There was once a time when the societies of the world were nothing more than a ruling class and a class that was ruled. In these feudal societies classes were set. There was little chance for a member of the ruling bourgeoisie class to cross over to the oppressed proletariat class or from the proletariat class to the bourgeoisie class. Every individual within each class had the routine for each day set out for him or her. There was little change in the lives of individuals of these societies. There was monotony in their work and their work did little more for them than keeping them alive. In those societies, in those times, there was scarce chance of bettering oneself.

Then there came an era, a time of drastic change. The concept of industrialization and Capitalism was introduced to societies all over the world. Some societies accepted it while others condemned it. Those that accepted it became what was known as modern societies or simply put Capitalist societies.

Capitalist or modern societies are very complex in structure. Many theorists have tried to explain or simplify the complexities of these societies, among the greatest of them Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim.

With Capitalism and modernity came industrialization and factories and in Capitalism this requires owners and workers. Stratification quickly emerged in this supposed society of equal opportunity. Marx expresses in his writings that class conflict was and is very much alive in every society from before feudal times until present.

With modernization and industrialization, labour became increasingly specialized. Before this in the pre- modern societies, all workers did almost the same work in order to sustain themselves. These workers shared social cohesion base on similarity and commonality among themselves. This ‘mechanical solidarity’ was soon replaced by ‘organic solidarity’. With organic solidarity social cohesion was based on each individual’s dependence on every other in the society for survival. (The Emile Durkheim Archive, Solidarity)

In closing, both Marx and Durkheim were extraordinary thinkers and theorists. They have both presented ways in which we can view and analyze our societies and the crucial elements of them. Whether we focus our theories of society on conflict or integration, class stratification or solidarity, exploitation of labour or norms and values, we have much to compare and contrast to. Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim have presented much thought, two views to think about and work around. Today’s modern societies owe much to them!

The ruling classes in the modern societies were the owners of capital. The working class had to sell their services to the Capitalists for feeble wages. With mechanization came mass unemployment, which allowed for much competition among workers for jobs in factories and such. There was also a need for workers to do different types of jobs and to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. This required speci

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