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 * __Harriet Martineau__

Modernity**

Martineau emphasizes the importance of marriage as a fundamental social institution. It allows for a framework to promote society’s values through interaction with our family’s. Modernity has the potential of creating an inequality in the workforce, which leads to a natural dependency, especially for women in marriage. The fundamental institution of marriage becomes debased and the only progress away from that entails women having the ability to //choose// to work or not. Women’s contribution to society becomes a major concern for Martineau, but she also stresses the main idea of efficacy of society in general.

Kant’s main discussion surrounds enlightenment. Enlightenment is “man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity” (39) while immaturity is the “incapacity to use one’s intelligence without the guidance of another” (39). It is important to note that the immaturity is not because people are not intelligent, but rather because they are not courageous enough to figure things out for themselves. Those in authority (particularly in institutions) like it when people have no determination, because then they can keep you under their control longer without even using force.

It is difficult to work yourself (as an individual) out of immaturity, because you have been habitualized, and because there are artifices (statutes and formulas) which serve as ankle-chains to perpetuate said immaturity. The public, however, has the ability to enlighten itself; all that is required is freedom. That is, “freedom for man to make public use of his reason in all matters” (40).

“The public use of man’s reason must be free at all times, while the private use is restricted” (40). The main idea here is that you must obey the rules, but you are free to disagree at any point, i.e. fulfill your duties, but speak critically along the way. This forces you to evaluate whether you really believe what you are doing in life (class notes).

The sacred rights of men dictate that rulers must protect their good, that is, “prevent one subject from hindering another by force, to work according to each subject’s best ability to determine and to promote his salvation” (42). Therefore, the citizens have complete freedom in thought, religion, etc. The point is that heads of state have no right to enact artifices that will curtail freedom. As Kant says, “men raise themselves by and by out of backwardness if one does not purposely invent artifices to keep them down” (43).

Absence of artifices of oppression leads to freedom of thought leads to freedom of behavior leads to enlightenment. Absence of artifices of oppression can also lead to freedom of speech which leads to enlightenment (class notes). __** Adam Smith **__

Because the innate desire to trade and barter, the development of division of labor develops. This coupled with self interested motives (why would people want to create for common good if they can personally benefit). Leads to a increase in the quality of life through efficiency, when less workers create more goods people make more money. This happens on a group scale, so the overall quality of life increases. This also increases the capabilities as it makes processes more efficient and allows for more specialization. __**

Karl Marx **__ Four fundamental assumptions of humanity ** Karl Marx begins by emphasizing four distinct characteristics about humanity. Beginning with the idea that humans are “species-being,” Marx explains that we create our own world. Through that idea it follows that we create our own goods and products to survive, which have a direct tie to who we are. Humans are creative producers and the existence of product describes the nature of humanity because we are connected to the products we create. Secondly, humans are naturally social. In our collective efforts we are intertwined with one another and build up a collective consciousness. Third, humanity is altruistic. We rely on one another to achieve a greater good. Our collective conscious unifies our efforts toward a desire to benefit the general welfare in the community. Lastly, we as humans have pride in making creative products and having a deep association with the product we made. Each individual product should have sentimental value and should reflect humanity through those products Marx on Capitalism ** __

Three negative effects of capitalism __ Marx criticizes capitalism in three distinct ways. The first product of capitalism focuses on the problem of the removal of human labor from all of our relationships. A natural alienation occurs by breaking down the consciousness aimed at social good and individuals become isolated. This isolation is based on the devotion to individual competition and success for one’s self. Consequently women become controlled in order to pass down money through the lineage. The following product of capitalism is the result of class bipolarization. Marx’s criticism is key here as he presents the conflict between proletariat and the bourgeoisie in which the //middle class is destroyed//. The bourgeoisie becomes a small amount of individuals in control while the working class becomes a majority and there is no middle class at all. Lastly, //commodification// acts as the final problem that capitalism creates. It officially takes out humanity in production. Products simply become “stuff” that “must be bought.” Society becomes based on material possessions and acquiring them at all costs. These three detriments on society lead to an even more problematic situation. __ Boom and Bust __ Through overproduction and overexpansion, Marx explains that capitalism destroys society. It initially goes against the inherent ideas of humanity. Marx says that capitalism negatively harms our species-being of being creative producers because our time is traded for money now, gives us a false consciousness that averts from our concern for social good, and also commodification destroys our relationship with our products. Alienation and a “commodity fetish” disrupt not only humanity’s nature, but also our relationship with society. According to Marx, workers now become simply a machine through capitalism and we lose our “humanity” through capitalism.

