Max Weber (1864-1920) was a German scholar. Weber differed greatly with the views of Karl Marx, who attributed societal change to economic motivators. Weber, on the other hand, found that religion was the institution that ushered in social upheaval. Defining Protestant ethic, Weber made the claim that these believers longed for a sign from God for moral acceptance. This sign, Weber argued, is financial favoritism. Therefore, according to Protestant ethic, capitalism was born as a means to ensure entrance to heaven. Furthermore, Weber coined “the spirt of capitalism” to define a person’s willingness and desire to earn more money, to be more favored by god (Essentials 7-8).

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German thinker, often misunderstood to be founder of communism (Essentials 5). While Marx did not develop the concept, his ideologies continue to transcend through modern sociological arguments. Often described as the Conflict Theory, Marx hypothesized that the world contains many clusters of humans who are all fighting over in-demand resources (Bartle). Indeed, this theoretical perspective includes both the weak and the strong, and how they struggle. The weak, or the proletariat, are the exploited working class under the rule of the powerful bourgeoisie. Marx believes that “the workers will unite and …show more content…
Many of Parsons’ predecessors, particularly Jane Addams and W.E.B. Du Bois, called for the use of sociology to better the world (Essentials 8-11). Although Parsons’ theories are the subject of much critic, he “was prominent in numerous professional organizations and cofounded the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion” and was the president of the American Sociological Association (Lechner). Additionally, Parsons’ served a pivotal role in establishing the newly developed sociology department at Harvard University in 1931 (“Talcott