Chapter 2: Classical Theories I

mechanical solidarity

the idea that primitive society is held together by the fact that there is little division of labor, and as a result, virtually everyone does essentially the same things (Durkheim).

organic solidarity

the idea that because of the substantial division of labor in modern society, solidarity comes from differences. individuals need the contributions of an increasing number of people to function and even to survive (Durkheim).

dynamic density

the number of people in society and their frequency of interaction. an increase in dynamic density leads to the transformation from mechanical to organic solidarity (Durkheim).

collective conscience

the ideas shared by the members of a collectivity such as a group, tribe, or society (Durkheim).

repressive law

characteristic of mechanical solidarity, a form of law in which offenders are likely to be severely punished for any action that is seen by the tightly integrated community as an offense against the powerful collective conscience (Durkheim).

restitutive law

characteristic of organic solidarity and its weakened collective conscience a form of law in which offenders are likely simply to be asked to comply with the law or to repay (make restitution to) those who have been harmed by their actions (Durkheim).

anomie

a sense, associated with organic solidarity, of not knowing what one is expected to do, of being adrift in society without any clear and secure moorings (Durkheim).

social facts

to Durkheim and the subject matter of sociology, these should be treated as things that are external to, and coercive over, individuals, and they should be studied empirically.

material social facts

social facts that take a material form in the external social world (e.g., architecture) (Durkheim).

nonmaterial social facts

social facts that are external and coercive but do not take a material form (e.g., norms and values) (Durkheim).

anomic suicide

a type of suicide that occurs when people do not know what is expected of them, where regulation is low, and they are largely free to run wild. this mad pursuit is likely to prove unsatisfying, and as a result, a higher percentage of people are apt to commit this type of suicide (Durkheim).

egoistic suicide

a type of suicide that occurs when people are not well integrated into the collectivity and are largely on their own; they feel a sense of futility or meaninglessness, and more of them feel that they are morally free to kill themselves (Durkheim).

altruistic suicide

a type of suicide that occurs when people are too well integrated into the collectivity; they are likely to kill themselves in greater numbers because the group leads them, or even forces them, to do so (Durkheim).

fatalistic suicide

a type of suicide that occurs in situations of excessive regulation (e.g., slavery), where people are often so distressed and depressed by the lack of freedom that they take their lives more frequently than otherwise (Durkheim).

precapitalistic society & human potential

people could not meet their basic needs due to competition for limited resources, so meeting human potential was not a consideration (Marx).

capitalistic society & human potential

basic needs can be more easily met due to surplus production but exploitation and oppression limits people’s ability to reach their potential (Marx).

capitalistic advancement and communism

capitalism provides technological and organizational innovations (and surplus) needed for the creation of communist society (Marx).

communism

people free from the desire to merely own things and would be able to realize their “species being” (full human potential) (Marx).

work

a positive process in which people use their creative capacities and further extend them in productive capacities (Marx).

alienation

the breakdown of and separation from the natural interconnection between

• people and their productive activities

• the products they produce

• the fellow workers with whom they produce those things

• what they are potentially capable of becoming

(Marx).

capitalism

an economic system comprising mainly of capitalists and the proletariat in which one class (capitalists) exploits the other (proletariat) (Marx).

means of production

the things that are needed for production to take place (including tools, machinery, raw materials, factories) (Marx).

capitalists

those who own the means of production under capitalism and are therefore in a position to exploit workers (Marx).

proletariat

those who, because they do not own the means of production, must sell their labor time to the capitalists to get access to those means (Marx).

subsistence wage

the wage paid by the capitalist to the proletariat that is enough for the worker to survive and have a family and children so that when the worker falters, they can be replaced by one of their children (Marx).

labor theory of value

Marx’s theory that all value comes from labor and is therefore traceable, in capitalism, to the proletariat.

surplus value

the difference between the value of a product when it is sold and the value of the elements (including worker’s labor) consumed in its production (Marx).