MAX WEBER Weber seeks to explain any specific cultural context in which we find ourselves. He asks, “Of all the possible realities, why does this one exist and not others?” Weber argues that everything can be explained historically, socially, and through cultural processes. This is all dependent on the value that society has placed on things, “human reality is meaningful..it is concerned with unique configurations of values…all questions we ask are informed by our culture” (45). The last part of the previous sentence is essential because it is through our culture that we rationalize and legitimate the very bureaucracies that (as Weber argues) influence our lives. Weber argues that society acts based on mean-end calculations which “empties the world of emotion, mystery, etc.” (47). This rationalized society is nothing without the legitimated power to keep it running. Weber says that legitimacy “only works because people believe in the rightness of the system” (48). In effect, we give the bureaucracies the power over us. Weber also argues that society is not bipolarized (like Marx thought). Within the class structure, there are those that are positively privileged and negatively privileged. Weber also says that contrary to past thinkers, money is not the only motivator in life. Status and power (organized social power or party) play a big part in people’s lives; they seek out esteem and honor as well. Bureaucracies, once established, turn into “iron cages” because their efficiency is addictive. Societies like the organization. They trust the stability that the rationalized society brings them, and as such, will enable it.

In his main work, //The Protestant Ethic and the// //Spirit of Capitalism// Weber’s emphasizes the influence of Protestantism on our capitalistic society. One of the core beliefs of Protestants was predestination, which is one of the reasons why our society operates the way it does. Predestination is the belief that God has predetermined whether you are saved and that we can not change our destiny. This also applies to any aspect of our lives, Weber talks about this with respect to a vocation or career. It was believed that if one was saved one would be blessed in one’s vocation. Asceticism was also a common Christian belief that emphasized the values of honesty, simplicity and hard work. The beliefs of both asceticism and predestination led to a Protestant ethic as described by Weber. This ethic benefited capitalism in that people worked diligently to lead an ordered life without gratuitous expenditures of wealth.This allowed our capitalistic society to be even more productive and successful.

__**Emile Durkheim**__

Durkheim is a structural functionalist who focuses on how and what holds modern society together. In order to better understand this, Durkheim’s perspective focuses on three things:
 * __Social Facts__- where society only exists because it is socially created, it exists as objective facts as it not controlled or influenced by individuals.
 * __Collective Consciousness__- collective beliefs, values, and norm of society/groups of people. This is the moral basis of society.
 * __Production of Culture__ – this is done through interaction.

For Durkheim religion plays a significant role in both the basis of society and the collective consciousness. Religion originated from gatherings in hunter gather societies, in which a high level of effervescence (emotional energy) resulted. This energy influences behaviors, and makes individuals feel bonded to something larger and to the group. In order to maintain and replicate this energy, the gatherings became ritualized and the effervescence became symbolic. From this religion developed. Durkheim contends that in modern society, where there are high levels of division of labor the influence of the collective consciousness is weak. Individuals participate in many differentiated groups which lead to formation of subcultures. In order to binds these different groups of people together in society organic solidarity developed. Organic solidarity integrates society through interdependency, generalized ideas and sentiments, restitutive law and centralized power, and through intermediary groups. However, Durkheim points out that these must develop over time. If they develop too quickly from mechanical to organic solidarity it can force anomie on society.

**__Talcott Parsons__**


 * Structural Functionalism**

Parsons takes a very broad stance and looks to explain //everything// in society. Through habitualization and institutionalization, patterned interactions act as the base to social structures that allow us to navigate our world. Parsons does not care about individuals, but simply sees the systems and sub-systems as important parts that individuals participate in, nothing more. The goals and pressures on systems along with the interrelationships between sub-systems act as the foundation to understanding society.


 * Four Systems in Society**

Adaptive system is based on resources and usable elements. It is an interaction with our environment and its sub-system is the economy. Goal attainment focuses on the organization of society and how it is kept together, which is through government. Integrated acts as the social lube in which everything works together through informal norms and values and formal legal systems, producing a collective conscious. Latent pattern maintenance states that certain aspects of society need to work without thinking and simply work for us. It simply keeps going without thinking and the two social institutions that represent this are family and education.


