wasting of time is considered a sin. There is no relaxation, and labor was seen as rational and methodical.
The enjoyment of certain aspects in social life that do not have religous value are forbidden. One must acquire wealth through God’s grace and hard work, for the pursuit of wealth for it’s own sake was seen as a sin. Because people were isolated, individuals looked for signs of salvation and found it in their ability to work hard and maintain their faith. Weber wanted to uncover the the forces in the West that caused people to abandon their religous values in exchange for a desire of acquiring goods and wealth. Eventually people began to enjoy their material possessions, and started to adopt different values and beliefs that once was dominated during the spirit of capitalism. Religous values led to the rise of capitalism and reflected the rationalization and methodical lives individuals led in the past.
The Term Paper on Karl Marx and Capitalism
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Capitalism became a dominant force, because people still lead rational and methodical lives like th Puritans did, but enjoy their material possessions. Both Weber and Marx would agree that classes were distinguished by those who owned property and those who did not. Those who owned property, also owned the means of production and exploited the Proletarians. Classes exist on an economic basis, in a capitalistic economy. Marx’s goal was to eliminate the classes, by eliminating private ownership of property.