exploitation

the nature of the relationship between capitalists and workers in capitalism, where the capitalists get the lion’s share of the rewards and the proletariat get only enough to subsist, even though based on the labor theory of value, the situation should be reversed (Marx).

false consciousness

the inaccurate sense of themselves that both proletariat and capitalists have under capitalism regarding their relationship to each other and the way in which capitalism operates (Marx).

class consciousness

the ability of a class, particularly the proletariat, to overcome false consciousness and attain an accurate understanding of the capitalist system (Marx).

praxis

concrete action, particularly that taken by the proletariat to overcome capitalism (Marx).

communism

the social system that permits, for the first time, the expression of full human potential (Marx).

behavior

things that people do that require little or no thought.

action

things that people do that are the result of conscious processes.

behaviorism

the study, largely associated with psychology, of behavior.

affectual action

nonrational action that is the result of emotion (Weber).

traditional action

nonrational action taken on the basis of the way things have been done habitually or customarily (Weber).

value-rational action

action that occurs when an actor’s choice of the means to an end is based on the actor’s belief in some larger set of values. the action chosen may not be optimal, but it is rational from the point of view of the value system (Weber).

means-ends rational action

action that involves the pursuit of ends that actors have chosen for themselves; that choice is affected by the actors’ view of the environment in which they find themselves, including the behavior of people and objects in it (Weber).

practical rationality

the type of rationality people use on a day-to-day basis in dealing with whatever difficulties exist and finding the most advantageous way of attaining the goal of getting from one point to another (Weber).

theoretical rationality

a type of rationality that involves an effort to master reality cognitively through the development of increasingly abstract concepts. the goal is to attain a rational understanding of the world rather than to take rational action within it (Weber).

substantive rationality

a type of rationality in which the choice of the most advantageous action is guided by larger values rather than by daily experiences and practical thinking (Weber).

formal rationality

a type of rationality in which the choice of the most advantageous action is based on rules, regulations, and laws that apply to everyone. most distinctive to the modern West (Weber).

Protestant ethic

a belief system (Calvinism) that emphasized hard work and asceticism (denial of personal pleasure). development of capitalism depended on the presence of this ethic (Weber).

spirit of capitalism

an idea system that led to the capitalist economic system. in the West, people were motivated to be economically successful not by greed but by an ethical system that emphasized the ceaseless pursuit of economic success (Weber).

components:

• rational and systematic seeking of profits

• frugality

• punctuality

• fairness

• earning of money as a legitimate end in itself

Verstehen

a methodological technique involving an effort to understand the thought processes of the actor, the actor’s meanings and motives, and how these factors led to the (inter)action under study (Weber).

traditional authority

authority based on followers’ belief that certain people (from particular families, tribes, or lineages) have exercised sovereignty since time immemorial. the leaders claim/followers believe in the sanctity of age-old rules and powers (Weber).

charismatic authority

authority legitimated by followers’ belief in the exceptional sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of the leader (Weber).

• a person need not actually possess such qualities to be attributed this by other people.

routinization of charisma

efforts by disciples of a charismatic leader to recast the extraordinary and revolutionary characteristics of the leader so that the regime is better able to handle mundane matters. followers do this to prepare for the day when the leader passes from the scene so they can remain in power (Weber).

rational-legal authority

authority in which the legitimacy is derived from codified rules and regulations (Weber).

ideal type

a one-sided, exaggerated concept (usually an exaggeration of the rationality of a given phenomenon) used to analyze the social world in all its historical and contemporary variation. the ideal type is a measuring rod to be used in the comparison of specific examples of a social phenomenon either cross-culturally or over time.

bureaucracy

a modern type of organization in which the behavior of officers is bound by rules.

ideal type is:

• a specified sphere of competence

• obligations to perform specific functions, the authority to carry them out, and the means of compulsion to get the job done

• organized in hierarchical system

• technical training to meet qualifications for positions

• things needed to do the job belong to the office but not the officer

• the position is part of the organization and cannot be appropriated by an officer

• much of what goes on (acts, decisions, rules) is in writing

(Weber).