 * __Jürgen Habermas__**

Through the enlightenment, modern thinking becomes a new style of rationalization. According to the enlightenment way of thinking, previous thinking was simply criticism and was not true thinking. Habermas says that it is simply complaining and that in order to truly be critically thinking, one must be optimistic. In principle, optimistic rationality is what truly helps improve society, and //that// is what fosters morality. The enlightenment promotes critical thinking that simply is not criticism and is aimed at changing for the better.
 * Critical Theory/Enlightenment **

As the gap grows between social classes, a separation between rational comes with it. It turns into the elite idea rational and the people no longer //think// because they have to work so hard. Working too hard simply causes people to get home and avoid any sort of philosophizing. Neither laziness nor stupidity is the cause of this lack of thinking, but blame can be placed on the culture. Eventually it evolves into a critique of the intellectual and an “anti-intellectual” majority is created. Then the current power structure is simply accepted and Habermas argues that without the people consistently thinking through an enlightenment “lens” of optimism, then not only does the modern rationalizing drop, but consequently morality and ignorance towards blindly accepting the current culture prevents humanity’s progress.
 * Gap **

Dubois The main subject of Du Bois is that of the American black man. He talks about how no one but the African American could understand the oppression that they suffer. He explains how African American’s are born with a “second sight.” A double consciousness is formed based on that African Americans must try to relate with both the African American culture and the western white culture that surrounds them. Stereotypes cause problems when they are applied to groups of people as in race. He also covers how capitalism needs people to exploit and certain groups tend to be exploited (as in race).

Gilman Gilman is a structural functionalist who covers the evolution of society especially in regard to gender. The evolution of society eventually led to a patriarchy which began to oppress women. These causes were: These cause women to be totally dependent on men. The dependency of men also forced men to take responsibility for their children which helped society and Gilman says this ultimately allowed for the success of capitalism. She says men and women together would not have helped society due to their innate differences, men being aggressive and women more conservative and maternal. She also says that now the patriarchy is dysfunctional and that women should strive for more equality.
 * firstly, women being taken out of economic reproduction
 * the change in response to the new environment which caused greater sex distinctions
 * the requirement for women to find a husband for survival
 * women create means for attracting men with (makeup, clothing, jewelry etc.)
 * creating morbid sex distinctions

Mead and Simmel Mead focuses on social interactionism or micro sociology. Key Point 1) is pragmatism: where truth is something that we create. It rejects universal truth. The way that we understand truth is based on time, place, or events. We construct our reality and we interact with our symbolic reality. Key Point 2) is symbolic-social categorization. We use this to understand and legitimize our behaviors based on pragmatic motives. Our knowledge is even pragmatic. We remember what is useful not what is always true. We categorize the world based on our individual mental frameworks. We are creaing the world around us by interacting with it (108-111). The individual create the society for Simmel and Mead. Key Point 3) Human actions are first taken on as children who role take. This way they can learn about the world around them, but outside of themselves by putting themselves into other roles. This helps to form the I and Me. The Me is a result of the progression through his many steps to adulthood. Furthermore, it is the perspective we assume we analysing our own behaviors. The I is the more spontaneous of the selves which has impulses and drive. Key Point 4) We interact with each based on our interactions. It is first Interaction - then Language, Symbol, Symbolic framework then- interpetation of a situation through those means L, S, SF into - an action.This is important to us because we have to think about which alternative choices we want to make in our actions. We interact with people based on the cue, response, and response to response method. People do not react.

Simmel It is important to note that Simmel and Mead both think society is built on the individual. In contrast, Simmel thinks that there is a religious impulse and intrinsic difference between men and women. He wanted to study what caused society, and the conditions that bring society about. There are two main theories to his society. Key Point 1) First is the mechanical- atomistic which is centered around individuals being the only reality. Moreover, this society is simply the summation of their (the individuals) activities. The organism-ic sees society as distinct from the individual (pg 121). Key Point 2) For Simmel society exists around interactions and these interactions are called social forms. These social forms are actions, knowledge, feelings, and creativity, anything “imposed” on existence. The social forms existed a priori (or existed before) conditions of society. These social forms exists beyond the individual as a fundamental social interaction. Some examples of social forms are reciprocal behavior, time spent in the classroom, the clothes a person chooses to wear, and marriage. They are also from our objective and subjective cultures. Key Point 3) Subjective culture is tied to your experience in a subculture. Objective culture is distinct from the groups that created it. An example of subjective culture is baggy jeans - beginning with men and women in jail who were not allowed to wear belts. An objective culture example would be 13 year old kids in Iowa wearing baggy jeans. The subjective culture influences our ways of thinking.