SOC 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Class Conflict, Ideal Type, Online Dating Service

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1101
• Professor: Willow Scobie

Document Summary

Weber rejected marx"s materialist conception of history. He saw class conflict as less significant. Weber argued that ideas and values were as important as economic factors in creating social change. Weber focused on status categories, rather than property relation. Historical materialism: main sources of social change are diven by economic influences. Most important changes were brought about by capitalism. Features: private ownership of the means of production, profit as incentive, free competition for markets to sell goods, acquire cheap materials, use cheap labor, expansion and investment to accumulate capital. Power: capacity of individuals or groups to make their own concerns count, even when others resist. Ideologies: power sometimes involves the direct use of force, but it is almost always accompanied by the development of ideas (ideologies) which are used to justify the actions of the powerful. Weber"s interest: the rationalization of social and economic life.