Emile Durkheim And The Marxist Theory Of Karl Marx

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Introduction
Great thinkers, including Plato and Aristotle opened the doors to studying society; they based their thoughts on creating an “ideal society”. The science of Sociology was later developed in the early 19th century by Auguste Comte, who coined the word “Sociology”. He began to study society, using “critical thinking”. Comte believed that only by really understanding society could we begin to change it. In this Essay I will compare and contrast two major theoretical perspectives in Sociology. The Functionalist theory of Emile Durkheim and the Marxist theory of Karl Marx (Giddens, 2009, p. 72)
Sociology is the scientific study of social life. It describes and analyses social behaviour. It seeks to discover how human society has come to be the way it is, and reveal the social forces that shape people’s lives. (Sociology.ie, 2014)
Emile Durkheim (1798-1857) was a French sociologist, who was interested in the impact of the industrial revolution on how people behaved in society. Durkheim is known as one of the founding fathers of sociology, due to the large efforts he used to establish sociology as a science subject. This meaning, that you can analyse society using scientific analysis or “scientific fact”. Durkheim is well known for his theories relating to mechanical and organic solidarity. Mechanical Solidarity refers to the feeling of connectedness between different individuals due to similar religious beliefs, Work or education. Organic Solidarity refers to the